Case studies

1) Henry Molaison
At age 27 ,H.M. whose real name was Henry Molaison, underwent an experimental
surgical treatment for his debilitating epilepsy 衰弱性癫痫. His surgeon removed the
medial temporal lobe, including a structure called the hippocampus 与学习记忆功能相
关的区域 . Thereafter , H.M. was unable to form new memories .

2) Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage is a man who survived an iron bar passing through his head. This accident
destroyed much of his brain’s left frontal lobe. He has influenced the 19 th century to
discuss about mind and brain. He also experienced personality changes such as losing his
inhibitions 羞涩 and behaving inappropriately 不适当 in social situations. It effected his
personality and behaviour over the remaining 12 years of his life . The rod pierced
through an area that has no easily discernible 可辨别 cognitive 认知,motor or sensory
functions. His most serious mental changes were temporary, so that in later life he was
far more functional and socially far better adapted , than in the years immediately
following his accident.

3) Spatial Neglect
In this condition there is damage to the parietal lobe of the brain. This results in the
patient completely ignoring the left side of their world- they only eat off the left side of
the plate , they only brush their hair on the left side . In copying a drawing they only
draw one side of it.
4) Pure alexia
Pure alexia is an acquired 获得 reading disorder and is caused by occlusion 堵塞 of
distal(posterior) 末端 branches of the left posterior cerebral artery. The patient can
understand and produce spoken language , name objects in the left visual hemifield,
repeat and write. However, the patient acts as if illiterate 文盲，目不识丁 when asked
to read even the simplest sentence because the visual information from the written
words . It is impossible for patients with pure Alexia to read silently. Patient with this
syndrome may also lose the ability to name colours , although they can match colours.

5) Mike the headless chicken

A chicken that lived for 18 months without a head . Part of the reason that the chicken
can survive is its Skeletal Anatomy 解剖结构. According to Dr.wayne J, Kuenzel a poultry
physiologist and neurobiologist at the university of Arkansas . The skull of a chicken
contains two massive openings for the eyes that allow the brain to be shoved upwards
into the skull at an angle of around45 degrees . This means that while some of the brain
may be sliced away , a very important part remains . Its because of the farmer axed off
its head .

6) Aphasia

Aphasia is an impairment 损害 of language, affecting the production or comprehension of

speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is always due to injury to the brain-most
commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. But brain injuries resulting in
aphasia may also arise from head trauma, from brain tumors, or from infections. Aphasia
can be so severe as to make communication with the patient almost impossible, or it can
be very mild. It may affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to
retrieve 恢复 the names of objects, or the ability to put words together into sentences, or
the ability to read.