After a Fierce Tackle on the Line of Scrimmage, a Football

Essay

After a fierce tackle on the line of scrimmage, a football player briefly loses consciousness. When he regains it, the team doctor begins asking him questions. The player knows his name, the date, his team name, and how he got to the game. He also remembers where he lives and events that happened during his childhood. When given a list of seven digits to remember for 15 seconds, he has no trouble doing so. So far, the doctor is relieved. Exerting caution, the doctor tells the player to go sit at the end of the bench. Fifteen minutes later, she approaches him again and says, "Let's run through that battery of memory tests again." The player replies, "What memory tests? This is the first time I've seen you today, doc." Which parts of the memory and brain systems are working, and which are not?