Henry Gustov Molaison,who died at the age of 82 of respiratory failure had developed a syndrome called
Profound Amnesia.This
means that he lost all the abilities to form new memories.Every time he met a friend,every time he ate a meal it was as if it was for the first time.
When Molaison was 9 years old he banged his head hard after being hit by a bicycle rider in his neighbourhood near Hartford. The boy
developed severe sizures after the accident and scientists could not explain as to why they happened or whether the blow to the head had anything to do with it.
Eighteen years after the accident, he arrived at the office of Dr.William Beecher Scoville,a neurosurgeon at Hartford Hospital, complaining of frequent blackingout and devastating convulsions.He underwent an experimental brain operation to correct a sizure disorder.He emerged from the operation irreparably changed. He developed a syndrome neurologists call
Profound Amnesia.He had lost the ability to form new memories.
For the next five decades he had been a participant in hundreds of studies which helped scientists understand the biology of learning, memory and nature of human identity.