Language and the medial temporal lobe: Evidence from H.M.'s spontaneous discourse.

Previous researchers have found it challenging to disentangle the memory and language capabilities of the famous amnesic patient H.M. Here, we present an original linguistic analysis of H.M. based on empirical data drawing upon novel spoken discourse with him. The results did not uncover the languag...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Memory & Language Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 397 - 416
Autores principales: Skotko, Brian G., Andrews, Edna, Einstein, Gillian
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Academic Press Inc. September 2005
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Previous researchers have found it challenging to disentangle the memory and language capabilities of the famous amnesic patient H.M. Here, we present an original linguistic analysis of H.M. based on empirical data drawing upon novel spoken discourse with him. The results did not uncover the language deficits noted previously. Instead, H.M.'s level of oral usage was remarkably competent: he performed well within the normal range for his age and educational cohort. Thus, we found no support for the view that medial temporal lobe structures are critical for the maintenance of language comprehension and production. Copyright (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc.