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Comment
. 2019 Jul-Oct;10(4):210-212.
doi: 10.1080/17588928.2019.1593120. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Fast mappers, slow learners: Word learning without hippocampus is slow and sparse irrespective of methodology

David E Warren  1 , Melissa C Duff  2
Affiliations
Comment

Fast mappers, slow learners: Word learning without hippocampus is slow and sparse irrespective of methodology

David E Warren et al. Cogn Neurosci. 2019 Jul-Oct.

Abstract

Rapid word learning without the hippocampus is an alluring prospect - it holds the promise of remediating a common learning deficit associated with aging (healthy or pathological) and certain neurological conditions. Despite recent reports indicating rapid, non-hippocampal word learning by amnesic adults after contrastive 'fast-mapping' exposure, several replications have failed. These failures stand in contrast to successful but slow learning by amnesic patients under other conditions, and this pattern suggests that rapid word learning in adulthood is hippocampus-dependent and relational irrespective of learning format. However, much remains to be studied, and important methodological and theoretical considerations are highlighted here.

Keywords: Fast mapping; amnesia; hippocampus; relational memory; word learning.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of Interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

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