The Case Study of H.M.

The Case Study of H.M. Amanda Caulfield, Jeffrey Taboada, and Shelby Smith Henry MolaisonWhen he was 7 years old he suffered a bicycle accident resulting in him having intractable epilepsy. At age 27 he underwent surgery in order to reduce the severity of his epilepsy.He lost his memory on an operating table in August of 1953.

The OperationConsisted of removing his hippocampus and parts of his temporal lobe. He was able to recall memories of his childhood, but no longer remember anything of his past close to the operation.He had also suffered a retrograde memory loss (a loss of memory prior to brain damage) for eleven years before his operation.

The ExperimentsFor 55 years Henry participated in numerous experiments, mainly at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Professor Suzanne Corkin and her team examined him. He was able to learn and remember a set of numbers, but this memory would only last for a short period of time. He was still capable of learning new motor skills.

His DeathHenry died on December 2, 2008, at the age of 82.The study of Molaison changed the understanding of human memory. Up until then it was not known that the hippocampus was essential for making memories, and if we loose both of these pieces of our brain it can lead to global amnesiaOne this was realized, the findings were widely publicized so that this operation to remove both hippocampus would never be done again.

SourcesMemory - body, The Strange Case of H.M.. (n.d.). Retrieved fromhttp://www.humanillnesses.com/Behavioral-Health-Fe-Mu/Memory.html

Jenni, Ph.D., O. (2012,January 16).HM, the Man with No Memory. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/trouble-in-mind/201201/hm-the-man-no-memory

Newhouse, B. (2007, February 24). H.m.'s brain and the history of memory. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7584970H.M.'s Brain and the History of MemoryNPRWeekend Edition Saturday, track 52007Research News769843.6npr - CommentIn 1953, radical brain surgery was used on a patient with severe epilepsy. The operation on "H.M." worked, but left him with almost no long-term memory. H.M. is now in his 80s. His case has helped scientists understand much more about the brain.