From Suzanne Corkin (MIT):
"Henry G. Molaison, 82, of Windsor Locks, CT died on Tuesday. He is known in the medical and scientific literatures as "the amnesic patient, H.M." He was born in Manchester, CT and graduated from East Hartford High School. In 1953, he underwent an experimental brain operation at the Hartford Hospital to relieve his seizure disorder. Immediately after the operation, Mr. Molaison showed a profound amnesia, which became the topic of intense scientific study for more than five decades. From age 27 on, he was unable to establish new memories for events in his everyday life and to acquire general information about the world in which he lived. His memory impairment was "pure" and not accompanied by intellectual or personality disorders. For this reason, and because the operation has not been repeated, he is the most widely studied and famous case in the neuroscience literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. Mr. Molaison's contributions to knowledge about memory have been groundbreaking, and researchers worldwide are in his debt. Burial will be private.
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2 comments:
After reading the full article in the NY TImes, I am struck by the continued significance and importance of the "un-sung hero", as an archetype. The grace that appears to have been the life of HM and the good science and work he inspired along with the lifelong relationships with friends he never knew he had is the stuff of great drama. It is quite beautiful. My condolences to the family of scientists who lost a great friend.
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