Profound amnesia after damage to the medial temporal lobe: A neuroanatomical and neuropsychological profile of patient E. P.

Abstract

E. P. became profoundly amnesic in 1992 after viral encephalitis, which damaged his medial temporal lobe bilaterally. Because of the rarity of such patients, we have performed a detailed neuroanatomical analysis of E. P's lesion using magnetic resonance imaging, and we have assessed his cognitive abilities with a wide range of neuropsychological tests. Finally, we have compared and contrasted the findings for E. P. with the noted amnesic patient H.M, whose surgical lesion is strikingly similar to E. P.'s lesion.