Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA04806 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 5 Dec 2001 20:57:41 GMT X-Sender: wsmith1@camail2.harvard.edu Message-Id: <p0500190bb8343724f43c@[128.103.125.243]> In-Reply-To: <001d01c17dca$a9e1d520$2a24f4d8@teddace> References: <1A32D0CE-E8ED-11D5-97EA-003065A0F24C@harvard.edu> <001d01c17dca$a9e1d520$2a24f4d8@teddace> Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 15:52:25 -0500 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk From: "Wade T. Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> Subject: Re: Definition please Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> How would we recognize a "memory" in the
>brain if we saw one? Moreover, how would we recognize its absence? In the
>sense that it's neither verifiable nor falsifiable, it fails to qualify as a
>scientific theory.
Sorry, but it's fairly well established, even scientifically, that
without a brain, memories don't happen. Recall is verifiable. Absence
of signal is falsifiable. Perhaps someone here will post the
seventeen thousand pages of studies that have already been done....
And we have 'seen' memories happen, with fMRI and with stimulation of
specific areas of the, gee, the brain.
And hey, here's one I found in three seconds-
******
"Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volumes of the Hippocampus and the
Amygdala in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder and Early
Traumatization
Driessen M, Herrmann J, Stahl K, et al
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:1115-1122
Previous research indicated that decreased hippocampal volume has
been found in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as
well as in females who are survivors of early sexual or physical
abuse. The authors attempted to look at possible volumetric brain
differences in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a
disorder that is often associated with early childhood trauma. They
compared 21 female patients who were diagnosed with BPD with 21
matched controls and looked at MRI volumetric measurements of the
hippocampus, amygdala, temporal lobes, and proencephalon.
Neuropsychological testing examining memory function was also
administered to both cohort groups. The authors found that the
females with BPD had a 16% reduction in hippocampal volume and an 8%
reduction in amygdalal volume bilaterally. No differences in
neuropsychological testing were detected between the 2 groups.
However, within the BPD group, no significant difference in volume
measurements was seen in those who reported traumatic experiences
compared with those who did not."
*****
Where else _you_ gonna look?
Like I said, your rainbow ain't got a pot at its end.
- Wade
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