Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of behaviour. Evaluate two relevant studies. (22)
Examine (22) – Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.Evaluate (22) – An appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.
Cognition: Memory
Physiology in terms of behaviour: Amnesia due to brain damage
Interactions: Retrieval and encoding of memory
The case study of Clive Wearing (Brain damage) |
Description |
- Suffered damage in Hippocampus due to a contraction of a virus.
- His disease left him with extensive brain damage (parts of his temporal lobes).
- Suffers from Retrograde and Anterograde amnesia.
- MRI scanning show damage to the hippocampus and some of frontal regions.
- Episodic memory and some of his semantic memory are lost.
- He can still play piano, conduct music and remember his wife.
- He still has his implicit memory including his emotional memory for his wife.
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[E] |
- Ecological validity: High, study of a real life case.
- Low potential ability to generalise because cases are individual.
- Ethics: Patient’s name was disclosed under consent.
|
Milner and Scoville- The Case Study of HM |
Description |
- HM suffered from epilepsy.
- Went through lesioning to remove temporal lobe.
- Surgeon accidentally removed parts of the Hippocampus (responsible for LTM retrieval).
- Caused anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
- Retrograde amnesia only affected memory up to 11 years before surgery.
- He can remember things 12 years before the accident.
- Discovered that the cortex and hippocampus is connected and years in first grade would not be fully consolidated until first year in sophomore.
- Emotional memory was intact, at the mention of the death of his favourite uncle, he experienced distress.
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[E] |
- Ecological validity: High, study of a real life case.
- Low potential ability to generalise because cases are individual.
- Ethics: Patient’s name was kept confidential until he died.
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