H.M. and the varieties of memory

H.M.’s loss was an immeasurable gain to the science of memory. Experiments conducted by Milner showed that although H.M. formed no new memories, he could learn new tasks. This showed that episodic memory – recollection of facts and events – worked quite differently from procedural memory – ability to remember how to do things. It also shed light on the different brain mechanisms underlying short- and long-term memory, since H.M. could hold information for about twenty seconds in ‘working memory’ quite normally. It also helped develop the distinction between explicit and implicit memory: memories we are aware of and those that affect our thought and behaviour without any conscious recollection.

Saved 23 April 2015

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