Why Is Henry Gustav Molaion Important

Henry Gustav Molaison is likely the most studied individual in neuroscience history along with one of the most influential and beneficial cases in medical history. Also known as ‘Patient HM’ for privacy reasons, Henry was studied for more than 50 years and had over 12,000 scholarly papers published regarding the research conducted on him. The work conducted with Henry established the fundamental principles involving the organizational processes of memory and without this individuals significant contribution to neuroscience, we would not know half the things we do today in regards to how memories are established and used. Henry was born on February 26, 1926 in the town of Manchester Connecticut to a loving mother. While Henry was 7 (9 in some reports), he suffered a head injury that spurred the epileptic seizures that would later lead to incapacitation and therefore to the life changing surgery. In the beginning, Henry’s seizures were minor and would only last a few seconds to a
The seizures were so prominent that while in high school, his principal wouldn’t allow him to walk across stage to accept his diploma due to the fear that Henry would suffer a seizure and cause a scene. He was able to find work for a short period of time but on September 1st, 1953 at the age of 27 he became so unbearably incapacitated by his prevalent seizures, that despite very high doses of anticonvulsant medication and close watch by doctors, Henry could no longer work and therefore was unable to lead a life that would be considered anywhere close to normal. He struggled to complete even the simplest of daily chores as he would be struck with epileptic seizures multiple times throughout his day. He would never be able to hold a job in his condition and so it was from there that he was referred to Dr. William Beecher Scoville, a practicing neurosurgeon stationed at Hartford. Dr. Scoville consulted with