2.2.4 Case studies of brain-damaged patients (HM) Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. Which patient is the best-known case study of memory loss after brain surgery, studied by Scoville and Milner?

   • Clive Wearing
   • Henry Molaison (HM)
   • Broca's patient Tan
   • Phineas Gage

2. What was the surgery that HM underwent to treat his epilepsy?

   • Bilateral removal of parts of the medial temporal lobes, including the hippocampus
   • Insertion of a deep brain stimulator into the thalamus, which was used to control his seizures
   • Removal of the frontal lobe on one side of the brain, to reduce the spread of seizure activity
   • Removal of the corpus callosum, which separated the two hemispheres of the brain for the first time

3. What was the main memory deficit HM showed after his surgery?

   • Loss of the ability to rehearse verbal information in the phonological loop of the working memory
   • Severe anterograde amnesia, meaning he could not form new long-term episodic memories
   • Loss of the ability to see colours, which left him unable to recognise objects by their visual features
   • Complete loss of all long-term memories, including childhood memories and general knowledge of language

4. Which type of memory was largely preserved in HM despite his severe amnesia?

   • Ability to form new semantic knowledge from classes, which he could then recall in detail after each lesson
   • Memory for the events in his life before the surgery, which he could recall in full detail
   • Episodic memory of events after the surgery, which he could recall in detail as if the events had just happened
   • Procedural and short-term verbal memory, such as keeping a short conversation in mind

5. Why is the HM case study regarded as important to the understanding of memory?

   • It showed that all memory is stored in the frontal lobes, so the temporal lobes have no role in memory at all
   • It showed that memory is unaffected by brain damage, so brain surgery has no lasting effect on memory at all
   • It supported the distinction between different memory systems and showed the role of the medial temporal lobes
   • It showed that memory depends only on the sensory register, which is removed in patients with any brain damage

6. What is a strength of case studies of brain-damaged patients such as HM?

   • They provide data that are always reliable, since each brain-damaged patient is identical to every other
   • They provide detailed, rich qualitative data about the effects of damage that is rare and hard to study otherwise
   • They provide large samples of quantitative data, which can be generalised easily to the whole population
   • They provide controlled experimental conditions, which allow cause and effect to be tested directly

7. What is a limitation of case studies of brain-damaged patients?

   • Each patient's damage is unique, so findings may not generalise to other people with similar injuries
   • Each patient's damage is always caused by a laboratory procedure, so findings are always ecologically valid
   • Each patient's damage is always easy to measure, so the data are always fully reliable across studies
   • Each patient's damage is identical, so findings always generalise perfectly to every other patient with injury

8. What is a limitation of qualitative data from HM's case, such as his responses to tests?

   • Interpretation is always objective, since qualitative data are measured by machines and never by researchers
   • Interpretation is always quantitative, since the responses are converted into numbers before any analysis begins
   • Interpretation may be subjective, and it is harder to replicate than quantitative data from a controlled study
   • Interpretation is always statistically significant, since qualitative data always produce a p-value below .01

9. Which ethical issue arises in the study of patients such as HM?

   • Right to withdraw, since patients are always forced to remain in a study once they have started the tests
   • Deception, since the patient was told the study was about driving when it was about memory in fact
   • Confidentiality and consent, since the patient's identity and private medical information must be protected
   • Protection from risk, since the patient was placed in a competitive situation with a financial penalty for losing

10. Which conclusion about brain function does the HM case support?

    • Specific brain structures, such as the medial temporal lobes, are important for forming new long-term memories
    • Brain function is entirely random, so no specific structure is important for any form of memory in any patient
    • Brain function is identical in all regions, so damage to any single area of the brain has no effect on memory
    • Brain function depends only on the heart, so brain structures have no role in memory formation at any stage

11. Why is HM's case relevant to the nature-nurture debate?

    • It suggests that memory is entirely learned, so brain structure has no role in the formation of memories at all
    • It suggests that memory is unrelated to both genes and experience, so the nature-nurture debate is irrelevant
    • It suggests that brain function, which is partly inherited, shapes memory, while experience shapes its contents
    • It suggests that memory is entirely inherited, so experience has no effect on the contents of memory at all

12. Which evaluation point is most relevant to the use of case studies in memory research?

    • Case studies can only be carried out with large groups of patients, which makes them the most reliable method
    • Case studies cannot generate any hypotheses, since they only describe what has already happened in the past
    • Case studies can generate hypotheses for further research, though they cannot establish general laws alone
    • Case studies can always establish general laws, since a single patient proves a rule that applies to everyone

13. A patient with bilateral hippocampal damage can recall a childhood holiday but cannot learn new names. What does this suggest?

    • New memories are fully preserved while childhood memories are always lost, which shows the hippocampus is not needed for memory
    • Both old and new memories are equally impaired, which shows that hippocampal damage affects only sensory memory
    • Both old and new memories are equally preserved, which shows that hippocampal damage has no effect on memory
    • Old memories may be preserved while the ability to form new episodic memories is impaired

14. Which of these is an example of a case study that could complement HM's findings?

    • A laboratory test of reaction times in healthy adults, with no comparison to any patient with damage at all
    • A survey of university students' study habits, with no link to any form of brain damage or neurological condition
    • A questionnaire about dietary habits, with no link to memory function or to any brain structure in the study
    • A study of another patient with a different pattern of damage, to compare how memory is affected

15. What is the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia?

    • Anterograde amnesia is loss of memories from before the injury, retrograde is difficulty forming new memories after it
    • Anterograde amnesia is difficulty forming new memories after the injury, retrograde is loss of memories from before it
    • Anterograde amnesia is loss of language only, retrograde is loss of visual perception only in the patient
    • Anterograde amnesia is loss of all sensory input, retrograde is loss of all motor skills in the patient

16. Which feature of HM's case made it valuable for distinguishing memory types?

    • His total loss of all memory, which made it impossible to test any type of memory in the laboratory
    • His complete preservation of all memories, which made it impossible to find any dissociation at all
    • His loss of only visual memory, which made it impossible to compare verbal and semantic memory in any way
    • His preserved short-term and procedural abilities alongside severe loss of new episodic memory

17. Which of these is the best description of qualitative data from a case study?

    • The reaction times measured in milliseconds for each trial, which are then averaged for each participant
    • The frequency of each response in a closed questionnaire, which is recorded as a count in a table
    • Detailed, non-numerical information such as descriptions, observations and interview content
    • Numerical scores from a standardised test, which are recorded on an interval scale with equal spacing throughout

18. Which feature of HM's amnesia is most often highlighted in psychology textbooks?

    • He could not hold any information in short-term memory at all, so every conversation had to restart from the beginning
    • He could form new memories without any difficulty, but lost all memories of his life in the year before surgery
    • He lost the ability to speak, so his memory could only be tested through written responses on paper tests
    • He could not form new long-term episodic memories, although his short-term memory span was largely intact

19. Why is the study of HM considered a useful source of evidence for memory researchers?

    • Because his damage affected all brain regions equally, which gave no information about any specific structure
    • Because his memory was tested in a large field study with thousands of participants over many years in the community
    • Because his damage was specific to medial temporal structures, giving information about their role in memory
    • Because his memory was unaffected by the surgery, which showed that the brain does not play a role in memory

20. Which statement about amnesic patients such as HM is most accurate?

    • All aspects of memory are always impaired together, which shows that memory is a single unified system
    • Amnesic patients only show impairment in sensory memory, so they cannot inform theories of long-term memory
    • Different aspects of memory can be selectively impaired, supporting the idea of separate memory systems
    • Amnesic patients never show any impairment in new learning, so they cannot inform theories of memory at all

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