H. M., an Unforgettable Amnesiac, Dies at 82

NY Times ^ | December 5, 2008 | BENEDICT CAREY

[neverdem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05hm.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&adxnnlx=1228460419-KA5jjQy21zHfE1Q4VCvnnA&pagewanted=print

That's the original URL from the printer friendly page. I edited it down to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05hm.html?pagewanted=print

Do you still have to endure all the ads at the Times?

Here's some info about the hippocampus and temporal lobes.

The hippocampus is a part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe (you have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain). It is a part of the limbic system and plays a part in memory and navigation. The name derives from its curved shape which supposedly resembles that of a seahorse (Greek: hippocampus).

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[JennysCool]

Great journalism. I'll be thinking about this guy all day. Wow.

The New York Times occasionally forgets its position as Pravda West and prints a damn good article.

[weegee]

Sounds like he could have worked in any MSM newsroom with his selective memory of history.

[Mobile Vulgus]

Yeah. Science. First they mutilate the guy and destroy his life, then they proclaim him a miracle. Ain’t they grand?

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

great article, thanks!

[billorites]

All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then

[billorites]

Thanks for the memories
Last night when I got home
You were not alone
You said he was a Freeper
You came to use the phone...

[Mila]

This reminds me of the movie 50 First Dates, although the cause of Drew Barrymore's condition in the film was an accident, not a surgical procedure.

[Mila]

I just read the entire article and I feel very sad for this poor man. May he rest in peace with God.

[Dustbunny]

I just read the entire article and I feel very sad for this poor man. May he rest in peace with God.

I feel the same way.

[Rammer]

Also reminds me of the movie Memento.

[Thermalseeker]

Sounds like he could have worked in any MSM newsroom with his selective memory of history.

I'm surprised he didn't get elected to Congress. Seems like he would fit right in.....

[50sDad]

This reminds me of the movie 50 First Dates, although the cause of Drew Barrymore's condition in the film was an accident, not a surgical procedure.

Hollywood's arrogance: Two hours of incredibly dear, sweet, and insightful beauty ruined by about five minutes of potty-mouth that ensured I can't share it with my kids until I get around to editing it and re-burning it to DVD.

[comps4spice]

I thought the same.

[jocon307]

There was a very interesting article in the New Yorker about another man with this syndrome. Very awful, really. The man remembered his wife, and amazingly, how to play the piano, but that was about it.

[Red Badger]

[subaru]

God bless the man.

But I also can’t help but think of the old SNL Tom Hanks “Mr. Short Term Memory” skit.

[neverdem]

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State of Emergency - The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe may be spreading to other African nations.

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[GOPJ]

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.

It's also why if you can't remember someone's phone number you can hold your hand over the keypad and "remember" the pattern to the number.