Why did Ellen Barry's father obsess over leaving home after a brain injury, yet vividly remember losing a canary at age six? A neuroscientist revealed that damage to his right hippocampus destroyed his sense of place—but emotionally salient memories were protected in a different brain region, offering hope for preserving identity in dementia. Damage to the right hippocampus, which processes spatial memory and sense of location, explained why Ellen's father couldn't remember he was home and felt compelled to leave constantly for four years.