Question

Daisy, a sixteen-year-old, was in a car accident in which she suffered a serious brain injury. Since then, Daisy is unable to remember anything about her past experiences. She cannot recall what she did last week, how the accident happened, or any of her childhood experiences. However, she is able to read, write, and speak accurately and remembers the names of countries, things, places, and famous people. In the context of long-term memory, explain what happened.

Answer 1

Answer:

Daisy's episodic memory is impaired, but her semantic memory is intact.

Explanation:

Episodic memory is the type of memory that holds events experienced by the person. That is, it is the memory that holds the places the person went, important dates, events that occurred and other things that the patient was present at the moment. If Daisy can't remember what she did last week, how the accident happened, or any of her childhood experiences, then her episodic memory is compromised.

Semantic memory allows humans to communicate with language. In semantic memory, the brain stores information about words, what they look and represent, and how they are used in an organized manner. Daisy is able to read, write and speak accurately and remember the names of countries, things, places and famous people, that means her semantic memory is intact.