Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain

What makes us who we are? Is it our background that creates our identities? Or our families, where we lived, how we were brought up and educated, the jobs we've held? Yes, all of the above, but more fundamental than any of these is our brain. This is never more evident than if we lose even a single one of our cognitive abilities. People who develop a brain disorder can find that their identity, their sense of self, can undergo dramatic changes. Through the stories of seven of his patients, acclaimed Oxford University neurologist Masud Husain shows us how our brains create our identity, how that identity can be changed, and sometimes even be restored. Among the people we encounter is a man who ran out of words, a woman who stopped caring what others thought of her and another who, losing her memory, started to believe she was having an affair with the man who was really her husband. These compelling human dramas reveal how our identities are created by different functions within the brain. They show how modern neuroscience can help to explain the changes in behaviour that occur when our perception, attention, memory, motivation or empathy are altered. By understanding how our brains normally function, neurologists are bringing hope to patients with brain disorders and illuminating the human experience. The resulting journey will ignite new ideas about who we really are and why we act in the ways we do.

About the Author :
Masud Husain is Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at New College, Oxford. Unusually, he works across departments of neuroscience, brain imaging and psychology to understand cognitive functions in both healthy people and patients with brain disorders. Masud is Editor-in-Chief of Brain, a leading international journal of neurology. First established in 1878, Brain is widely considered to be the most influential publication in the field, with its monthly editorials being a key source of authoritative perspectives. @MasudHusain | masudhusain.org

Review :
[A] funny, fascinating book . . . Above all, the book is a reminder of how mysterious the workings of the human brain are [and] builds a powerful case for supporting people whose brains have become unruly, rather than isolating them An extraordinary book - one of a kind - as beautifully written as it is deeply humane and scientifically fascinating. This book is as brilliant as anything written by Oliver Sacks, a real-life medical detective story that is life-enhancing and beautiful This masterful book, written by an internationally eminent neurologist, combines gentle humour with deep scientific insight. If you have any interest in the brain and the structure that makes us what we are, this is an essential read. Through personal experience, fascinating case studies and the science of the brain, this book leads you gently by the hand through the most complex structure in the known universe A beautifully written, moving story of how your brain creates and sometimes changes your sense of who you really are. Science writing reminiscent of the best of Oliver Sacks In this wonderful book, Masud Husain brings readers on a journey through the many facets of the self, viewed through the lens of his first-person experiences as a neurologist. A masterful storyteller, Husain infuses this very personal memoir with scholarship and cutting-edge science, in the process, shedding light on the neural mechanisms that make us uniquely human The human brain is the single most complex thing in the universe, and even its most minor hiccoughs can lead to terrifying conditions that are often still beyond the power of modern medicine to treat. In this beautifully written, very personal account of tales from his neurologist's consulting room, Masud Husain reminds us just why we need to continue to probe the mysteries of how the brain works. I couldn't put it down A rare combination of elegant prose, captivating storytelling and academic rigour. Through his patients, and his own experiences of clinical medicine, Masud illuminates those aspects of the brain that define us and our place in the world Our Brains, Our Selves is a delight. Masud Husain writes with wit, wisdom and kindness, weaving deeply personal stories of lives transformed by brain damage with insights from the frontiers of modern neuroscience. By gently evoking details from his patients that expose the brain mechanisms that are beginning to go awry, he reveals that what really binds us all together is the fragility of our selves Clinical neurology remains a critical component of contemporary brain science as Masud Husain clearly demonstrates in his new book Our Brains, Our Selves The book is rich and informative, drawing on [Husain's] medical experience, as well as his own authoritative knowledge of cognitive neuroscience. Told in an inviting and entertaining narrative style, Husain offers a compelling narrative that is easily in the same league as other great storytellers of neuroscience, like Alexander Luria, Antonio Damasio and Oliver Sacks