0:00:00.275,0:00:02.394
[typing sound]

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>>[narrator] Henry Molaison [br]is not a well man.

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A childhood fall has damaged [br]his brain irreparably.

0:00:24.957,0:00:28.955
>>[Henry] Gotcha.[br]>>Well? Well, what is it?

0:00:28.955,0:00:33.172
>>[Henry] Uh, must do something.[br]>>Hmm.

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>>[Henry] Aah! [br]>>Come on. Henry.

0:00:39.079,0:00:42.181
>>[narrator] The accident has [br]left him with severe epilepsy.

0:00:42.181,0:00:44.047
>>Mike! Mike! Henry, come on, boy.[br]Don't do this.

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>>[narrator] By his late 20s, [br]he's having over 10 fits a day.

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>>Henry! Henry! Henry! [br]Mike! Mike, where are you?

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>>[narrator] He can't live alone, can't [br]drive. The fits can take him at any time.

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>>Mike! Mike, where are you?

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>>[Dwayne Godwin] The normal electrical activity [br]of the brain occurs in regular patterns like this.

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But during a seizure, abnormal rhythms [br]are established that wash across the brain,

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using the brain's own [br]communication lines.

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The net result is that the [br]brain loses control of the body,

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and it can result in tonic-clonic [br]seizures, short-term memory loss,

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and, in some circumstances, even death.

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>>[narrator] Dr. William Beecher Scoville [br]is an authority on brain disorders.

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But Henry Molaison has him stumped.

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He's tried every known epileptic [br]drug, but nothing works.

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>>[Scoville] Ah, Henry.

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>>[Michael Stevens] Brain science today [br]is in its infancy, but in the 1950s,

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it had barely reached conception.[br]There was a rough idea of what areas

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of the brain were responsible [br]for which processes,

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but the ways they interacted or [br]worked together weren't really known.

0:02:02.163,0:02:05.199
In fact, most of what was known [br]was only known because of people

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who had survived brain injuries, and [br]so everything new that was attempted

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was a step in the dark.

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>>[narrator] Scoville is a charismatic, [br]high-octane risk taker.

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To help Molaison, he got [br]a new and radical idea.

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>>[Henry] Story of my life, Doc.[br]>>[Scoville] I'd like to try something, Henry.

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Usually when a brain [br]short-circuits like yours,

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we take out half a region [br]called the hippocampus.

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Only your case is so severe, I'd [br]like to take out the whole thing.

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Now, it's never been done before, [br]but I've got a hunch it'll work.

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>>[Stevens] It's thought that some [br]epileptic seizures may be caused

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by an excess of the neurotransmitter [br]glutamate in the brain.

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Now, when there's too much glutamate, [br]an excess of calcium is released,

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and inside the brain, [br]that can be very dangerous.

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Now, the hippocampus [br]generates glutamate,

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and so removing it should decrease calcium [br]levels and decrease the frequency of seizures.

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>>[Henry] Uh-huh. I don't know, [br]Doc. Sounds kind of risky.

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>>[Scoville] Life is risk, Henry.[br]And to be honest, with the life you have...

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>>[Henry] Aah! [br]>>[Scoville] Bob!

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What have you got to lose?

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>>[Susan Lederer] Scoville was [br]willing to perform this surgery

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because his patient was in desperate need.[br]He had very uncontrolled epilepsy.

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He had very little quality of life.

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Still, he was playing a little bit fast and loose [br]because he didn't know what the outcome would be.

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>>[narrator] Despite his uncertainty, [br]Henry agrees to the surgery.

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>>[Scoville] Cauterize.

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>>[narrator] Dr.Scoville burns [br]out Henry's entire hippocampus.

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Time will tell if he [br]is being bold...or reckless.

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>>[Stevens] In all new surgical [br]procedures, there's an element of risk,

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but there's also a first time when it [br]must be tried in a human patient.

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These days, we would review procedures like [br]this through institutional review boards,

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but in Scoville's time, much more was [br]left to the discretion of the surgeon.

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>>[narrator] After a few days, [br]the signs are good.

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>>[Scoville] Good morning, Henry.[br]>>[Henry] Hey. Not a single fit, Doc.

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>>[Scoville] Tremendous.[br]Nothing for days now.

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Henry, this is Dr. Brenda Milner.[br]She'll be doing some tests with you today.

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>>[Henry] It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.[br]Oh, and you're working with the best, you know.

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Doc Scoville is an ace.[br]>>[Scoville] Enjoy your breakfast, Henry.

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>>[narrator] Henry's epilepsy seems to be cured.[br]>>Milner] So, what's the problem?

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>>[Scoville] Just wait.

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>>[Stevens] Dr. Scoville didn't know [br]what the hippocampus really did.

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I mean, no one did.[br]The operation was pure trial and error.

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What he did know was that less [br]hippocampus meant fewer seizures.

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>>[Scoville] Morning.[br]>>[Henry] Hey. Steady as a Chevy, Doc.

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>>[Milner] That's great.[br]>>[Henry] Hi, I'm Henry.

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Pleased to meet you, ma'am.[br]>>[Scoville] See what I mean?

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>>[narrator] Henry's operation has done [br]more than affect his epilepsy.

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Henry's memories up to the [br]operation are largely undamaged.

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>>[Henry] We went to Florida.[br]Mom and dad took turns driving.

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I had my head out the window, listening [br]to the engine the whole way down.

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>>[Milner] Good. Now, what do [br]you remember about yesterday?

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>>[Henry] Um...

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Now -- now I think about it, not a lot.

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>>[narrator] But he cannot[br]create new memories at all.

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>>[Milner] How about this morning?

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>>[Henry] No, I -- I don't remember.

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>>[Milner] Henry, can you tell me [br]what you just had for lunch?

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>>[narrator] Henry Molaison is a tragic [br]victim and a scientific miracle.

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Something has gone wrong with Henry Molaison's brain [br]during radical surgery to treat his epilepsy.

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>>[Scoville] Henry, this [br]is Dr. Brenda Milner.

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>>[Henry] It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.

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It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.

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It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.

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It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.

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>>[narrator] Henry's memory is broken.

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But his condition could provide unique [br]insights into the workings of the human brain.

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>>[Stevens] We can experiment on [br]the brains of mice all we want.

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But a mouse cannot tell us [br]what it's thinking or feeling.

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So the uncomfortable truth is that Henry [br]was a godsend to brain researchers.

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By looking at what he could or could not do, [br]they could figure out how memory works.

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>>[Milner] Okay, Henry, I'd like [br]you to remember the number 273.

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Can you do that? [br]>>[Henry] Got it. Yeah. 273.

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>>[Milner] Right.[br]I'll be back in 15 minutes.

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Don't forget -- 273.[br]>>[Henry] Uh-huh.

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>>[narrator] The doctors are fascinated [br]by what he can and can't recall.

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>>[Milner] And the number is? [br]>>[Henry] 273.

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>>[Milner] Right. How did you remember it? [br]>>[Henry] I just kept thinking about it.

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>>[Milner] That's wonderful.

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>>[Henry] I'm sorry.[br]Have we met? I'm Henry Molaison.

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>>[Milner] So, what can we say? [br]Quarter an hour?

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>>[narrator] Henry's condition transforms [br]our understanding of memory.

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Our immediate moment-to-moment impressions [br]of the world are recorded in short-term memory.

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>>[Milner] One hour, it goes down to? [br]>>[narrator] But short-term memories are fleeting.

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To remain in the brain, they must be [br]transferred into long-term memory,

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filed away for future recall.

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>>[Stevens] We know, [br]thanks to Henry now,

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that the hippocampus is crucial in the [br]creation of new long-term memories.

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It takes memories of what's happening [br]now and makes them into things

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that we can recall about [br]last week, about last year.

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They're not stored [br]in the hippocampus,

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but the hippocampus is very [br]important in creating them.

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>>[narrator] Henry becomes the most [br]famous patient in neuroscience,

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a man imprisoned in the present.

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>>[Milner] So, tell me what you [br]remember about your last fit.

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>>[narrator] But for Dr. Scoville, [br]life moves on.

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He, too, must learn to forget.

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>>[Lederer] Scoville's surgical [br]procedure made him world-famous.

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But we know from some of his [br]colleagues that he felt guilty

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about the destruction [br]that he had created.

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There is a cost to going first.[br]It's a cost that someone has to bear.

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>>[narrator] Some people will [br]work with Henry for over 40 years.

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>>[Milner] Good morning. I'm Dr. Milner.[br]>>[Henry] Good morning, ma'am.

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>>[narrator] And every morning,

0:10:08.682,0:10:13.150
they will have to introduce themselves [br]to him for the first time.

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>>[Henry] Wow. This looks real interesting.[br]I'm Henry, by the way. Delighted to meet you.

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Where is Doc Scoville? [br]>>[Milner] Well, I'd like to work with you

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today if that's okay, Henry.[br]I'm gonna ask you to take a pencil.

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>>[Henry] Mm-hmm.

0:10:25.930,0:10:29.691
>>[MIlner] And I just want you to draw [br]around the star as best as you can, okay?

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>>[Henry] All right.[br]>>[Milner] And I'm gonna take some notes, all right?

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>>[Stevens] Tracing a line while[br]watching your hand in a mirror

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is totally counterintuitive. Nobody can [br]come to that task and get it right away.

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What it takes is practice.

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>>[Milner] Hi. I'm Dr. Milner.

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>>[Henry] Good morning, ma'am.[br]>>[Milner] You want to take a seat over here?

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>>[narrator] Henry has no [br]idea he's tried this before.

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>>[Henry] Hello. I'm Henry Molaison.[br]>>Hi.

0:10:57.096,0:11:00.998
>>[Henry] Well, now, [br]what have you got here?

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>>[narrator] His defective memory prevents him [br]from remembering his many previous attempts.

0:11:07.385,0:11:11.726
Yet each time, Henry's skill improves.

0:11:11.726,0:11:15.719
It's as though his body [br]remembers what his mind cannot.

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>>[Henry] Well, that was kind of easy.[br][Milner laughs]

0:11:19.323,0:11:25.496
>>[narrator] Henry reveals that our [br]understanding of memory is hopelessly simplistic.

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>>[Stevens] There is not [br]just one type of memory.

0:11:28.494,0:11:32.052
There are at least two -- [br]procedural and declarative.

0:11:32.052,0:11:35.222
Declarative memories are the things [br]that you remember remembering --

0:11:35.222,0:11:39.269
the places you've been, things you've [br]said to people, things they've said to you.

0:11:39.269,0:11:40.915
>>[Henry] We went to Florida.

0:11:40.915,0:11:45.176
>>[Stevens] But procedural memory [br]allows us to accomplish tasks --

0:11:45.176,0:11:49.295
physical ones, like driving [br]a car or riding a bike.

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Now, you can drive in a car and [br]have a conversation with somebody,

0:11:52.636,0:11:56.187
and when you reach your destination, [br]you will remember the conversation.

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That's declarative memory.[br]But you won't remember all

0:11:59.081,0:12:04.220
of the thinking it took to operate the vehicle [br]and successfully get to your destination,

0:12:04.220,0:12:06.911
which is procedural memory.

0:12:08.557,0:12:11.537
>>[Henry] Hello, I'm Henry.[br]>>[Milner] Hi, Henry. Take a seat.

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>>[narrator] Once he's learned a new skill, [br]even years later, Henry never forgets it.

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>>[Henry] Well, now, what [br]have you got here?

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>>[Godwin] You could say that Henry's [br]bad luck was our good luck.

0:12:23.473,0:12:27.953
Through Henry, we learned about things [br]like declarative and procedural memory,

0:12:27.953,0:12:31.075
and we learned their importance [br]in the fight against diseases

0:12:31.075,0:12:34.307
like Dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

0:12:34.307,0:12:37.807
If you'd ever met Henry, [br]he wouldn't remember you,

0:12:37.807,0:12:41.831
but we'll never forget Henry's [br]contribution to science.

0:12:41.831,0:12:44.140
>>[Henry] Gotcha.[br]>>[narrator] But every day,

0:12:44.140,0:12:50.060
Henry wakes up pretty much the same [br]27-year-old man who had radical surgery.

0:12:50.614,0:12:54.293
>>[Henry] Hello, Dr. Scoville? [br]Hey, Doc, you in there?

0:12:54.293,0:12:58.674
>>[narrator] He remembers his 27th birthday...[br]>>[Henry] This place has really changed.

0:12:58.674,0:13:02.599
>>[narrator] ...but not his 50th.[br]>>[Henry] How'd he do it so fast?

0:13:02.599,0:13:07.556
>>[narrator] ...or even his 70th.[br]>>[Henry] So, what's this?

0:13:07.556,0:13:11.664
>>[narrator] The truth has [br]to be hidden from him.

0:13:14.885,0:13:19.962
His 27 years of memories are [br]trapped in an old man's body.

0:13:19.962,0:13:24.473
>>[Henry] Dr. Scoville! Hey, Doc! [br]>>[Milner] Henry, Henry, you shouldn't be in here.

0:13:24.473,0:13:26.147
But it's -- no, no.[br]Come on.

0:13:26.147,0:13:27.975
Don't worry.[br]Come on, Henry.

0:13:27.975,0:13:29.932
Come on.[br]Come on.

0:13:29.932,0:13:38.292
Now, listen, Henry, don't worry.[br]I promise tomorrow it'll all be fine, okay?