Sara Manning Peskin Livres

Fascinating stories about the mysteries of the brain. Our brain is the most complex machine known to humanity, yet it has a vulnerability: the same molecules that enable our existence can sabotage our minds. A young woman, freshly graduated, forgets she had breakfast in the morning and finds herself in the hospital by evening, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose instead descends into a rage and convulsions so severe he nearly bites off his tongue. In South Carolina, poor farmers are dying during a mysterious epidemic of dementia. Sara Manning Peskin not only follows the stories of patients with neurological disorders but also highlights the incredible, often underappreciated researchers dedicated to uncovering the secrets of the human brain, including Alois Alzheimer and Arnold Pick. Importantly, she never loses sight of the human dimension of these diseases. Like Oliver Sacks before her, Peskin inspires a new generation of neurologists, neuroscientists, and brain researchers.

"A neurologist regales readers with extraordinary stories of the brain under siege. Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: The very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are true accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake, from total loss of inhibitions to florid psychosis to compulsive lying. Cognitive neurologist Sara Manning Peskin demystifies the most curious neurological phenomena through the perspective of patients, researchers, and science. She introduces us to a woman stuck in The Walking Dead, a family wracked with Alzheimer's disease, and an entire region gripped by a baffling epidemic. By tracing the molecular causes for neurologic diseases, Peskin highlights cutting-edge developments in cognitive research, making the case that these are the stories that will one day teach us how to cure dementia and other diseases of the brain. A Molecule Away from Madness offers a captivating, singular view of the human brain."-- Provided by publisher