Patient H.M.

Patient H.M. PDF Author: Luke Dittrich
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448104688
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
In the summer of 1953, maverick neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville performed a groundbreaking operation on an epileptic patient named Henry Molaison. But it was a catastrophic failure, leaving Henry unable to create long-term memories. Scoville's grandson, Luke Dittrich, takes us on an astonishing journey through the history of neuroscience, from the first brain surgeries in ancient Egypt to the New England asylum where his grandfather developed a taste for human experimentation. Dittrich's investigation confronts unsettling family secrets and reveals the dark roots of modern neuroscience, raising troubling questions that echo into the present day.

Patient H.M.

Patient H.M. PDF Author: Luke Dittrich
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448104688
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
In the summer of 1953, maverick neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville performed a groundbreaking operation on an epileptic patient named Henry Molaison. But it was a catastrophic failure, leaving Henry unable to create long-term memories. Scoville's grandson, Luke Dittrich, takes us on an astonishing journey through the history of neuroscience, from the first brain surgeries in ancient Egypt to the New England asylum where his grandfather developed a taste for human experimentation. Dittrich's investigation confronts unsettling family secrets and reveals the dark roots of modern neuroscience, raising troubling questions that echo into the present day.

Permanent Present Tense

Permanent Present Tense PDF Author: Suzanne Corkin
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465033490
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
In 1953, 27-year-old Henry Gustave Molaison underwent an experimental "psychosurgical" procedure -- a targeted lobotomy -- in an effort to alleviate his debilitating epilepsy. The outcome was unexpected -- when Henry awoke, he could no longer form new memories, and for the rest of his life would be trapped in the moment. But Henry's tragedy would prove a gift to humanity. As renowned neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin explains in Permanent Present Tense, she and her colleagues brought to light the sharp contrast between Henry's crippling memory impairment and his preserved intellect. This new insight that the capacity for remembering is housed in a specific brain area revolutionized the science of memory. The case of Henry -- known only by his initials H. M. until his death in 2008 -- stands as one of the most consequential and widely referenced in the spiraling field of neuroscience. Corkin and her collaborators worked closely with Henry for nearly fifty years, and in Permanent Present Tense she tells the incredible story of the life and legacy of this intelligent, quiet, and remarkably good-humored man. Henry never remembered Corkin from one meeting to the next and had only a dim conception of the importance of the work they were doing together, yet he was consistently happy to see her and always willing to participate in her research. His case afforded untold advances in the study of memory, including the discovery that even profound amnesia spares some kinds of learning, and that different memory processes are localized to separate circuits in the human brain. Henry taught us that learning can occur without conscious awareness, that short-term and long-term memory are distinct capacities, and that the effects of aging-related disease are detectable in an already damaged brain. Undergirded by rich details about the functions of the human brain, Permanent Present Tense pulls back the curtain on the man whose misfortune propelled a half-century of exciting research. With great clarity, sensitivity, and grace, Corkin brings readers to the cutting edge of neuroscience in this deeply felt elegy for her patient and friend.

The Perpetual Now

The Perpetual Now PDF Author: Michael D. Lemonick
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385539673
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
In the aftermath of a shattering illness, Lonni Sue Johnson lives in a "perpetual now," where she has almost no memories of the past and a nearly complete inability to form new ones. The Perpetual Now is the moving story of this exceptional woman, and the groundbreaking revelations about memory, learning, and consciousness her unique case has uncovered. Lonni Sue Johnson was a renowned artist who regularly produced covers for The New Yorker, a gifted musician, a skilled amateur pilot, and a joyful presence to all who knew her. But in late 2007, she contracted encephalitis. The disease burned through her hippocampus like wildfire, leaving her severely amnesic, living in a present that rarely progresses beyond ten to fifteen minutes. Remarkably, she still retains much of the intellect and artistic skills from her previous life, but it's not at all clear how closely her consciousness resembles yours or mine. As such, Lonni Sue's story has become part of a much larger scientific narrative—one that is currently challenging traditional wisdom about how human memory and awareness are stored in the brain. In this probing, compassionate, and illuminating book, award-winning science journalist Michael D. Lemonick uses the unique drama of Lonni Sue Johnson's day-to-day life to give us a nuanced and intimate understanding of the science that lies at the very heart of human nature.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales PDF Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684853949
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Explores neurological disorders and their effects upon the minds and lives of those affected with an entertaining voice.

Remembering

Remembering PDF Author: Donald G. MacKay
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633884082
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
The psychologist who worked with a famous amnesiac patient for fifty years explains what his studies show about how memory functions and ways to keep the brain sharp. At age twenty-seven, Henry Molaison underwent brain surgery to remedy life-threatening epilepsy. This operation inadvertently destroyed his hippocampus, the engine in the brain for forming new memories. Henry--until recently, known only as Patient H.M.--suffered catastrophic memory failures for the rest of his life and he became the most studied amnesia patient in the history of the world. Dr. Donald MacKay's studies with Henry span fifty years. They reveal the profound importance of memory. Memory decline impacts everything that makes a normal human mind and brain worth having: creative expression; artistic endeavors; awareness; and the ability to plan, to comprehend, to detect and correct errors, to appreciate humor, to imagine hypothetical situations, and to perceive novelty in the world. His research also shows how to keep memories sharp at any age and how to offset the degradation that aging and infrequent use inflict on memory. Remembering summarizes other results of the revolution in scientific understanding of mind and memory that began with Henry. Importantly, it makes good on the promise that research with Henry would help others by focusing on what readers who wish to maintain the everyday functioning of memory, mind, and brain (their own or others') can learn from the still ongoing revolution that he inspired.

The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography

The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography PDF Author: Larry R. Squire
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080534058
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
This book is the second volume of autobiographical essays by distinguished senior neuroscientists; it is part of the first collection of neuroscience writing that is primarily autobiographical. As neuroscience is a young discipline, the contributors to this volume are truly pioneers of scientific research on the brain and spinal cord. This collection of fascinating essays should inform and inspire students and working scientists alike. The general reader interested in science may also find the essays absorbing, as they are essentially human stories about commitment and the pursuit of knowledge. The contributors included in this volume are: Lloyd M. Beidler, Arvid Carlsson, Donald R. Griffin, Roger Guillemin, Ray Guillery, Masao Ito. Martin G. Larrabee, Jerome Lettvin, Paul D. MacLean, Brenda Milner, Karl H. Pribram, Eugene Roberts and Gunther Stent. Key Features * Second volume in a collection of neuroscience writing that is primarily autobiographical * Contributors are senior neuroscientists who are pioneers in the field

The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Science

The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Science PDF Author: Keith Frankish
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521691907
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
An authoritative, up-to-date survey of the state of the art in cognitive science, written for non-specialists.

Adventures in Memory

Adventures in Memory PDF Author: Hilde Østby
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
ISBN: 1771643455
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
A novelist and a neuroscientist uncover the secrets of human memory. What makes us remember? Why do we forget? And what, exactly, is a memory? With playfulness and intelligence, Adventures in Memory answers these questions and more, offering an illuminating look at one of our most fascinating faculties. The authors—two Norwegian sisters, one a neuropsychologist and the other an acclaimed writer—skillfully interweave history, research, and exceptional personal stories, taking readers on a captivating exploration of the evolving understanding of the science of memory from the Renaissance discovery of the hippocampus—named after the seahorse it resembles—up to the present day. Mixing metaphor with meta-analysis, they embark on an incredible journey: “diving for seahorses” for a memory experiment in Oslo fjord, racing taxis through London, and “time-traveling” to the future to reveal thought-provoking insights into remembering and forgetting. Along the way they interview experts of all stripes, from the world’s top neuroscientists to famous novelists, to help explain how memory works, why it sometimes fails, and what we can do to improve it. Filled with cutting-edge research and nimble storytelling, the result is a charming—and memorable—adventure through human memory.

Brain Facts

Brain Facts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780916110000
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


The Private Patient

The Private Patient PDF Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307270939
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV Cheverell Manor is a beautiful old house in Dorset, which its owner, the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell, uses as a private clinic. When the investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, arrives to have a disfiguring facial scar removed, she has every expectation of a successful operation and a peaceful week recuperating. But the clinic houses an implacable enemy and within hours of the operation Rhoda is murdered. Commander Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a case complicated by old crimes and the dark secrets of the past. But Before Rhoda's murder is solved, a second horrific death adds to the complexities of one of Dalgliesh's most perplexing and fascinating cases.