Question

What type of brain damage (what areas) caused HM's memory loss? What type of amnesia did he have?

HM's memory loss was a result of damage to specific brain areas, particularly...
The brain damage that led to HM's memory loss primarily affected the regions of...
HM's amnesia, known as ______, was caused by damage to the brain areas including...
The type of amnesia HM suffered from was attributed to the brain damage in the following areas...

Answer 1

HM's memory loss was due to damage to the medial temporal lobes, including the hippocampus and amygdala, causing anterograde and retrograde amnesia while sparing his procedural and short-term memory.

Step-by-step explanation:

The brain damage that led to HM's memory loss primarily affected the regions of the medial temporal lobes, including the hippocampus and amygdala. HM had bilateral lobectomy to relieve epilepsy, which resulted in his inability to form new episodic or semantic memories, known as anterograde amnesia.

He also experienced a partial loss of past memories, referred to as retrograde amnesia. Interestingly, HM retained his procedural memory and short-term memory, indicating that different parts of the brain are responsible for these functions.

The brain damage that caused HM's memory loss primarily affected his medial temporal lobes, specifically the hippocampus and amygdala. This damage resulted in anterograde amnesia, where HM was unable to form new memories. He could recall events from before his surgery, but had difficulty forming new episodic memories.