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Many people will probably not put much attention to the importance of memory until they hear the case of Clive Wearing, a man whose memory would last only for a few seconds. Clive was a healthy musician until he got sick which changed his whole life, an experience that also shows the importance of memory in people’s lives.
It was in 1985 when Clive lost his memory. Before this incident, he was a keyboardist, a tenor, a musicologist, and a conductor (“Clive Wearing”). Clive had herpes encephalitis which affected some parts of his brain that are responsible for memory (Sacks). As a result, he suffered from chronic anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia. With anterograde amnesia, Clive can no longer create new memories, and he can only remember his present for a few seconds. On the other hand, retrograde amnesia cleared all his memory of the past. It is said that Clive has “the most devastating case of amnesia ever recorded” (Sacks). His case has been featured in many stories including a documentary entitled Life Without Memory: The Case of Clive Wearing. In this film, Dr. Parkin specifically explained that the herpes encephalitis that Clive had affected his left and right temporal lobes and a significant portion of his left frontal lobe (Forte). The hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, is located in the temporal lobes. This is why Clive suffered from severe memory impairment. According to Deborah, Clive’s wife, “Clive’s world now consists of a moment with no past to anchor it and no future to look ahead to” (Forte). Despite his condition, however, he continues to remember his wife, and every time he sees her, it is as if it is the first time he is seeing her again. Clive’s condition is literally a depiction of living in the moment.
Clive’s case shows several important aspects about memory. First, his condition allows people to see that there are different types of memory. For example, Clive lost his declarative memory (memories that can be declared, such as a name of a place or person) which means that he can no longer remember facts and events in his life. He cannot remember his children, his past career, or even the things that happened few minutes before his perceived first awakening. To him, every thirty seconds or even less is his first time to wake up after a long time. However, he retained his procedural memory, his memory of skills and his ability to perform things. This is why he can still remember how to play the piano. In addition, Clive’s case also shows that there are different parts of the brain that are responsible for different kinds of memory. For instance, the cerebellum plays a role in processing procedural memories. In Clive’s case, his cerebellum remains intact. However, his hippocampus was severely damaged which is why his episodic and semantic memories were lost.
Overall, there is no doubt that Clive Wearing’s condition is an unfortunate one. It shows people the complexity and importance of memory as well as the different parts of the brain which perform these functions. Without the ability to recall the past, Clive has nothing to look back to and reflect on. At the same time, without the ability to form new memories, it seems like he also has nothing to look forward to. Because of the loss of his memory, he can no longer live a normal life. Instead, he is only living in a blink of an eye. What happened to his life is a powerful message to people to value their ability to recall and function normally and to put this ability to good use.
Works Cited
“Clive Wearing: The Man With the 30 Second Memory.” Futurism. Futurism, 29 May 2014. Web. 18 July 2016.
Forte, Mike. “Clive Wearing Living Without Memory.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 17 February 2013. Web. 18 July 2016.
Sacks, Oliver. “The Abyss.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 24 September 2007. Web. 18 July 2016.
