Who are You?

  A man by the name of H.M was the topic of discussion in my lecture today. Through him we learned the importance of the hippocampus and what its functions really are.
  
  Imagine meeting someone, the general things name, where are you from typical right? Then imagine walking away for a short moment and returning and the person not even remember who you are. That was the life of H.M. H. M was a 27-year-old who suffered from a very severe case of epileptic seizures for many years.

     Neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville set out to change that. He figured by removing HM’s hippocampus he would stop the seizures. Even though the operation was a success HM suffered a much bigger price. Although he had a chance at a better life he couldn’t remember it. See HM suffered from retrograde memory loss meaning he couldn’t remember anything 11 years before his surgery. Life for HM had stopped at just the tender age of 16. On top of that his ability to form new memories was completely gone. You could meet him and two minutes later he wouldn’t know who you were.

   A lady by the name of Suzanne Corkin had worked with HM for over 47 years and he still didn’t know who she was. Although the story of HM is very tragic it paved the way for many psychological research. Psychologists had a better understanding of which part of the brain was responsible for what. The new findings and facts of memory was astounding.

                                                             
H.M whose name was later revealed as Henry Molasion stayed a positive and happy person despite his condition. Even if he did have to ask Who Are You?  

Hambrick, David "The Biology of the Mind" Psychology 101. Wells Hall, East Lansing. September 26,2016. Lecture.