Final answer:
The change in Nicholas's memories is likely due to the house triggering nostalgic feelings, aligning with arousal theory where emotions fortify recollections. Memory changes can also be a result of brain regions being impacted, as seen in a young man with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which affected his short-term memory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phenomenon of Nicholas's changing memories could be attributed to various psychological processes. If Nicholas is experiencing a change in memories because the house triggers past emotions and recollections, option B, 'The house triggered nostalgic feelings', would be the most likely explanation. The power that a place can have over a person, sometimes known as 'the spirit of the place', suggests that the environment itself can evoke nostalgic memories that carry a substantial emotional charge. This phenomenon aligns with arousal theory, where a strong emotional experience like returning to an old house triggers the release of neurotransmitters and hormones, which then consolidate those emotional memories. On the other hand, option D, 'It's a result of cognitive therapy', could be considered if Nicholas was actively engaging in therapeutic practices aimed at revisiting and possibly altering his memory. This could involve strategies to address traumatic experiences and is similar to methods discussed in the context of recovering repressed memories, although such techniques are contentious and not universally accepted.
In the context of the young man unable to remember events during his hospital stay due to Hodgkin's lymphoma, it is likely that the antibodies affected regions of the brain responsible for short-term or working memory, such as the hippocampus or frontal lobes. This is known as anterograde amnesia, where the loss of memory occurs for events after the brain trauma. In a broader perspective, the cases of memory change for both Nicholas and the young man illustrate the complexity of memory systems in the brain, as well as the intricate ways in which they can be impacted by both internal and external influences.