![]() ![]() Most people lose only some of their memories. Thankfully, few people with amnesia have cases as serious as those of HM in the 1950s and Wearing in the 1980s. But he sits down at a piano, says Goodwin, “and sounds extremely accomplished.” 49 Memory Training All of Wearing’s new memories melt away in seconds. “Though he could no longer read books or a newspaper,” says Jan Goodwin in an article in Reader’s Digest, “Clive, it turned out, could still read music.” The ability to play music, like the ability to speak or ride a bike, is part of a person’s pro- cedural memory-not the memory of facts such as names and faces, but of processes. Amazingly, though, Wearing can still play melodies. Sometimes he asks if she is the queen of England. He can still speak, but every day, he greets his wife as if meeting her for the very first time. Wearing remembers nothing from before his illness, and he has remembered nothing since. He lives with what experts believe is the worst case of amnesia in known history. He recovered from the illness, but he has never recovered his memories. The infection attacked the main memory centers of his brain. Seven out of ten people who get herpes encephalitis die if it is not treated immediately. The herpes virus, the same germ that causes common cold sores, found its way into his brain and created a life-threatening infection.Įncephalitis cases such as Wearing’s are very rare but very serious. Then, in March 1985, he came down with encephalitis. He directed a world-famous London symphony and even created the music played at the wedding of England’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana. There was a time when he was one of the world’s greatest musicians. But Wearing’s life was not always this way. Anything he learns or sees or does is forgotten in the amount of time it would take him to read this sentence. London resident Clive Wearing’s memory is exactly seven seconds long. ![]()
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