Henry G. Molaison began experiencing epilepsy seizures, which would become the cause of the greatest tragedy of his life, after a bicycle accident at the age of nine in the 1930s. Whether these seizures were due to trauma or genetic factors caused a divergence of opinions among doctors, as epilepsy was also observed in H.M.'s cousins. As he aged, these seizures increased and became unbearable. H.M. could no longer sustain his daily life, leading him and his family to seek the help of Dr. Scoville, a brain surgeon who had experience working with psychiatric patients and had tried experimental methods in their treatment. Moleison underwent tests like EEG*, and based on the abnormal activities discovered in the brain, a decision was made to remove a region belonging to the medial temporal lobe, which included structures related to the hippocampus.

After the operation, H.M. no longer experienced epilepsy seizures. However, a much more serious problem emerged. While H.M. could recall memories from before the surgery, he was unable to form any new memories. He developed anterograde amnesia, unable to create new memories. H.M. was trapped in his past 27 years of life; the concept of the future held no meaning for him. For example, he would forget everything when turning his head while talking to his doctor, asking who the doctor was. H.M. was imprisoned within the memories of his past 27 years.

The studies and research conducted on H.M.'s condition captured the interest of the neuroscience world, leading to in-depth investigations. Until then, it was not believed that memory had a central location in the brain. It was thought that memory functioned generally throughout the brain rather than in a specific region. This case revealed that memory indeed had a biological basis and a center in the brain. There were no changes in H.M.'s motor skills, and he could perform a skill he learned a year ago, like drawing a star, with the same proficiency a year later. Therefore, there was no damage or problem in his procedural memory.

As a result, this case contributed significantly to the scientific community, paving the way for many new studies and hypotheses about memory. Distinctions between short-term and long-term memory were made, revealing that the hippocampus was not involved in working memory. It was found that the hippocampus was necessary for recording memories but not for recalling old memories. The importance of the medial temporal lobe in memory was discovered. Nevertheless, H.M. never remembered Scoville, who caused his condition, and could not recognize the doctors he worked with. He was always surprised by his 40-year-old reflection in the mirror. He couldn't bring new people into his life and died alone.

EEG: Electroencephalography. It is a test used to record electrical activity in the brain.

References:
Çavdar, C. (2022,6 Ağustos). Yeni Anı Oluşturulamaması: H. M. Vakası. Altı Üstü 
Psikoloji. https://altiustupsikoloji.com/bilimselicerik-2484/
Nöropsikoloji Derneği.’’Bir Nörobilim Efsanesİ:H.M. ‘’28.10.2023.
https://noropsikoloji.org/bir-norobilim-efsanesi-h-m/

Since women were not allowed to be at the forefront and to participate in business and education life during Anna's life, Anna generally started to spend her time at home by sewing and finding occupations. Meanwhile, when her father's tuberculosis disease emerged, Anna O. took care of her father. Anna became very weak and weakened because she did not sleep until late and did not eat much while she was taking care of her father.

The main symptoms seen in Anna were the inability to eat, fear of drinking water, paralysis in partial areas, sleep disorders, speech problems, hallucinations, and visual disturbances. Anna was also experiencing severe muscle aches and excruciating pain on the left side of her head. He could not move his left arm and had serious difficulties in turning his neck. She began to show symptoms that could not be understood by some of her environment, not only physically, but also psychologically.

Anna O., whose symptoms gradually increased and even began to lose her sight, finally went to Dr. He decided to meet with Breuer. The symptoms in Anna O. were thought to arise as a result of identifying herself with her father. One of the first symptoms to appear in Anna O. is a severe coughing fit and blindness resulting from blurred vision. Breuer, who first examined Anna, thought that these symptoms were caused by an organic disease. Later, he decided that Anna's symptoms had a psychological basis and he diagnosed Anna with "hysteria".

After this decision, Breuer first tried to find a solution to the symptoms with the application of hypnosis, but Breuer gave up on this technique when Anna used incomprehensible sentences containing five different languages during hypnosis. He tried to look for clues about his symptoms by asking Anna to say whatever comes to mind. The method he applied here was the birth of ‘’free association’’, which is one of the basic techniques of psychoanalysis. This method helped Anna to remember many things over time and even relieved her symptoms. Anna herself described this method as “chimney cleaning” and “talking cure”.

One of the symptoms that Breuer observed improved through Free Association was the paralysis of Anna's right arm. One day, Anna saw a snake going towards her father in a dream. She felt that her right arm was holding her back as she went to help her father. Shortly after she had the dream, the symptom on her right arm appeared. Another symptom is strabismus and visual impairment. These symptoms arose because her father asked Anna about the time and Anna was crying and trying to look at the clock very closely. All these symptoms disappeared when Anna told Breuer during free association.

While Freud looked at this case from the sexual side, Breuer thought that although Anna's symptoms at the onset of her illness had a psychic basis, they were often caused by organic causes. According to Freud, Anna developed an intense love for her father during her caregiving process, touching her skin to change or dressing her and touching her genitals aroused sexual desires in Anna. caused it to occur. These ideas of Freud caused him to conflict with Breuer. However, as a result, both Freud and Breuer contributed a lot to psychoanalysis through this case, and the Anna O. Case has taken its place in the literature as one of the most striking cases even today.

Who is Phineas Gage?

Phineas Gage was a railroad worker living in Vermont, United States, in 1848. As part of his job, he worked in rock breaking operations using explosives. On September 13, 1848, while on the job, a hammer used to charge an explosive went through Gage's left cheek up to his forehead and exited his skull. Because of this, he sustained a serious injury to the front of his head and sustained brain damage.

Phineas Gage's Changes

Phineas Gage survived the crash and revolted soon after. However, the first thing people noticed was that there was a significant change in Gage's personality. Gage, who had previously been a quiet and calm person, now displayed angry, aggressive and careless behavior. These behaviors were also noticed by close friends and family, and they agreed that there was a significant change in Gage's personality after the accident.

Effects of Brain Injury

The changes Gage went through provided an important source of information on how brain damage can affect human behavior and personality. Gage's frontal lobe was severely damaged after the accident. The frontal lobe has an important role in regulating and controlling human behavior. Therefore, frontal lobe damage can affect people's behavior and personality.

The changes that Gage experienced after the accident were met with great interest by the neuroscientists of the period. This interest has led to greater understanding of how different parts of the brain can affect human behavior. Therefore, the Phineas Gage case is an important milestone in neuroscience.

For the first time in history, it has been proven that damage to the frontal lobe of a person's brain has a direct impact on human behavior and personality. This discovery also triggered further work in neuroscience and marked a major step forward in understanding the complexity of the human brain.

The importance of the Phineas Gage case is still relevant today for neuroscientists trying to understand the complexity of the brain. Neuroscientists are learning more about the functions of the brain, especially when combined with modern technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is used to increase our understanding of the functions of different parts of the brain.

The Phineas Gage case also played an important role in understanding other factors that influence human behavior and personality. For example, it has led to greater understanding of the impact of childhood traumas on later behavior and personality.