When the brain, but not the person, remembers: Cortical reinstatement is modulated by retrieval goal in developmental amnesia

Developmental amnesia (DA) is associated with early hippocampal damage and subsequent episodic emerging in childhood alongside age-appropriate development of semantic knowledge. We employed fMRI to assess whether patients DA show evidence ‘cortical reinstatement’, a neural correlate memory, despite their amnesia. At study, 23 participants (5 patients) were presented words overlaid on scene or scrambled image for later recognition. Scene reinstatement was indexed by memory effects (greater activity previously paired rather than images) that overlapped perception effects. Patients demonstrated the parahippocampal retrosplenial cortex equivalent those shown healthy controls. Behaviourally, however, showed markedly impaired memory. The data indicate can occur damage, but cortical insufficient support accurate performance. Furthermore, diminished during retrieval task which information not relevant responding, indicating strategic mnemonic processes operate normally DA. suggest trial-specific contextual decoupled from experience recollection presence severe atrophy.