British neurologist Oliver Sacks
Discusses decades of work with patients suffering from debilitating brain disorders.
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| British neurologist Oliver Sacks |
On Tuesday we speak to renowned British neurologist Oliver Sacks about his decades of work with patients suffering from debilitating brain disorders.
In 1973, he published Awakenings, a book about his treatment of patients suffering from sleeping sickness (encephalitis lethargica), a devastating illness that swept the world between 1917-1928.
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The disease would leave some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless. During the outbreak over 5 million died from the disease.
In 1990 the book was made into a film starring Robert De Niro and Robert Williams.
His tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains. In his latest book Musicophilia, Dr Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson’s disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organise people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer’s or amnesia.
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Published On 15 Dec 2007