Some amnesic patients can freely recall large amounts of information in new contexts

Abstract

A previously reported technique for promoting robust free recall in amnesic subjects (Ridiculously Imaged Stories) was further studied in 2 amnesic patients to determine if there is a limit to the amount of information that can be acquired and if the novelty of the storyline is essential for its efficacy. Two different lists of words were taught to each subject embedded in either a ridiculous or a logical story. The subjects learned combined totals of 160 (S1)and 120 (S2) words with perfect free recall at intervals up to 7 wk between last list exposure and recall. No differences were observed in rates of learning between the 2 types of stories. These results challenge the view that amnesic subjects are unable to freely recall large amounts of new information within a newly acquired context. A theoretical integration of the data is explored.