Question

Uncle Leo was recently in a car accident and while he still has memories from before the event, he can't form any new long-term memories. He most likely suffered damage to what part of his brain?

Answer 1

Uncle Leo likely suffered damage to his hippocampus, as it is crucial for forming new long-term memories and his condition, anterograde amnesia, reflects this type of impairment.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Uncle Leo is unable to form new long-term memories after his car accident, but can still recall old memories, he has likely suffered damage to the hippocampus.

This region of the brain, specifically part of the medial temporal lobes, is crucial for the formation of new memories, a phenomenon that was observed in the famous case of patient H.M. This condition is known as anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to form new long-term declarative memories, such as facts and events, following the damage.