Brainstorm
Detective Stories from the World of Neurology
-
-
4.3 • 3 Ratings
-
-
- $15.99
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
A leading neurologist recounts some of her most astonishing and challenging cases, demonstrating how the study of epilepsy is critical to our understanding of the brain.
A “brilliant . . . beautifully humane account” for readers of Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Guardian, Best Books of the Year)
Brainstorm follows the stories of people whose medical diagnoses are so strange even their doctor struggles to solve them: a man who sees cartoon characters running across the room; a girl whose world suddenly seems completely distorted, as though she were Alice in Wonderland; another who transforms into a ragdoll whenever she even thinks about moving.
The brain is the most complex structure in the universe. Neurologists must puzzle out life-changing diagnoses from the tiniest of clues, the ultimate medical detective work. In this riveting book, Suzanne O’Sullivan takes you with her as she tracks the clues of her patients’ symptoms. It’s a journey that will open your eyes to the unfathomable intricacies of our brains and the infinite variety of human experience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In an informative if less than riveting casebook, neurologist O'Sullivan (Is It All in Your Head?) draws on clinical experiences with patients suffering from epilepsy to examine the mysterious connections between memory, imagination, fear, and seizure. She dubs epilepsy "the ultimate disease chameleon" and in 12 case studies tries to shed light on the much misunderstood affliction. Though the storytelling is disappointingly pedestrian, the author succeeds both in showing the brain as the most sophisticated of all puzzles and in giving a sense of the intricate problem solving that goes into the diagnosis and treatment of brain ailments. She is candid about her uncertainties the risks of surgery, the side effects of medications, the limitations of technology. Movingly, she recounts her struggle to understand a medical puzzle a healthy-looking patient with an abnormal brain scan and her sense of helplessness when another patient has a seizure during a clinic visit. However, the frequent asides on the history of brain research tend to impede the stories' flow, and the excitement of "detective stories" promised by the subtitle never arrives. However, the various viewpoints included from patients coping with epilepsy will make this a valuable resource for anyone interested in the topic.
