Задание
Прочитай текст и выполни задания 12–18. В каждом задании запиши в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному варианту ответа.
Memory Maketh Man
In 1953, Henry Molaison left an operating theatre in Connecticut and became one of neurology's most renowned case studies: H.M. In August of 1953, at the time of H.M.'s surgery, President Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House. But in Molaison's mind, he never left.
Molaison's operation was an attempt to cure epilepsy which he had suffered from since childhood. His doctor believed that the brain regions responsible for the seizures were the medial temporal lobes — and suggested a surgical removal. This is a practice that continues today, although a great deal more attention is given to the possible implications of removing areas of brain tissue. When Molaison had his surgery, little was known about functional specialisation of the brain — or the idea that different functions of the brain were localised in different brain regions.
Unfortunately, although the surgery was successful in its primary aim of curing Henry's epilepsy, it left him with severe memory damage. Molaison had anterograde amnesia — he was unable to form new memories. Molaison could still remember events and information learned prior to his surgery, such as childhood memories. Learning new information, however, became impossible. Molaison still believed he was living in 1953 up until his death in 2008. He could neither retain new information, nor remember his own experiences from after the surgery.
It became clear that the removal of the temporal lobes was responsible. Molaison's case helped to prove that temporal lobe structures play a key part in forming and retaining memories.
After Molaison's surgery, he became the focus of scientific study and fascination. Studies performed on him from the late 1950s until his death showed that Molaison had functional working (short-term) memory. His procedural memory was also intact — he could learn new motor skills with ease, despite not remembering learning to do them. This suggested that these types of memory are controlled by areas of the brain not affected by his surgery, leading the way for a more nuanced understanding of the many functions of what we term 'memory'.
Unable to convert short-term memories into long-term ones, Molaison lived his life completely in the present. Suzanne Corkin, a researcher who spent years of her career working with Molaison, described him as an 'engaging, docile man, with a keen sense of humour'. Although his lack of self-knowledge, and moment-to-moment existence makes it difficult to comprehend, Molaison retained his personality. He had the same manner, the same likes and dislikes, and the same sense of humour. This is perhaps much down to the type of memory loss Molaison suffered. While he remained 'frozen in time' at the age of 27 in a never-ending 1953, his retention of memories helped him to stay, in the minds of others as much as his own, the same person.
The same, sadly, cannot be said for those suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer's. Memory loss is an early and major symptom of this kind of dementia, and modern techniques have shown that the brain regions first affected by the disease are the very same which H.M. had removed. As well as memory loss, Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease which later affects the whole brain, leading to personality changes, which are thought to be localised in the frontal areas of the brain. Although symptoms and experiences of Alzheimer's are varied, many patients lose memories of their life which render them and they are no longer the same person. One daughter of a parent with Alzheimer's says 'I feel as though I lost my mum a long time ago… she became a different person.'
Today, we know broadly which functions are performed by different areas of the brain (partly thanks to patients like H.M.), but trends in neuroscience have changed, with many researchers now looking at the interconnectedness of brain regions. Whether memories are localised in one brain region or across many, memories, contained within neurons, hold our experiences of life. Perhaps it is these intricacies of a fully lived existence which accumulate to make us who we are.
12.What do we know about Henry Molaison from the first two paragraphs?
1) He was a neurologist.
2) He underwent surgery at the same time as Dwight Eisenhower.
3) He had a serious neurological disorder.
4) He was advised to remove his brain in order to cure his disorder.
13.What was Henry Molaison's postoperative complication?
1) He was unable to remember new information.
2) The epileptic seizures became more frequent and severe.
3) He could not remember his past.
4) He could not understand new information.
14.What did the Henry Molaison case help to understand?
1) The brain is a complicated organ.
2) Some regions of the brain influence the creation of memories.
3) Memories can be removed.
4) The surgeon who performed his operation was inadequately qualified.
15.What does the word intact ("His procedural memory was also intact…") in the 5th paragraph mean?
1) Complete.
2) Untouchable.
3) Not damaged.
4) Showing no effects or changes.
16.Which of the following sentences is FALSE? Henry Molaison…
1) lived only in the present.
2) did not change over time.
3) could not learn any new skills.
4) was a nice person.
17.Unlike the Henry Molaison case, Alzheimer's disease…
1) causes memory loss and the inability to remember information.
2) affects the regions of the brain that were not touched during Henry's surgery.
3) causes other diseases.
4) affects the entire brain.
18.What is the modern view of brain research?
1) All brain regions are connected to each other.
2) Neurons contain much more information than scientists previously thought.
3) Our brains make us our true selves.
4) The interconnection of neurons has changed throughout history.