Brainstorm: Detective Stories From the World of Neurology

'I loved it. She is in my view the best science writer around - a true descendant of Oliver Sacks' Sathnam Sanghera, author of The Boy with the Topknot The brain is the most complex structure in the universe. In Brainstorm the Wellcome Prize-winning author of It’s All in Your Head uncovers the most eye-opening symptoms medicine has to offer. ‘Powerfully life-affirming... Brainstorm is testament to O'Sullivan's unshowy clarity of thought and her continued marvelling at the mysteries of the brain’ Guardian Brainstorm examines the stories of people whose symptoms are so strange even their doctor struggles to know how to solve them. A man who sees cartoon characters running across the room; a teenager who one day arrives home with inexplicably torn clothes; a girl whose world turns all Alice in Wonderland; another who transforms into a ragdoll whenever she even thinks about moving. The brain is the most complex structure in the universe, and neurologists must puzzle out life-changing diagnoses from the tiniest of clues – it’s the ultimate in medical detective work. In this riveting book, one of the UK’s leading neurologists takes you with her as she follows the trail of her patients’ symptoms: feelings of déjà vu lead us to a damaged hippocampus; spitting and fidgeting to the right temporal lobe; fear of movement to a brain tumour; a missed heart beat to the limbic system. It’s a journey that will open your eyes to the unfathomable intricacies of the brain, and the infinite variety of human capacity and experience.

About the Author :
Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan has been a consultant in neurology since 2004, first working at The Royal London Hospital and now as a consultant in clinical neurophysiology and neurology at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and for a specialist unit based at the Epilepsy Society. She specialises in the investigation of complex epilepsy and also has an active interest in psychogenic disorders. Suzanne’s book about psychosomatic illness, It's All in Your Head, won both the Wellcome Book Prize and the Royal Society of Biology Book Prize.

Review :
Powerfully life-affirming... Brainstorm is testament to O'Sullivan's unshowy clarity of thought and her continued marvelling at the mysteries of the brain A fascinating attempt to draw the lay reader into understanding more about the function and malfunction of the brain by using real-life stories... O'Sullivan is a good, clear writer, lacks pomposity and avoids cliché -- her first book, It's All in Your Head, won the Wellcome Prize O'Sullivan writes beautifully and is full of wonder... a pleasure A tremendously interesting work of medical humanity... The main effect of this fascinating collection of clinical stories, by the end, is to make any reader without brain dysfunction exceedingly grateful for the fragile miracle going in inside their own skull every second I loved it. She is in my view the best science writer around - a true descendant of Oliver Sacks Eye-opening...her case histories alert us to the endless variety of human experience Engaging and diverse... Brainstorm isn't just a good read. It's full of interesting science, clearly described... In a literary scene now overrun with books by doctors, many of them bald exercises in self-aggrandisement, this one stands out. Brainstorm is an engrossing book written by a doctor whose primary interest is in her patients Full of fascinating insights... As one would expect from a neurologist in the Oliver Sacks tradition, O'Sullivan is a sure guide to these maverick brains Brainstorm is an engaging collection of neurological case stories interwoven with lucid scientific asides. It offers keen insights into the disturbing and fascinating condition of epilepsy, and thereby the ever-elusive workings of the brain. It will undoubtedly appeal to clinicians and students across a range of disciplines but deserves a much wider readership Tender, moving and fascinating… This is a book about neurology, and how the function of our brains affects everything. But it is much more than that. Suzanne O’Sullivan’s real detective work is found in the gaps and spaces between doctor and patient, where she gets to the heart of who we are