Henry Molaison, known in the field of psychology as H.M., is the most studied mind in recorded history. Without studies on his brain, it is doubtful we would have any understanding in how our brains and memory operate. After cracking his skull at an early age, H.M. started to develop a tendency of seizures, blacking out, and not being able to control his bodily functions. These frequent episodes caused H.M. to drop out of high school and seek medical attention to relieve him of his suffering. Dr. Scoville, a renown neurosurgeon took on the task of removing H.M.'s hippocampus, which was associated with emotion but its function was unknown. It was because of the removal of the hippocampus that Henry Molaison was never able to retain memories again.
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At the time, lobotomies were relatively common for mental patients and were effective in ridding people of seizures because it was thought that, "mental functions were strictly localized to corresponding brain areas" (Kean). That was proven wrong when H.M. woke up and lost a significant amount of his memory. The removal of the hippocampus proved to be devastating to the human brain and its ability to function. H.M.'s long term memory was virtuously lost; no longer remembering the previous years, watching the same classic films over and over like it was his first time, and could only perform basic tasks and
At the time, lobotomies were relatively common for mental patients and were effective in ridding people of seizures because it was thought that, "mental functions were strictly localized to corresponding brain areas" (Kean). That was proven wrong when H.M. woke up and lost a significant amount of his memory. The removal of the hippocampus proved to be devastating to the human brain and its ability to function. H.M.'s long term memory was virtuously lost; no longer remembering the previous years, watching the same classic films over and over like it was his first time, and could only perform basic tasks and