Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Assessment of Memory Function in Pilocarpine-induced Epileptic Mice
Published on: June 4, 2020
Reorganization of associative memory in humans with long-standing hippocampal damage
Mischa Braun1, Carsten Finke, Florian Ostendorf
1Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Conflicting theories have been advanced to explain why hippocampal lesions affect distinct memory domains and spare others. Recent findings in monkeys suggest that lesion-induced plasticity may contribute to the seeming preservation of some of these domains. We tested this hypothesis by investigating visuo-spatial associative memory in two patient groups with similar surgical lesions to the right medial temporal lobe, but different preoperative disease courses (benign brain tumours, mean: 1.8 +/- 0.6 years, n = 5, age: 28.2 +/- 4.0 years; hippocampal sclerosis, mean: 16.8 +/- 1.9 years, n = 9, age: 38.9 +/- 4.1 years). Compared to controls (n = 14), tumour patients showed a significant delay-dependent deficit in memory of colour-location associations. No such deficit was observed in hippocampal sclerosis patients, which appeared to benefit from a compensatory mechanism that was inefficient in tumour patients. These results indicate that long-standing hippocampal damage can yield significant functional reorganization of the neural substrate underlying memory in the human brain. We suppose that this process accounts for some of the discrepancies between results from previous lesion studies of the human medial temporal lobe.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Amnesia
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Storage

