Amnesia is a disease which is known for memory loss. Although there are different types of amnesia, the pain of losing memory is the same for amnesia patients. Claire Robertson, a 49-year-old nurse, suffered brain damage because of viral infection. Her hippocampi, where memories are formed, is destructed. She lost specific parts of memories, but still could retrieve procedural memory. She could drive a car or even take a piano lesson, but she could not remember of receiving a lesson. Also, she has the memory of previous learned facts such as Paris is the capital of France. However, she could not remember the sensations of her experience such as her sights and feels (Harrell, 2010).
image source is retrieved from http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Dissociative-amnesia.html
Claire’s symptoms conform to what we learned in lesson 6 about long-term memory. Generally, there are two types of long-term memory: explicit memory and implicit memory. The explicit memory is usually declarative and conscious, and it could be divided into two categories: episodic and semantic. In contrast, the implicit memory is often nondeclarative and unconscious. The implicit memory could be divided into three catagories of “priming,” “procedural,” and “conditioning” (Lesson 6, 2015, pp.7). The fact that Claire could not remember her experience of taking a lesson and her feeling of the experience is the loss of episodic memories. Episodic memory is the memory for experience and events which people participated (Lesson 6, 2015, pp.8). Also, the fact that Claire could remember the things she learned (Paris is the capital of France) showed that she still has semantic memory. Semantic memory refers to the facts and knowledge people have about the world. It is the memory about familiar things (Lesson 6, 2015, pp.9). In addition, since Claire still knows how to drive a car, her procedural memory is intact. This kind of memory is the memory of skills, such as how to ride a bike (Lesson 6, 2015, pp.11).
Although Claire still has intact semantic and procedural memories, her life is influenced by the lack of episodic memories. She does not remember her friends’ faces or her speical life events. Luckily, a new device called “Sensecam” could help her. This device is a mini-camera which could hang around Claire’s neck and automatically shots every 30 seconds. By the way, 30 seconds is the maximum time for short-term memory (Lesson 5, 2015, pp.4). Because Claire does not have episodic long-term memories, she could simply see the taken photos to find her experience. Her neuropsychologists, Catherine Loveday, stated that “Claire’s memory can’t store most of the pictures in any lasting way, but her ability to retain facts (her semantic memory) at least allows her to know she has experienced something. (Harrell, 2010)”
image is retrieved from http://sensecam.ucsd.edu/studies.php
While Sensecam could help people with amnesia find their previous experience, it could help them know what happened. However, this device depends on its users. For example, if the patient has intact episodic memories but lack of semantic memories, Sensecam would not be very helpful. Furthermore, it does not mean the patients could store episodic memories. They simply store some information in semantic memories through Sensecam. A leading amnesia expert in The University of Cambridge’s Barbara Wilson stated that “There’s no evidence Sensecam can restore episodic memory,” she says, “rehabilitation is not synonymous with recovery (Harrell, 2010).”
References
Harrell, E. (2010). Recovering Memory: Can a New Device Help Amnesia Patients?. TIME. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2022652,00.html
The Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Modal Model of Memory. Lesson 5 : Short-Term and Working Memory. pp4. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych256/001/content/06_lesson/04_page.html
The Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Different Types of Long-Term Memories. Lesson 6 : Long-Term Memory: Structure. pp7. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych256/001/content/07_lesson/07_page.html
The Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Episodic Memories. Lesson 6 : Long-Term Memory: Structure. pp8. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych256/001/content/07_lesson/08_page.html
The Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Semantic Memories. Lesson 6 : Long-Term Memory: Structure. pp9. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych256/001/content/07_lesson/09_page.html
The Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Implicit Memories—Procedural. Lesson 6 : Long-Term Memory: Structure. pp11. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych256/001/content/07_lesson/11_page.html
The two images are retrieved from http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Dissociative-amnesia.html and http://sensecam.ucsd.edu/studies.php
Xueqi,
I found your article very interesting, and decided to look into some other instances where Sensecam was able to help individuals with varying ailments. According to a case study from 2007, amnesia patient, Mrs B, was able to increase her level of recall for months after she had looked at the photos (www.theguardian.com). Years after, she had more neural activity in the brain where episodic memories are linked. Though I am assuming she did not have a full recovery, it is very promising to hear about an increase of neural firing in those areas that had been inhibited by amnesia though using Sensecam.
It has also been shown to increase recall in Alzheimer patients. Dr. Emma Woodberry conducted a study which found that Alzheimer’s patients could recall 85% of factual details after reviewing the Sensecam, but could only recall 56% when replaced with discussing a written diary of events for the same amount of time (www.theguardian.com). Though these findings provide promising evidence that Sensecam does, in fact, have a significant effect on recall, Dr. Doug Brown thinks the study is not large enough to draw conclusions that would result in making this product “widely available to people with dementia” (www.theguardian.com).
These case studies are a bit more recent than Claire’s, and I hope with the improvement of technology, this method of recall assistance will be further studied and eventually utilized.
Sources:
Flemming, N. (2014). How Wearable Cameras Can Help Those With Alzheimer’s. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/09/how-wearable-cameras-can-help-those-with-alzheimers
-Lia Stoffle