Question 1
A woman with hippocampal damage says: 'I know I went to Paris last June; my husband showed me the photographs and the tickets. I also know it is the capital of France, and I can still ride a bicycle. But I cannot remember anything about being there.' Which description is best?
- A.
Her semantic memory is lost, since she depends on her husband and the photographs to tell her anything about the trip.
- B.
Her procedural memory is lost, since she cannot recall how the trip felt.
- C.
Her episodic memory is intact, since she knows that the trip happened.
- D.
Knowing that she went is semantic and riding is procedural; the loss is episodic recollection of being there.
Answer: D. Knowing that she went is semantic and riding is procedural; the loss is episodic recollection of being there.
Knowing facts, including that the trip occurred, is semantic memory; riding a bicycle is procedural memory; and re-experiencing a personal event is episodic memory, which depends on the hippocampus. A is wrong because she can state facts, B because she can still ride, and C because knowing an event occurred is not remembering it.