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Procedural memory system supports single cue trace eyeblink conditioning in medial temporal lobe amnesia
Regina E McGlinchey1, Stephen M Capozzi2, Catherine Brawn Fortier1
1Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.
Neuropsychology
|March 12, 2008
Summary
Patients with amnesia showed impaired trace eyeblink conditioning, suggesting residual learning relies on non-hippocampal memory systems like procedural memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- Studies show hippocampal damage impairs trace eyeblink conditioning (CRs) but doesn eliminate learning.
- The mechanism behind this residual learning in amnesic patients remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if residual trace conditioning in amnesic patients depends on hippocampal function or other memory systems.
- To compare learning in amnesic patients with trained and untrained control groups.
Main Methods:
- Bilateral medial temporal lobe amnesic patients with prior conditioning experience participated.
- A series of single cue trace conditioning tasks with varying trace intervals (500 ms, 250 ms, 0 ms) were used.
- Performance was compared against trained and untrained control groups.
Main Results:
- Amnesic patients acquired CRs at a level similar to untrained controls.
- However, amnesic patients were significantly impaired compared to trained controls.
- This suggests a reliance on pre-existing memory representations.
Conclusions:
- Impaired trace conditioning in amnesic patients is not due to residual hippocampal function.
- Amnesic patients may utilize previously acquired procedural memory, likely mediated by the cerebellum.
- This highlights the role of distinct memory systems in trace conditioning.
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