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Adaptation Of The Brain: The Case Of E. P

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The human brain is a fantastical machine, capable of great feats of elasticity and resourcefulness. This is no clearer demonstrated than in the case of E.P, and the separation of memory and habit. I found it fascinating that E.P was able to follow the path of the walk he took with his wife but was unable to identify which house was his. This incredible idea of the brain recovering from a debilitating problem as best it can is quite interesting. I did not think that habit and memory were so separated that one could lose the ability to form new memories but could form habits that were so similar to the perceptions of memory. The cases of H.M and E.P also offer valuable insight into the roles that differing components of the brain assume. The hippocampus is vital for memory, and also vital for living a certain quality of life. Meanwhile, the medial temporal lobe also impacts memory, but E.P was able to live at home and maintained a high level of intellect. The fact that both H.M and E.P could live without large sections of their brains is remarkable, and reveals a lot about the elasticity and adaptations of the brain. However, E.P’s case truly highlights the divide between memory and habit. Habits can occur with a low level of brain activity and conscious thought, as they are mostly driven by the unconscious once the cue is received. As long as the basal ganglia is intact, it appears that habits will form, and these habits are on a delicate equilibrium. With one disturbance,

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