HM - A Case Study in Memory
Professor Howard Eichenbaum outlines the importance of HM to memory research. Following his death in December 2008, HM's real name was revealed as Henry Gustav Molaison.
HM is probably the most famous neurological patient there’s ever been. The reason why he was important has to do with both the selectivity and severity of a memory disorder that was created in HM when they removed, when surgeons removed, the medial parts of the temporal lobe which include the hippocampus and the surrounding cortex. This patient suffered a rather severe form of epilepsy which couldn’t be treated by drugs. So as a rather heroic and experimental approach they tried removing the cortical areas that were involved, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex. Subsequently, and to the surprise of the surgeon, he suffered this very severe amnesia, which has pretty much told us the story we now have to explain about how memory works.
HM, hippocampus, temporal, lobe, epilepsy, memory, henry, gustav, molaison howard, eichenbaum
- ID: 1138
- Source: DNALC.G2C
- Download: Windows Media Video MPEG 4 Video Theora Video
Related Content
1142. Hippocampus - Familiarity and Recollection
Professor Howard Eichenbaum explains that different brain structures within the medial temporal lobe support different memory processes, namely familiarity and recollection.
1141. Hippocampus and Context
Professor Howard Eichenbaum explains that the hippocampus helps us represent items in the order in which they are experienced.
1140. Hippocampus and Sequence Learning
Professor Howard Eichenbaum outlines the importance of the hippocampus to learning sequences of events.
1137. Brain Structures and Memory
Professor Howard Eichenbaum outlines some of the major brain structures involved in declarative memory.
1276. Hippocampus in Animals
Professor Howard Eichenbaum discusses research indicating that the basic operations of the hippocampus are the same in humans and animals.
1244. Temporal Lobe
The temporal lobes contain a large number of substructures, whose functions include perception, face recognition, object recognition, memory, language, and emotion.
849. Hippocampus and Memory (2)
The potential gains of improving or therapeutically altering memory are compelling, but ethical considerations are imperative.
1136. Encoding and Retrieval
Professor Howard Eichenbaum explains that encoding and retrieving memories are distinct neurobiological processes.
1139. Single-cell Recordings
Professor Howard Eichenbaum describes the importance of single-cell recordings to memory research.
1135. Different Types of Memory
Professor Howard Eichenbaum outlines the differences between declarative, procedural, and emotional memory.