Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Visual Agnosia

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is the inability to recognize faces. In severe cases, individuals with prosopagnosia may not recognize close family members, including parents and spouses, by their faces. For instance, someone with prosopagnosia might walk past their child in a crowd, only realizing their mistake upon noticing their child's distinctive backpack or favorite jacket. Prosopagnosia specifically impairs facial recognition, while the recognition of other objects or...

Dissociative Amnesia

Dissociative Amnesia

Dissociative amnesia is a complex psychological condition that manifests as an inability to recall personal information, often tied to traumatic or stressful events. Unlike general amnesia, individuals with this condition retain the ability to perform routine activities and procedural tasks, such as operating a phone or navigating public transportation, yet experience profound gaps in autobiographical memory. These lapses may encompass significant life events, such as suicide attempts or...

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...

Amnesia

Amnesia

Amnesia is a condition marked by long-term memory loss, which impairs the ability to recall past events or create new memories.
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...

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Exploring the experiences of autistic and non-autistic aphantasics: A qualitative study.

Neuropsychologia·2026

Same author

Subtract to solve: a pilot study testing implicit and experiential interventions against additive bias.

Frontiers in cognition·2026

Same author

Evolution of the frontal aslant tract and implications for primate vocalization and human speech.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Invisible variations: Associations and subtypes of visual imagery vividness extremes.

Neuropsychologia·2026

Same author

"Behind a dark curtain": The lived experiences of aphantasia.

Neuropsychologia·2026

Same author

DECODE: An innovative tool to aid cross-linguistic neuropsychological assessment.

The Clinical neuropsychologist·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Published on: August 30, 2011

Visual complexity accentuates picture-description deficit in amnesia.

Michaela Dewar¹, Maria Adriana Neroni², Adam Zeman³

¹Psychology, Heriot-Watt University.

Neuropsychology

|June 30, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Amnesic patients show greater deficits in describing complex pictures, suggesting memory impairment impacts detailed narrative construction. This highlights the role of memory complexity in picture description abilities.

More Related Videos

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection

Published on: March 10, 2021

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Published on: February 16, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Published on: August 30, 2011

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection

Published on: March 10, 2021

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Published on: February 16, 2011

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuropsychology

Background:

Amnesia can impair describing past and imagined scenarios.
Previous studies show conflicting results regarding picture description deficits in amnesic patients.
Picture complexity may explain these discrepancies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if picture complexity influences description differences between amnesic patients and controls.
To test the hypothesis that memory impairment effects are more pronounced with complex stimuli.

Main Methods:

Examined picture description abilities in amnesic patients and controls.
Varied picture complexity (simple vs. complex).
Assessed the description of imagined scenarios.

Main Results:

Amnesic patients described fewer elements than controls for both pictures and imagined scenarios.
The deficit in picture description was significantly larger for complex pictures compared to simple ones.
Group differences in describing imagined scenarios were also observed.

Conclusions:

Picture complexity is a critical factor in observing description deficits in amnesic patients, particularly those with extramedial temporal lobe lesions.
Findings suggest a narrative-construction deficit in amnesia.
Detailed narrative construction may rely on temporary memory systems like the episodic buffer.