The Journal of Neuroscience, September 15, 2000, 20(18):7024-7036
Profound Amnesia After Damage to the Medial Temporal Lobe: A
Neuroanatomical and Neuropsychological Profile of Patient E. P.
Lisa
Stefanacci1,
Elizabeth A.
Buffalo2,
Heike
Schmolck1, and
Larry
R.
Squire1, 2, 3, 4
Departments of 1 Psychiatry,
2 Neurosciences, and 3 Department of
Psychology, University of California, La Jolla, California 92093, and
4 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, California
92161
E. P. became profoundly amnesic in 1992 after viral
encephalitis, which damaged his medial temporal lobe bilaterally.
Because of the rarity of such patients, we have performed a detailed
neuroanatomical analysis of E. P.'s lesion using magnetic
resonance imaging, and we have assessed his cognitive abilities with a
wide range of neuropsychological tests. Finally, we have compared and
contrasted the findings for E. P. with the noted amnesic patient
H.M, whose surgical lesion is strikingly similar to E. P.'s lesion.
Key words:
memory; hippocampus; amnesia; E. P.; medial temporal
lobe; encephalitis
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/20187024-13$05.00/0