Permanent Present Tense
Suzanne Corkin
Basic Books
<BR>In 1953, 27-year-old Henry Gustave Molaison underwent an experimental &#147;psychosurgical&#8221; procedure&#151;a targeted lobotomy&#151;in an effort to alleviate his debilitating epilepsy. The outcome was unexpected&#151;when Henry awoke, he could no longer form new memories, and for the rest of his life would be trapped in the moment.<BR><BR>But Henry&#8217;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&#8217;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&#151;known only by his initials H. M. until his death in 2008&#151;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...</BR></BR></BR>