HM
Thanks to MindHacks for pointing to a recent NPR story on HM, the number-one most famous neuro patient ever. Backstory: he had severe, debilitating epilepsy, and in hopes of getting rid of it, a doctor removed most of his hippocampi and big chunks of his medial temporal lobes (where they thought the seizures were originating). The seizures mostly got better, but HM lost his ability to form new memories, though his memories from before the surgery stayed intact. (Think 50 First Dates.)
The story is really well done and informative. Also, I didn't know this, but apparently he's been able to form very small new memories. Like, the ability to associate the first name and the last name of a researcher who's worked with him for forty years. Practically speaking, that's negligible, but it shows that the memory loss is not absolute. I didn't know that.
MindHacks also linked to PDFs of the original 1957 paper on HM, and a recent review of his contribution to neuroscience.
Shiny.
The story is really well done and informative. Also, I didn't know this, but apparently he's been able to form very small new memories. Like, the ability to associate the first name and the last name of a researcher who's worked with him for forty years. Practically speaking, that's negligible, but it shows that the memory loss is not absolute. I didn't know that.
MindHacks also linked to PDFs of the original 1957 paper on HM, and a recent review of his contribution to neuroscience.
Shiny.