The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

1. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat Oliver Sacks

2. CEZAR OCTAVIAN MOROSANU by

3. Neuroskills • Through time and space, humans have experienced phenomena that stratled their sensations and researched the world around them for answers. But on certain aspect he found none. Why? Because he was looking in the wrong place. • We can see matter, but we cannot see what`s the matter. • The truth resided in the intricate mosaic that is his brain, and albeit it is the most developped structure evolution through natural selection has brought so far, it can still be tricked by simple things. • Imagine the implications of a serious disorder

4. “To talk of diseases is a sort of Arabian Nights entertainment” William Osler

16. Oliver Sacks Oliver Sacks is renown as a physician, a neurologist and the author of nine other books. He wrote the book of Awakenings which inspired the Oscar-nominated film. His most recent writing Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain explores the power of music and its influences to the brain based on his patient experiences. Currently, he is living in New York City as a professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University.

18. … and other clinical tales The book consists of 24 short stories that are divided into four parts which are Losses, Excesses, Transports, and The World of The Simple. Each part represents stories of people who have specific problems on brain functions which will be represented through each paragraph of this summary. The summary discusses some of the stories which represent the specific neurological disorder as the main idea of each part.

19. Part One LOSSES • “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live”   Norman Cousins

20. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat • On The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat, Dr. P is a musician who had problems with his visual images. He couldn’t recognize things around him, even his face, wife, foot, shoes, etc. Therefore, he grabbed his wife’s head to put on his head, because he thought that his wife was a hat. But, he has wonderful musical intelligence, he can do his activities if he’s singing, but he would forget everything and completely stop his activities when he’s interrupted from his singing

21. The Lost Mariner • The Lost Mariner is the story of Jimmie G, a man who was a radio operator in a submarine. He can’t remember anything, except his life experiences before mid 1940’s. Therefore, he is stuck in a world where he thinks he is 19 years old young man. But, that does not affect his excellent ability in science and math. He can compare each chemical elements and arithmetical and algebra calculations do not seem an issue to him.

22. The Disembodied Lady • The Disembodied Lady is the story of 27 years young woman, with two young children who worked in computer programming. Her life has changed, since the attack of abdominal pain and she can’t feel her body and control it. Therefore, she has to learn how to walk, move and other functions of her body.

23. The Man Who Fell out of Bed • The Man Who Fell out of Bed is the story of a man who can’t feel his leg. There is a main scene when he is determined to throw his leg out of bed, because he thought that his leg seems to be fake, far from being his own.

24. Hands • Hands is the story of 60 years old Madeleine, a blind woman who can’t do anything through her hands, because she feels that her hands are useless, inactive as “lumps of dough”.

25. Phantoms • Phantoms is about the feeling of having lost a part of your body, mainly limbs, due to amputation and the odd sensation that it`s still there.

26. On the Level • On the Level is about 93 years old man with Parkinson disease, who has a problem maintaining his balance. The peculiar thing is that her 20 degrees deviated walk seems to be perceived as being streight.

27. Eyes Right! • Eyes Right! is the story of Mrs S, around 60 years old. Mrs S. suffered a massive stroke which damaged her right cerebral hemisphere, causing her left side to be num.

28. The President`s Speech • The last story of The President Speech presents the patients who have global aphasia. They are incapable of understanding words in general, so that they found Presidents’ speeches either very funny or very infuriating.

29. Part Two: EXCESSES “What doesn`t kill you, makes you… stranger” The Joker (from The Dark Knight)

30. Witty Ticcy Ray • Witty Ticcy Ray is the story of Ray a 24 year old pacient Tourette’s syndrome characterized - in this case - by the excess of energyand the great production of spontaneous motions. He has remarkable musical ability such as hitting the drum, and in various games, such as ping-pong. He is excellent on doing all those things, because he has abnormal quickness of reflect and reactions.

31. Cupid`s Disease • The Cupid’s Disease is the story of Natasha K., 90 years old woman who fell herself becomes more energetic, alive and young. She had syphilis seventy years ago which commonly is called cupid’s disease. She chooses to stay energetic, rather than to be treated. The other patient, Miguel O., who has neurosyphilis. He has excited imagination and energy. When Dr. Sacks gave him Haldol, he became slowly down and lost his excited imagination.

32. A Matter of Identity • A Matter of Identity is the story of Mr. Thompson who can’t recognize anyone, but he can create fictional characters.

33. Yes, Father - Sister • Yes, Father-Sister is the story of Mrs. B, a former research chemist. On her consult she called Dr. Sacks “father, sister, and sometimes doctor”. She knows the right and left, but she can’t differentiate them.

34. The Possessed • The Possessed is the story of Sacks’s experiences on observing Touretters in the street of New York City

35. Part Three: TRANSPORTS If a man claims to talk to the dead he is called a mad man. If many claim they can, then it`s called religion. Bertrand Russell

36. Reminiscence • Reminiscence is the story of Mrs. O’C who had dream of her childhood in Ireland where she was dancing and singing. It was not simply a dream, because since then, she felt that she is lived in her childhood memories.

37. Incontinent Nostalgia • In Incontinent Nostalgia, a 63 year old woman who had Parkinson disease, since she was 18 years old. Using L-Dopa to treat her Parkinson she experienced a side effect, and that was the nostalgia and joyful memories of her youth life.

38. A Passage to India • A Passage to India is the story of Bhagawahndi P., a 19 years old Indian girl, who suffered form a malignant brain tumor. She had dreams and visions that she was in his country, India, return to her normal life as a young girl. She enjoyed her dreams and visions day to day, until the rest of her life.

39. A Dog Beneath the Skin • The Dog Beneath the Skin is the story of a 22 year medical student who had a dream that he was a dog. Since then, he can sniff like a dog. He has excellent smell ability like a dog. He could recognize every street, shop, food by smell.

40. Murder • Murder is the story of a man who killed his daughter under the influence of PCP (phenylcyclohexylpiperidine). • Therefore, he didn’t remember it then. • The murder was the irruption of a psychotic fantasy. When he became conscious, he realised what he has done. But, nothing he could do, because the harm was done.

41. The Visions of Hildegard • The Visions of Hildegard is the story of woman who experienced hallucinations of her earliest childhood, mysticism, and spiritualism. She can imagine and create the picture of “city of God” and other illusive pictures.

42. Part Four: THE WORLD OF THE SIMPLE “There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit” Alexander Pope

43. Rebecca • Rebecca is the story of Rebecca, a 19 years old girl who loves stories, poetry, and others arts. She acted like a child in some ways, such as she couldn’t find the key of the door, couldn’t use her clothes on. Her grandmother was the one who took care of her since her parents died. Unfortunately, her grandmother passed away, and her world started to gradually fall apart. That is until she joined the special theater group, where she seemed to be in her environment.

44. A Walking Grove • A Walking Grove is the story of Martin A, a 61 years old man who had Parkinson and Meningitis. He has amazing musical memory, such as he can remember 2000 operas. He acts and uses language like a child, and his spirit of music makes him survive.

45. The Twins • The Twins is the story of John and Michael who were 26 years old. They were well known because of their remarkable memory of documentation. They knew the content of matches in a box , but they didn`t actually understand the meaning of that number. Their world is very simple, just remembering without understanding.

46. The Autist Artist • In The Autist Artist, the 21 years old young man, pictured by many as an idiot, unveils a remarkable talent in drawing. When Dr. Sacks asked him to draw certain pictures, he could reproduce them up to the most small details.