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Cited by 433Memory Processes and InfluencesMemory and Neural MechanismsCognitive Functions and Memory

The case of K.C.: contributions of a memory-impaired person to memory theory

Rosenbaum, R. Shayna, Köhler, Stefan, Schacter, Daniel L., Moscovitch, Morris, Westmacott, Robyn, Black, Sandra E., Gao, Fuqiang, Tulving, Endel·2005·Neuropsychologia
DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.10.007
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Abstract

K.C. has been investigated extensively over some 20 years since a motorcycle accident left him with widespread brain damage that includes large bilateral hippocampal lesions, which caused a remarkable case of memory impairment. On standard testing, K.C.'s anterograde amnesia is as severe as that of any other case reported in the literature, including H.M. However, his ability to make use of knowledge and experiences from the time before his accident shows a sharp dissociation between semantic and episodic memory. A good deal of his general knowledge of the world, including knowledge about himself, is preserved, but he is incapable of recollecting any personally experienced events. In displaying such "episodic amnesia," which encompasses an entire lifetime of personal experiences, K.C. differs from many other amnesic cases. Here, we document for the first time the full extent of K.C.'s brain damage using MRI-based quantitative measurements. We then review the many investigations with K.C. that have contributed to our understanding not only of episodic and semantic memory but also to the development of other aspects of memory theory. These include the distinction between implicit and explicit memory, the prospect of new learning in amnesia, and the fate of recent and remote memory for autobiographical and public events, people, and spatial locations.

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  • The hippocampus seems critical in both the retrieval of episodic memories and the generation of imagined future events.

    “Again, this shared deficit is true of other amnesic patients with comparable hippocampal damage [16–20], and thus the hippocampus seems critical in both the retrieval of episodic memories and the generation of imagined future events.”

    From Is episodic-like memory <i>like</i> episodic memory? (2024) · cites this paper as [18]

  • The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) features prominently in the literature on event schemas in humans.

    “The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) features prominently in the literature on event schemas in humans 22,190 .”

    From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [190]

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Authors
Rosenbaum, R. S., Köhler, S., Schacter, D. L., Moscovitch, M., Westmacott, R., Black, S. E., Gao, F., & Tulving, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Western University (CA)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • University Health Network (CA)
  • Sunnybrook Health Science Centre (CA)
Corresponding author
Rosenbaum, R. Shayna
ORCID
Venue
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2005-01
Volume
43
Issue
7
Pages
989-1021
ISSN
0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.10.007
OpenAlex
W2122910753
Cited by
433
References
196
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
FWCI
9.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
anterograde amnesia, semantic memory, hippocampal lesions, memory theory, autobiographical memory, remote memory
MeSH terms
Adult, Amnesia, Retrograde, Brain Damage, Chronic, Hippocampus, Humans, Imagination, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Personality, Temporal Lobe, Amnesia, Anterograde

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