Human Amnesia Research Articles

A review of theories of human amnesia

Six theories of human amnesia are examined. Each is categorized according to the processing ability that is conceived to underlie the amnesic deficit. The theories fall into one of four categories: consolidation, retrieval, semantic encoding, and context encoding deficit theories. The recently proposed context encoding deficit theories are found to offer the most satisfactory account of the human amnesic syndrome. It is suggested that the other theoretical approaches are best viewed as special cases of these context encoding deficit theories.

Specifying the defect in human amnesia: Storage, retrieval and semantics

This review considers explanations of amnesia that attempt to specify the nature of the defect. A retrieval disorder operating at the time of retention testing is inconsistent with the facts of amnesia. The evidence is strong that the defect in both human amnesia and amnesia in experimental animals occurs at the time of learning or during the retention interval. Semantic issues blur the distinction between storage hypotheses and some retrieval hypotheses.

The hippocampus, space, and human amnesia

The hippocampus, space, and human amnesia