The Unforgettable Amnesiac

jamie found an account in the NYTimes of the life and death of one of the most important figures in modern neuroscience, Henry Gustav Molaison — a man who could not form memories. Molaison became an amnesiac after a brain operation in 1953. Known worldwide as H.M., Molaison was studied intensively for 55 years. Dr. Brenda Milner, a psychologist from Montreal, was the first researcher to visit Molaison. In 1962 she authored a landmark study demonstrating that a part of Molaison's memory was fully intact. "The implications were enormous. Scientists saw that there were at least two systems in the brain for creating new memories. One, known as declarative memory, records names, faces and new experiences and stores them until they are consciously retrieved. ... Another system, commonly known as motor learning, is subconscious and depends on other brain systems. This explains why people can jump on a bike after years away from one and take the thing for a ride, or why they can pick up a guitar that they have not played in years and still remember how to strum it. Soon 'everyone wanted an amnesic to study,' Dr. Milner said..."

Comments

What was I going to post?

[isBandGeek()]

I forgot.

Re:What was I going to post?

[FooAtWFU]

See? Your motor-memory posting skills are obviously intact!

thanks for the memories

[jollyreaper]

So when we see this article duped next week, now we'll know why?

Re:thanks for the memories

[Tubal-Cain]

Where were you last week? This is the dupe.

Hmm...

[Konster]

Looking down from Heaven, Gustav Molaison was surprised to learn people remembered him.

Re:I believe this was part of the inspiration

[Anonymous Coward]

...and 50 First Dates.

Re:I believe this was part of the inspiration

[pushing-robot]

Just when you thought it was safe to form new memories...

Re:Interesting case

[Ihmhi]

...and his wife has of course visibly aged, he's not surprised by her current appearance.

Well of course not, he hasn't seen her in years!