Who was Patient HM?

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For decades, one of the most famous patients in neuroscience was a man who lost most of his hippocampus after a radical treatment for extreme epilepsy. Though he passed away in 2008, his unique brain still informs neuroscientists today. At the 2016 World Science Festival, neuroscientist Daphna Shohamy discussed HM's legacy and our shifting understanding of the science of memory.

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Hmmm interesting for scientists but what about his life, nobody seemed to care about his life. It's incredible how people just congratulate themselves and forget him.

elizabethhastings

The hippocampus was the pathway....and the pathway was removed so no new memory could be stored in his brain.

salmanhaidr

The patient hm book goes hard I loved it is recommend reading the history of physcosurgery in Denmark afterwards

valenstein-topic

Does anyone know where we can see video of him? I remember when I was young watching a documentary about him with video of him being asked questions. Can't seem to find anything anywhere now. Only second hand information like this (as much as I appreciate it)!

I love the Milner and Scoville's paper and the many others that have been written over the years relating to the case or hippocampal damage cases.
But it would be really helpful if people could observe for themselves. For example, the original paper was written in a time where we really lacked a lot of the fundamental understandings to interpret what was going on.
None of the papers really elaborate on observations or have a lot of detail, but are really more focused on the researcher's insights and interpretations.
For example, even when I was a kid I noticed that HM's thought process seemed to periodically stop at which point he would forget what he was talking about. The context seemed singular and it didn't seem like he forgot bits and pieces continuously, but rather retained context until some point and in some kind of refresh process lost it all at once (which we all also seem to do, only we can pick up where we left off seamlessly). Those "what was I talking about again" moments.
Like the cognitive context is focused around only the salient aspects required to perform some cognitive action while the larger context including the cognitively incompatible elements are buffered in hipp for intermittent cognitive navigation processes and recall, representing a multi-stage cognitive process that includes processing chunks and buffering back and forth, which is probably inline with mainstream cognitive neuroscience.

But even if I'm completely wrong here, I only give it as an example of the potential for even layman like myself being able to derive such value from observation rather than having to digest someone else's observation and conclusion which necessarily exclude the aspects researcher considered to be of low value.
I'm sure when we include qualified researchers who actually know what they're talking about, I'm sure there would be so much value if more source material from research was publically available.

Or if anyone knows where the original video can be found I would greatly appreciate it 🙏

alexharvey

I’m reading the book. I found it at the dollar store.

tamarawilson

That is a very handsome picture of him. If he is alive, could we see a real photo of him now? Or at least an age progressed picture?

patriciajrs

Wouldn't be good if you were studying for a test.

whiteshadow

Does he remember questions you ask him 1 min ago?

snooziet

I am sorry he passed away. I agree with some other comments here that scientists and doctors don't really care about the people themselves. Cure or alter the disease to make it liveable and move on. Sad.

patriciajrs

I’m officially old because because I remember a time when everybody would have burst out laughing if someone would have shown up for a serious talk wearing a clown wig.

jonathannadeau