Epilepsy Surgery
What is the name of the disorder that causes the brain to fire off electrical signals abnormally?
Epilepsy
What was the name of the patient that was studied by Dr. Milner?
H.M. or Henry Molaison
What is stored in the hippocampus?
Memories are stored in the hippocampus.
What is sensory information?
Sensory Information are things that the brain collects from your senses that give you information about the world around you. The five basic senses are taste, sight, smell, hearing, and touch.
What year did H.M. die?
2008
What was the name of the male doctor that treated epilepsy?
Dr. Penfield
What surgery did H.M. undergo, and what was wrong with him?
He had his hippocampus removed and also could no longer recall memories of recent events.
What happens to the hippocampus as you get older?
Your hippocampus shrinks as you get older.
What is an association?
When bits of sensory information is bundled up into a memory. Makes us associate a certain smell, noise, taste, etc. to a memory.
What is amnesia?
The inability to recall the past.
How did Dr. Penfield treat epilepsy?
Dr. Penfield removed the brain region that was firing improperly.
What was the name of the test H.M. scored higher on after his surgery?
IQ or Intelligence Quotient test.
What happens to your memories if your hippocampus is removed or damaged?
Memories can no longer be created.
Give the class an example of how sensory information can help access a memory?
Ex. Taste of cookies reminding you of your grandma's cookies
Ex. A song reminding you of a person
What city was the scientific meetings Dr. Penfield present his findings about the epilepsy surgery?
Chicago
What region of the brain was firing improperly on the two patients Dr. Penfield operated?
The hippocampus.
How many times did H.M. had to perform the star mirror drawing test before succeeding?
30 times (10 times in 3 days).
Where in the brain is the hippocampus located?
This region consists of two long ridges that sit deep within the brain, about halfway between the eyes and the back of the head.
What example of students in the classroom did they use in the reading to explain sensory information?
A student learning a difficult aspect of math and at the same time seeing and smelling the person next to them. In addition, being hungry, and being distracted by the paper they need to write.
What is Alzheimer's disease and what group age does it affect the most?
Alzheimer's disease is an age-related disorder caused by loss of brain function.
What was the side effect Dr. Penfield's patients showed after the surgery?
Shortly after surgery, they couldn't remember their recent past. They could no longer create long-term memory.
After the mirror drawing test, Millner discovered that H.M. could form what types of memories?
Procedural memories
How did scientist find out the hippocampus was critical to forming memories?
Because patients (like H.M.) whose hippocampus was removed could no longer form new memories.
How can associations help understand what happens in the brains of people who have endured traumatic events, such as PTSD? What example did they use in the reading?
They used the example of a soldier who associates the noise of horns honking to a bomb explosion.
What was the name of the chemical that allowed mice suddenly learn normally?
GABA