A Portrait of the Brain

In this book, the author, a neurologist, tells the stories of patients with a variety of neurological disorders, some familiar (epilepsy, chronic fatigue, stroke, memory loss), and others relatively mysterious (narcolepsy, chronic deja vu, compulsive fidgeting, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Chapter by chapter, he reveals the various levels of the brain, from the atom to the mind, and explores what happens when workings at each level go awry. Readers, even those with no special knowledge of medicine or science, are taken to the very frontiers of current scientific knowledge. The author elucidates the workings of the brain in astonishing detail, weaving together fascinating case histories as well as clear accounts of concepts and discoveries in neuroscience. Also considered is what the brain's behavior and misbehavior can tell us about the human self as physical system, living creature, and conscious mind. In a final chapter he reflects on the place of the mind in nature.