The Man with a 30 Second Memory

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmzU47i2xgw[/youtube]

Yes, I've seen this documentary before. He has extensive damage to his temporal lobes...they are almost non-existent. The temporal lobes store conscious memories.

However there is also sub conscious memory, which in Clive, seems somewhat intact, as he can still perceive a concept of the passage of time and still becomes accustom to cyclic situations.

I think the fact that his wife is the only one he remembers says a lot about how much he loved/loves her though. He must have/have had the memory of her imbedded multiple ways in multiple parts of his brain.

I also remember seeing a program about this guy some time ago. IIRC it said that he could recognize his wife in terms of his feelings toward her, but wouldn't know her name or the explicit fact that she was his wife. I guess his feelings of comfort & safety let him feel relaxed with her (imagine "waking up" to strangers every 30 seconds).

It's interesting how there seems to be functions of our brains which we're aware of, and others that are there but sort of aren't connected to the deliberate/conscious part of our minds.

It makes me wonder how much unconscious processing our brains are doing all the time; how much of what we feel is "ourselves" perceiving, thinking, and doing things is really due to our will and how much is mediated by these 'unconscious' processes.

Reminds me of the biblical verses in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, "Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."