Psychology
A man who lost his hippocampus in 1953 still shapes what we know about memory
Surgeons removed both of Henry Molaison's hippocampi in 1953 to stop his severe seizures. He could still hold a thought for a few seconds and get better at physical tasks through practice, but he could never form a new long-term memory again. Studied for over 50 years as 'Patient H.M.,' he became the case that proved the hippocampus is what turns experience into lasting memory.