THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT (English)
Introduction
Have you ever wondered just how amazing your brain is? How can something so small hold so much power and knowledge? Different fields such as neurology and psychology join forces to solve the mysteries of the brain.We don't often think about our brains getting damaged because we do not know people who have brain-related conditions. It might come as a surprise to you, but many exceptional cases all lead back to a brain tumor or head injury.Dr. Oliver Sacks, the author of this book and a neurological expert, wrote about his extraordinary encounters with his patients. These stories are so odd that you'll probably scratch your head while reading the patients' condition.Follow through and further read to be amazed by how powerful the human brain can be.
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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat
Imagine if you can't remember people's faces. You can look at a person's face, smile at them, even talk to them, but the minute you look away, you forget their facial features entirely. The person you just spoke to seconds ago becomes another stranger to your eyes.Specific individuals live with this kind of condition because their optic visual processing is flawed. These patients can't process a face; instead, they rely on distinct features to recognize someone, such as dimples on both cheeks or a mole on the tip of the nose. That could be a result of a head injury or trauma to the head.Mr. P was a well-known musician and teacher. He would treat non-living things such as fire hydrants and doorknobs as people, as he would even talk to them. He could never recognize students by their faces but by their voices; they brushed it off as they considered his actions as part of his weird sense of humor.
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Mr. P. suffered from diabetes; therefore, he went to an ophthalmologist as he feared he would go blind. After the examination, the ophthalmologist said that there aren't any issues with his vision. Still, he suggested that Mr. P should consult a neurologist instead. Mr. P. went to Dr.Sacks for an evaluation; at first, Dr. Sacks did not recognize any abnormalities. However, as they communicated further – Dr. Sacks realized that Mr. P. was studying every facial feature.Starting from his left to his right eye, then moving towards his chin but could never recognize his face as a whole.Dr. Sacks became unsettled, yet he continued to conduct the regular examinations on Mr. P concerning muscle strength, coordination, and reflexes. These exams required Mr. P to remove his left shoe and put his shoe back on, though, after a few minutes, Mr. P's left foot remained bare.Dr. Sacks offered to help, but Mr. P. responded that his foot is already inside the shoe. Furthermore, Dr. Sacks pointed out that his left foot is still bare, only when Mr. P realized it. He said, “Ah! I thought that was my foot”, referring to Dr. Sacks' foot.
Apart from that unusual interaction, Dr. Sacks didn't recognize anything absurd. Moreover, Dr.Sacks then took out a magazine and asked Mr. P. to describe the pictures. Mr. P. would point out colors, shapes, or any little detail on the page, but yet would never recognize the image as a whole.Afterward, Dr. Sacks asked him to describe the picture of the Sahara Desert. Mr. P replied that there is a river and a little guest house, even though there was no such thing!Dr. Sacks was astonished, yet as Mr. P. turned around to leave the clinic, he thought that the doctor got impressed by him. His wife was sitting on a chair waiting for him.
Suddenly, Mr.P. looked around for his hat but couldn't find it. He held his wife's head to lift it off to put it on his head, as he confused his wife for being a hat! To continue the examinations, Dr. Sacks visited Mr. P. at his house; Dr. Sacks then realized that Mr. P. could recognize shapes and cartoon characters. However, he failed to name the people in the pictures all over his apartment, including himself, his co-workers, and students.If someone were familiar with him,Mr. P would identify the person because of a distinct feature such as a square jaw. He looked at things through clues and unique features, not for what they are as a whole.
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The Man Who Fell Out of Bed
We often forget just how complex our brains are. That complex organ inside our skull can hold hundreds of memories, names, and anything you can imagine. It doesn't seem like much, yet you can always rely on your brain whenever and wherever. Although it's easier to recognize what's wrong in our brains today than 100 years ago, there are still so many secrets alongside mysteries when it comes to our minds.If your brain suffers from a blood clot or an air bubble inside a blood vessel, it could produce destructive consequences. Even if the injury source is a minute part of your brain, it can affect your body's rest because your brain is connected to everything. Let's also not disregard that our brain acts as the central control of our whole body.
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Once, Dr. Sacks was called to a room that held a patient—a young man—who seemed okay before taking a nap. The young man got admitted because another doctor claimed he had a “lazy” left leg. When he woke up, the young man lay down on the floor and refused to go back to bed. He was staring at his left leg the whole time.Dr. Sacks asked the young man if he could return to his bed. The mere suggestion caused the patient to shake his head furiously, claiming that a severed human leg was on the bed. He was freaking out because it was such a shocking scene.Before Dr. Sacks could say anything, the young man exclaimed why there was a cold and weird-looking leg on his bed. He said that it must be a joke done by a nurse with a dark sense of humor. Since it was New Year's Eve, the nurse might have drunk too much and decided to make fun of him.
The nurse must have taken out the severed leg and placed it on his bed. The young man looked proud and pleased with himself because he solved the mystery of the portion.However, suddenly the young man threw the leg out of bed. As his lips trembled, he declared that the leg was chasing him because now, it is attached to his body. He panicked and then tried to remove his leg from his body while shouting over how sickening and horrifying it is.The young man kept beating his leg until Dr. Sacks intervened by saying that it was his leg and not just a random person's leg. The young man also thought that Dr. Sacks was making fun of him.Afterward, it took him a while to realize that it was indeed just his leg.The young man then explained that it didn't feel like it was his leg because it felt so foreign. Dr. Sacks then asked the young man if it wasn't his leg, then where is his real leg?The young man looked like he was on the verge of fainting, but he still managed to reply by saying that his leg had disappeared and nowhere to be found.
On the Level
We all know that we have five senses. Yet, there's an additional one that's unconscious and automatic. Some even call it our 6th sense; it helps one know that our arms are resting at our sides, our legs are at the lower part of our body, and finally, our body is adequately aligned.This 6th sense is called proprioception.Often we take such things for granted because it's so apparent and candid; we don't ever give it a second thought. However, without proprioception, our bodies won't feel like it's our own. Proprioception is often an unconscious and taken-for-granted sense because we don't have any incentive to pay attention to it. Solely, only when it's missing, we realize how significant it is, for instance, such as not being able to breathe suddenly properly.
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Dr. Sacks met Mr. MacGregor in a neurology clinic of a retirement village. Mr. MacGregor complained that other people assume that he is leaning to the side while he walked, even though he is absolutely sure that he is walking straight as a stick.To determine who was right, Dr. Sacks asked Mr. MacGregor to walk in a straight line and told him that they would record a video of him. Dr. Sacks noted that even though he was 93, Mr. MacGregor was still alert and didn't look like his age.Mr. MacGregor confidently stood up and did as the doctor informed him.Dr. Sacks then realized that Mr. MacGregor didn't certainly walk straight, as he was leaning towards the side repeatedly. As what other people observed was true.Mr. MacGregor was shocked plus surprised when he saw himself in the video. He even stated that he still doesn't feel that he was leaning to the side at all.Dr. Sacks explained to the older man about proprioception. Mr. MacGregor gave an example to make sure that he understood the concept. The old man said that other people have a small voice inside their head that tells them, “Don't lean to the side! Walk straight!” but he doesn't have that little voice
Dr. Sacks confirmed that he got the idea.Mr. MacGregor also related it to his former job as a carpenter; they use a spirit level tool, which tells carpenters if a surface is leveled or not. It looks like a bar with a water tube in the middle. When the body is balanced, the water bubble gets steady in the center. However, when the surface is tilted on one side, the drop goes somewhere else.Due to his Parkinson's Disease, Mr. MacGregor's natural body “spirit level” was destroyed.Dr. Sacks and Mr. MacGregor united forces to solve the older man's difficulty.Then they attached an extended horizontal level to each side of Mr. MacGregor's glasses so that he would observe if he is leaning towards a side or not.It wasn't easy at first because Mr.MacGregor had to continue monitoring the levels each time. But soon, he grew used to it.Eventually, at last, the older man finally walked as straight as a stick.