Professor Linsmeier was recently in a motorcycle accident that left him with brain damage. He has no trouble teaching his economics course, which he has taught for 15 years. However, Professor Linsmeier has lost the ability to remember new information, such as the names of his students. He is most likely experiencing a. retrograde amnesia b. proactive interference c. anterograde amnesia d. retroactive interference

Short Answer

Expert verified
The Professor is most likely experiencing anterograde amnesia.

Step by step solution

01

Elimination

Start by eliminating the options that are not applicable based on the details given. Retrograde amnesia refers to the inability to recall past memories or learned information, so this can't be the case since the Professor can remember information about teaching his economics course which he has taught for 15 years. Retroactive interference is when new information makes it harder to remember old information, which also doesn't apply here because the professor has no trouble with his old memories. Proactive interference occurs when past memories inhibit an individual's ability to retain new memories, this doesn't seem right either since the Professor's problem is with new information not old.
02

Identify Correct Answer

Once the first three options have been appropriately discounted based on the definitions of these terms and their relevance to the case of Professor Linsmeier, the last remaining option is anterograde amnesia.
03

Validate

Anterograde amnesia is characterized by an individual's inability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. This is exactly what Professor Linsmeier is experiencing as he can't remember new information but has no trouble with information from before the accident that caused his condition.

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