Despite their poor memories, the am

Despite their poor memories, the amnesic pair weren’t completely oblivious to what they had just eaten. In another part of the experiment, they were allowed to taste a range of foods – rice pudding, crisps, or chocolate, asked to wait a bit, and then offered the plates again. Most people, like you or I, seek a variety of flavours, so we change our preference a second time round – a phenomenon called “sensory specific satiety”. Like us, the two amnesic volunteers also felt less tempted by their previous choice – even though they said they had no recollection of having eaten it. Their changing preference suggests they didn’t have a problem with the sensory processing of the dishes – it’s just they couldn’t form an explicit, conscious memory of the meal. And without that recollection, they still felt hungry, even when their stomachs were full.