the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons by sam kean

During the charge, little light penetrated the cocoon of his helmet. The world would have looked stunningly, alarmingly bright to the king of France, then suddenly dark. His case also provides a convenient introduction to the brain’s layout and general makeup. One of the landmark cases in medical history involved King Henri II of France, whose suffering foreshadowed almost every important theme in the next four centuries of neuroscience. PART ONE Gross Anatomy CHAPTER ONE The Dueling Neurosurgeons With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain’s secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims’ personalities. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Keanįrom the author of the bestseller The Disappearing Spoon, tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience.Įarly studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped.

The tale of the dueling neurosurgeons by sam kean