"The doctors said that he would gradualy lose his memory -- not his ability to form new memories, but his ability to retrieve old ones . . . in short, to understand who he was.
Tom's hand shot up. To my amazement, he suggested that [Karl] Pribram was overstating the connection between temporal - lobe memory and overall identity. Temporal lobe or not, you still like the same things, Tom argued -- your sensory systems aren't affected. If you're patient and kind or a jerk, he said, such personality traits aren't governed by the temporal lobes.
Pribram was unruffled. Many of us dono't realize the connection between memory and self, he explained. Who you are is the sum total of all that you've experiences. Where you went to school, who your friends were, all the things you've done or -- just as importantly -- all the things you've always hoped to do. Whether you prefer chocolate ice cream or vanilla, action movies or comedies, is part of the story, but the ability to know those preferences through accumulated memory is what defines you as a person. This seemed right to me. I'm not just someone who likes chocolate ice cream, I;m someone who knows, who remembers that I like chocolate ice cream. And I remember my favorite places to eat it, and the people I;ve eaten it with.
Pribram walked up to the lectern and gripped it with both hands. When they had spoken last, his colleague seemed more sad than frightened. He was worried about the loss of self more than the loss of memory. He;d still have his intelligence, the doctors said, but no memories."
When this happens - who are you? Are you still yourself? I worry about Altzeheimers and dementia. I worry of becoming a husk of flesh - a burden to my family.
Comments