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Scientists
work with E.P. to learn more about why he cannot form new
memories.
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Meet
"E.P.," a spry, affable 82-year-old retiree. Don't be surprised,
though, if E.P. doesn't remember your name, or if he tells you the
same story six times in 10 minutes. About 10 years ago an acute
virus infection destroyed E.P.'s hippocampus, a part of the brain
that is critical to memory. Today, Larry Squire and Jen Frascino
of the University of California, San Diego work with E.P. to learn
more about why he cannot form new memories.
E.P.
lives in a state of "permanent present." Because his hippocampus
is effectively "dead," anything new that happens to him simply doesn't
get recorded. But, although he can't record new memories, old ones
from before his hippocampus was destroyed -- some going back decades
-- remain remarkably intact. As Alan sees firsthand, E.P. can mentally
map a route from his boyhood home to the town library but cannot
name any of the streets in his current neighborhood.
At
the VA Hospital in Boston, Mieke Verfaellie conducts similar research
with "Mr. O," an amnesiac whose hippocampus was badly injured as
a result of a heart attack five years ago. Verfaellie asks Mr. O
to look at photos from the September 11 terrorist attacks and tell
her what happened that day. Though he knows that something bad happened
to the towers in New York City, he can't remember where he was that
day and mistakenly believes that his son lived in New York at the
time. Later on, when asked about the photos, Mr. O cannot recall
what he saw.
The
effects of E.P.'s and Mr. O's hippocampus injuries provide valuable
insight into the role of the hippocampus in processing and recalling
memories. Researchers believe that the hippocampus works not to
store memories but to organize details of an experience -- sights,
sounds, smells and feelings -- so when recalled, an event can be
remembered as a complete memory.
For
more on this topic, see the web feature:
Remembering for Two
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