In The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, Sam Kean travels through time with stories of neurological curiosities: Phantom limbs, Siamese twin brains, viruses that eat patients' memories, blind people who see through their tongues. Some people couldn't speak but could still sing. Pillars of the community became pathological liars. Parents suddenly couldn't recognize their own children. Observers were amazed by the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed, altering victims' personalities. In many cases their survival was miraculous, if puzzling. The author of the best seller The Disappearing Spoon reveals the secret inner workings of the brain through strange-but-true stories.Įarly studies of the human brain used a simple method: Wait for misfortune to strike - strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, horrendous accidents - and see how victims coped.
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