When "long-term memory" no longer means "forever": analysis of accelerated long-term forgetting in a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy
When "long-term memory" no longer means "forever": analysis of accelerated long-term forgetting in a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy
Classical amnesia involves a difficulty in transferring information to long-term memory and can be detected with standard clinical tests. However, there are some patients who pass these tests but nonetheless show longer-term memory impairments. A case study is presented of a patient, RY, with temporal lobe epilepsy, who exhibited such a profile of "accelerated long-term forgetting". To investigate the effect of recalling information on later retention, recall and recognition for pairs of novel stories were tested at five intervals ranging from 30 min to 4 weeks; we also manipulated whether or not recall and recognition were repeatedly tested for stories. Two studies are reported, one before RY commenced treatment with anticonvulsant medication, and one following 6 months of treatment. Very similar memory profiles were observed in both settings. Against a background of above average cognitive function, results showed that RY's free recall, although initially average or above, was significantly impaired at extended delays (within 24h) for non-repeatedly recalled episodic information. However, this contrasted with normal performance for information that had been repeatedly recalled. An unresolved issue in the field is the impact of anticonvulsant medication on alleviating long-term forgetting, and the current study shows that anticonvulsant medication can have negligible beneficial effects in improving the rate of long-term forgetting in this type of patient. In addition, our study highlights the possible protective effect of active review of recent episodic memories.
1707-1715
Jansari, Ashok S
17847e71-4f88-4fa5-a793-f72e4bd43c95
Davis, Kavus
28c053ff-5d95-400a-8f78-f069132d692a
McGibbon, Terence
66e751d2-dcf2-4642-9ba8-a1852b879d70
Firminger, Stephanie
ae657ec4-1a69-4d2d-b621-3e433839f1b2
Kapur, Narinder
9ea5d758-bba6-4bc9-be6b-b056c0c83d9d
May 2010
Jansari, Ashok S
17847e71-4f88-4fa5-a793-f72e4bd43c95
Davis, Kavus
28c053ff-5d95-400a-8f78-f069132d692a
McGibbon, Terence
66e751d2-dcf2-4642-9ba8-a1852b879d70
Firminger, Stephanie
ae657ec4-1a69-4d2d-b621-3e433839f1b2
Kapur, Narinder
9ea5d758-bba6-4bc9-be6b-b056c0c83d9d
Jansari, Ashok S, Davis, Kavus, McGibbon, Terence, Firminger, Stephanie and Kapur, Narinder
(2010)
When "long-term memory" no longer means "forever": analysis of accelerated long-term forgetting in a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Neuropsychologia, 48 (6), .
(doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.02.018).
Abstract
Classical amnesia involves a difficulty in transferring information to long-term memory and can be detected with standard clinical tests. However, there are some patients who pass these tests but nonetheless show longer-term memory impairments. A case study is presented of a patient, RY, with temporal lobe epilepsy, who exhibited such a profile of "accelerated long-term forgetting". To investigate the effect of recalling information on later retention, recall and recognition for pairs of novel stories were tested at five intervals ranging from 30 min to 4 weeks; we also manipulated whether or not recall and recognition were repeatedly tested for stories. Two studies are reported, one before RY commenced treatment with anticonvulsant medication, and one following 6 months of treatment. Very similar memory profiles were observed in both settings. Against a background of above average cognitive function, results showed that RY's free recall, although initially average or above, was significantly impaired at extended delays (within 24h) for non-repeatedly recalled episodic information. However, this contrasted with normal performance for information that had been repeatedly recalled. An unresolved issue in the field is the impact of anticonvulsant medication on alleviating long-term forgetting, and the current study shows that anticonvulsant medication can have negligible beneficial effects in improving the rate of long-term forgetting in this type of patient. In addition, our study highlights the possible protective effect of active review of recent episodic memories.
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Published date: May 2010
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Local EPrints ID: 156719
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/156719
ISSN: 0028-3932
PURE UUID: 024fc68d-d07b-4ccf-99fb-917b52375590
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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2010 15:52
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:45
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Author:
Ashok S Jansari
Author:
Kavus Davis
Author:
Terence McGibbon
Author:
Stephanie Firminger
Author:
Narinder Kapur
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