In this episode, I explore the intriguing condition of amnesia, the isolated loss of memory with the preservation of other cognitive disorders.

I use remarkable patient anecdotes, such as those of musician Clive Wearing, and of Jimmie G, a patient of neurologist Oliver Sacks, to illustrate the diverse causes of amnesia, from herpes virus encephalitis to chronic alcoholism.

I also narrate the clinical spectrum of amnesia with an emphasis on Korsakoff’s syndrome and transient global amnesia or TGA.

The podcast also goes back in time to review the case of Henry Molaison, the man whose profound amnesia, the consequence of experimental surgery for epilepsy, opened the way to our understanding of how memory works.