HM (also known as "H.M." and "Henry M.," born 1926 in Connecticut) is an anonymous memory-impaired patient who has been widely studied since the late 1950s and has been very important in the development of theories that explain the link between brain function and memory, and in the development of cognitive neuropsychology, a branch of psychology that studies brain injury to infer normal psychological function. He is still alive today and resides in a care institute located in Hartford, Connecticut, where he remains in ongoing investigation.
HM suffered from intractable epilepsy that has been often—though inconclusively—attributed to a bicycle accident at the age of nine. He suffered from partial seizures for many years, and then several tonic-clonic seizures following his sixteenth birthday. In 1953, HM was referred to William Scoville, a surgeon at Hartford Hospital, for treatment. Scoville localized HM's epilepsy to his medial temporal lobe (MTLs) and suggested surgical resection of the MTLs as a treatment. On September 1, 1953, Scoville removed parts of HM's medial temporal lobe on both sides of his brain. HM lost approximately two-thirds of his hippocampal formation, parahippocampal gyrus (all his entorhinal cortex was destroyed), and amygdala. His hippocampus appears entirely nonfunctional because the remaining 2 cm of hippocampal tissue appears atrophic and because the entire entorhinal (which forms the major sensory input to the hippocampus) was destroyed. Some of his anterolateral temporal cortex was also destroyed.
After the surgery he suffered from severe anterograde amnesia: although his short-term memory was intact, he could not commit new events to long-term memory. According to some scientists (e.g., Schmolck, Kensinger, Corkin, & Squire, 2002), HM is impaired in his ability to form new semantic knowledge but researchers argue over the extent of this impairment. He also suffered moderate retrograde amnesia, and could not remember most events in the 3–4 -day period before surgery, and some events up to 11 years before, meaning that his amnesia was temporally graded. However, his ability to form long-term procedural memories was still intact; thus he could, as an example, learn new motor skills, despite not being able to remember learning them. The case was first reported in a paper by Scoville and Brenda Milner in 1957.
The study of the patient HM has revolutionized the understanding of the organization of human memory. It has provided broad evidence for the rejection of old theories, as well as the formation of new theories on human memory, in particular about its processes and the underlying neural structures.
In this new video Duncan talks about an application that allows you to store a local version of Wikipedia, so that you can access it in places without an Internet connection!
In order to do it you need to be a bit savvy but if you really need it I am sure that it will be worth doing.
Enjoy!
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The Heart Attack Grill is a Chandler, Arizona burger restaurant that has become internationally known for serving incredibly large, unhealthy hamburgers and for its criticism by the Arizona Board of Nursing and Baltimore-based Center for Nursing Advocacy for putting its waitresses in naughty nurse uniforms.
The Heart Attack Grill is a hospital theme restaurant. The restaurant, founded in 2005 by Jon Basso who calls himself "Dr. Jon" and dresses in a white doctor's lab coat. Basso designed the theme of the restaurant with the intent of serving "nutritional pornography". Customers are referred to as "patients," orders as "prescriptions," and the waitresses as "nurses."
The menu includes "Single," "Double," "Triple," and "Quadruple Bypass" hamburgers, ranging from half a pound to two pounds of beef, "Flatliner Fries" (cooked in pure lard), cigarettes, beer and liquor, and soft drinks. The names imply coronary artery bypass surgery, and refer to the danger of developing atherosclerosis from the food's high proportion of saturated fat and excessive caloric content.
The Quadruple Bypass burger has 8,000 calories. Customers who finish a Triple or Quadruple Bypass burger are pushed in wheelchairs to their cars by the waitresses. The waitresses' nurse costumes and behavior have caused the most controversy. The waitresses wear crosses on their nurse hats, thigh-high fishnet stockings, short skirts, and low-cut tops. On occasion, they sit at the table with customers while they eat, role-play as nurses, or even jump into the arms of their customers.
Where can I read and learn about statistics? Do you recommend any sites, blogs, podcasts, e-courses, e-tutors?
According to Science Daily:
"Health statistics fill today’s information environment, but even most doctors, who must make daily decisions and recommendations based on numerical data - for instance, to calculate the risks of a certain drug or surgical intervention, or to inform a patient of the possible benefits versus harms of cancer screening - lack the basic statistical literacy they require to make such decisions effectively...
Physicans are not immune. The authors of the report cite several startling studies showing the inability of doctors to accurately interpret data from cancer screenings or other test results, when the data were presented in the typical form of conditional probabilities... read full"
Medical Student blog Carnival
I just came back from my one-month vacation. I was abroad all this time. I met with my family and some friends that I haven't seen for a few years. I spent my spare time reading any non-medical book I put my hand on. I will share my reading list with all of you soon. In fact you can have a look at it now if you are my friend on Facebook. It felt great to read something other than medicine for a change. It was refreshing and I learned a lot. I watched the third season of ER too. And went out for dinner almost every night at a fancy restaurant.
As you can see, nothing outstanding. Just a regular family vacation.
I will be posting regularly very soon.
In 2008 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Harald zur Hausen of Germany "for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer" and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier of France "for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus"; they share the prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK (slightly more than €1 million, or US$1.4 million).
In 2007 the prize was awarded to Mario Capecchi, Sir Martin Evans, Oliver Smithies "for their discoveries for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."
In 2006 the prize was awarded to Andrew Z. Fire, Craig C. Mello "for for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA"
In 2005 the prize was awarded to Barry J. Marshall, J. Robin Warren "for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease"
For a complete list of the awards since 1901 refer to Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (wikipedia)
Please
The best avatar creating site I have found so far is "Face Your Manga". They have an amazingly wide variety of options and styles. Try it out. I am sure that you would like it. You can then use your unique avatar on your blog, forums, IM, and so on.
Thanks to "mobilephone2003" from YouTube for pointing out the site.
1. Communicate with 350 million native Spanish speakers worldwide.
2. Communicate with Spanish-speaking people at home.
If you live in the US, it is possible to maintain almost daily contact with native Spanish speakers in many cities or even in rural areas. This is certainly the case in the many states bordering Mexico, or such states as Florida and New York where many immigrants of Cuban ancestry reside. Even if your home state is not located in one of these areas, there is still a great likelihood of finding Spanish-speakers close to where you live. As of 1995, 10% of all people living in the US were of Hispanic descent. In the past 10 years, this number has continued to increase.
Perhaps this is why 53% of students learning languages in US colleges and universities are learning Spanish over languages. You have the opportunity to use your language skills right at home.
3. Learn Spanish to enhance your travel experiences.
4. Use Spanish to improve your employment potential.
5. Learn Spanish to improve your knowledge of your own language.
6. Better appreciate Spanish-speaking cultures.
7. Learn Spanish to make lifelong friends.
8. Learning Spanish makes acquiring the next foreign language easier.
9. Gain access to Spanish art, music, literature and film.
India bans smoking in all public places. (Now Public)
India outlaws smoking in public areas. (BBC)
When will the rest of the world follow?
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