The HM Case Study

This page details the influential case study of Henry Molaison (HM), which provided crucial insights into memory systems and brain function.

Henry Molaison developed severe epilepsy after a childhood head injury. At age 27, he underwent surgery to remove his hippocampus in an attempt to control his seizures. This procedure resulted in severe amnesia, both retrograde (inability to recall pre-existing memories) and anterograde (inability to form new memories).

The study aimed to investigate how HM's memory deficits related to his brain damage. Researchers used various memory tests, including:

• Simple recall tests of childhood events
• Maze tracing tasks
• Mirror drawing tests

Key findings from the HM case study:

• HM forgot new experiences within 30 seconds
• He retained good memory for information from before age 16
• Some knowledge of past events was preserved (e.g. Wall Street Crash)
• He could acquire some new knowledge (e.g. Kennedy's assassination)
• HM demonstrated preserved procedural memory (e.g. playing tennis)

Definition: Retrograde amnesia - Inability to recall memories formed before the event causing amnesia

Definition: Anterograde amnesia - Inability to create new memories after the event causing amnesia

Highlight: The HM case study suggested a crucial role for the hippocampus in transforming short-term memories into long-term memories

Multi-store Model of Memory

This section explores the influential multi-store model of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), which conceptualizes memory as consisting of three distinct components.

The multi-store model of memory components proposes that memories are formed sequentially, passing through three stores:

1. Sensory Register:

   • Potentially unlimited capacity
   • Encodes information iconically (visually) and echoically (acoustically)
   • Very brief duration (0.5-2 seconds)
   • Information is lost if attention isn't paid

2. Short-Term Memory (STM):

   • Acoustic encoding
   • Duration of about 18 seconds
   • Capacity of 7±2 chunks of information
   • Forgetting occurs through displacement and decay
   • Information can be retrieved through maintenance rehearsal

3. Long-Term Memory (LTM):

   • Unlimited capacity
   • Semantic encoding
   • Lifetime duration
   • Forgetting occurs through decay and interference
   • Retrieval uses cues

Example: Jacobs (1887) and Miller (1956) conducted experiments where participants recalled sequences of numbers or letters, supporting the 7±2 chunk capacity of STM

Example: Peterson and Peterson (1959) found that after 18 seconds, only 10% of trigrams were correctly recalled from STM, supporting its limited duration

Highlight: The multi-store model provides a framework for understanding how information moves through different memory stores, but has limitations in explaining complex memory phenomena

Evaluating the Multi-store Model

This page evaluates the strengths and limitations of the multi-store model of memory, considering supporting evidence and critiques.

Supporting evidence for the multi-store model:

1. Capacity studies: Research by Jacobs (1887) and Miller (1956) supports the 7±2 chunk capacity of STM.
2. Duration studies: Peterson and Peterson (1959) demonstrated the limited duration of STM, with rapid forgetting after 18 seconds without rehearsal.
3. Long-term retention: Bahrick et al. (1975) showed high accuracy (60%) in recognizing classmates' photos decades after graduation, supporting LTM's long duration.

Limitations and critiques of the model:

1. Oversimplification: The model presents memory stores as unitary, which doesn't account for cases like patient KF, who had selective STM deficits.
2. Lack of detail: It doesn't explain complex processes like how information transfers between stores or how rehearsal works.
3. Alternative models: The working memory model provides a more detailed explanation of short-term memory processes.
4. Reconstructive nature of memory: The model doesn't account for false memories or how memories can be altered over time.

Example: Patient KF, who suffered a motorcycle accident, could recall information from LTM but had issues with STM, particularly for auditory information. This case challenges the idea of STM as a single, uniform store.

Highlight: While the multi-store model provides a useful framework for understanding memory, it has limitations in explaining the complexity and flexibility of human memory processes.

Working Memory Model

This page introduces the working memory model, which offers a more detailed and flexible explanation of short-term memory processes compared to the multi-store model.

The working memory model, proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), suggests that short-term memory is not a single, unitary store but rather a system of interacting components. Key components of the working memory model include:

1. Central Executive: Controls attention and coordinates the other components
2. Phonological Loop: Processes and stores verbal and acoustic information
3. Visuospatial Sketchpad: Handles visual and spatial information
4. Episodic Buffer: Integrates information from different sources and links to long-term memory

Advantages of the working memory model:

• Provides a more detailed explanation of short-term memory processes
• Accounts for the ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously
• Explains how information from different sensory modalities can be integrated
• Offers insights into cognitive development and certain learning difficulties

Vocabulary: Episodic Buffer - A component of working memory that integrates information from various sources and links to long-term memory

Highlight: The working memory model offers a more nuanced understanding of short-term memory processes, addressing some limitations of the multi-store model

Memory Processes and Reconstructive Memory

This section explores additional aspects of memory processing and introduces the concept of reconstructive memory.

Memory processes:

1. Encoding: Converting information into a form that can be stored in memory
2. Storage: Retaining encoded information over time
3. Retrieval: Accessing stored information when needed

Factors affecting memory processes:

• Attention: Crucial for effective encoding
• Rehearsal: Can strengthen memory traces
• Emotional significance: Can enhance memory formation and recall
• Context: Environmental and internal cues can affect retrieval

Reconstructive memory:

The concept of reconstructive memory suggests that memories are not exact replicas of past events but are reconstructed each time they are recalled. This process can lead to memory distortions and false memories.

Factors influencing memory reconstruction:

• Schemas: Pre-existing knowledge structures can shape how memories are reconstructed
• Suggestion: External information can be incorporated into memories
• Emotion: Strong emotions can influence how events are remembered
• Time: Memories can change or fade over time

Definition: Reconstructive memory - The process by which memories are actively rebuilt during recall, rather than simply retrieved as exact copies of past experiences

Highlight: Understanding reconstructive memory helps explain phenomena like eyewitness testimony errors and the malleability of autobiographical memories

Applying Memory Research

This final section discusses practical applications of memory research in various fields and everyday life.

Applications of memory research:

1. Education:

   • Developing effective study techniques based on memory principles
   • Designing curricula that optimize learning and retention
   • Understanding and addressing learning difficulties

2. Clinical Psychology:

   • Treating memory disorders and cognitive impairments
   • Developing therapies for PTSD and other trauma-related conditions
   • Understanding the role of memory in various psychological disorders

3. Legal System:

   • Improving eyewitness testimony reliability
   • Developing more effective interviewing techniques
   • Understanding the limitations of memory in legal contexts

4. Technology:

   • Designing user interfaces that align with human memory capabilities
   • Developing memory aids and assistive technologies
   • Improving artificial intelligence systems based on human memory models

5. Everyday Life:

   • Techniques for improving memory in daily tasks
   • Strategies for maintaining cognitive health as we age
   • Understanding and mitigating the effects of stress on memory

Example: The spacing effect, where information is better retained when study sessions are spaced out over time, has been applied to develop more effective learning strategies in education.

Highlight: Memory research has wide-ranging applications that can improve learning, mental health treatment, technology design, and overall quality of life.

Tulving's Memory Model

This page discusses Tulving's influential theory of long-term memory organization.

Definition: Episodic memory stores personal experiences, while semantic memory contains factual knowledge.

Example: Eyewitness testimony reliability is questioned due to the reconstructive nature of memory recall.

Highlight: Cultural schemas can significantly influence how people remember and interpret events.

Memory Basics and Case Studies

This section introduces fundamental concepts in memory and cognitive processing, as well as the use of case studies in memory research.

Memory is defined as the mental function of retaining information about stimuli, events, images, ideas, etc. after the original stimulus is no longer present. Key cognitive processes involved in memory include:

• Top-down processing: Using prior knowledge to fill in gaps in perception, creating mental schemas
• Bottom-up processing: Building up perception from smallest pieces of sensory information
• Mediation processes: Processes occurring between stimulus and response

The core components of memory processing include:

• Encoding: Converting information into storable forms (visual, acoustic, semantic)
• Storage: Retaining information in the brain
• Capacity: Amount of information that can be held in memory
• Duration: How long a memory lasts before becoming unavailable

Case studies involve in-depth examination of single participants with unusual traits or experiences. They offer high ecological validity and rich qualitative data, but have limitations in sample size and replicability.

Vocabulary: Triangulation - Gathering data from multiple methods to form an overall conclusion

Highlight: Case studies provide holistic, in-depth data but findings may be subjectively measured and difficult to generalize