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Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions: memory and memories—looking back and looking forward
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  1. Brenda Milner,
  2. Denise Klein
  1. Montreal Neurological Institute, Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  1. Correspondence to Dr Brenda Milner, Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2B4; brenda.milner{at}mcgill.ca

https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2015-311092

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    In 1957, Scoville and Milner reported a series of case studies describing the nature of the memory defect they observed following bilateral surgical removals from the medial temporal region. The paper highlighted that extensive bilateral surgical excisions from the hippocampus and hippocampal gyrus resulted in severe and lasting memory loss; it also focused attention on these brain structures as critical for the maintenance of normal memory function.

    These findings ran counter to prevailing views at the time by linking a memory disturbance to damage to a specific part of the brain, and highlighted the fact that the hippocampal region was essential in the establishment of new and enduring memories. Milner had been invited to study this series of patients by the neurosurgeon, William Scoville, following a report by Milner and Penfield1 of two patients who showed unexpected memory loss following unilateral left-temporal lobe brain operations performed at the Montreal Neurological Hospital. …

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