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What would you say about a woman who, despite stroke-induced paralysis crippling the entire left side of her body, insists that she is whole and strong--who even sees her left hand reach out to grasp objects? Freud called it "denial"; neurologists call it "anosognosia." However it may be labeled, this phenomenon and others like it allow us peeks into other mental worlds and afford us considerable insight into our own.
The writings of Oliver Sacks and others have shown us that we can learn much about ourselves by looking closely at the deficits shown by people with neurological problems. V.S. Ramachandran has seen countless patients suffering from anosognosia, phantom limb pain, blindsight, and other disorders, and he brings a remarkable mixture of clinical intuition and research savvy to bear on their problems. He is one of the few scientists who are able and willing to explore the personal, subjective ramifications of his work; he rehumanizes an often too-sterile field and captures the spirit of wonder so essential for true discovery. Phantoms in the Brain is equal parts medical mystery, scientific adventure, and philosophical speculation; Ramachandran's writing is smart, caring, and very, very funny.
Whether you're curious about the workings of the brain, interested in alternatives to expensive, high-tech science (much of Ramachandran's research is done with materials found around the home), or simply want a fresh perspective on the nature of human consciousness, you'll find satisfaction with Phantoms in the Brain. --Rob Lightner
From Publishers Weekly
In these unsettling tales from a neuroscientist every bit as quirky as the more famous Oliver Sacks, Ramachandran sets out his beliefs that no matter how bizarre the case, empirical, strikingly simple testing can illuminate the ways brain circuitry establishes "self." In a chatty, nearly avuncular style, he (along with his coauthor, a New York Times science writer) snatches territory from philosophers on how we think we know what we know. In one experiment, stroking an amputee's cheek produces sensations in his "phantom limb" because the part of the brain's map that once related to the lost limb has "invaded" the adjacent brain area that relates to the cheek. Unafraid to speculate, Ramachandran then moves a step closer toward indicating that the brain is not only a busy lump of genetically deemed-and-dying hard-wiring but an organ that can continuously "re-map" in response to new sensory information from the outside. Equally fascinating are Ramachandran's "mirror tricks" on amputees and paralyzed patients that begin to reveal how much the brain relies on context and comparison as well as on "inside" neural connectivity to form self. Perhaps most disquieting are beginnings of proof that much brain activity, including what we like to think of as uniquely human behavior, happens unbidden. There may be no escape from the un-Western conclusion that self is only a limited illusion. "De-throning man," as the author points out, is at the heart of most revolutionary scientific thought. Regrettably, his book sags in the middle as it drifts from these deft experiments into generalized musings on idiot-savants and phantom pregnancies, detracting from what is otherwise entertaining, tip-of-the-neurological-iceberg sleuthing. Photos and line drawings throughout. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Neuroscientist Ramachandran looks at neurological disorders to help us understand brain function.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Michael E. Goldberg
Phantoms in the Brain is about both the brain and V.S. Ramachandran, and he is a splendid subject indeed.
From Scientific American
People who suffer from certain illusions, such as sensations from a missing limb or a conviction that look- alike impostors have replaced one's parents, are often treated as psychiatric cases or neurological curiosities. Ramachandran, a brain researcher, sees them instead as "our guides into the inner workings of the human brain." He tells the stories of several such people and what their illusions suggest about how the brain works. Along the way the reader learns of Charles Bonnet syndrome, the vivid visual hallucinations experienced by some blind people (James Thurber probably among them); hemineglect, a condition that often follows a stroke in the right brain and causes the patient to be profoundly indifferent to objects and events on her left side; and pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy. Ramachandran thinks the line of research he describes may reach an epochal goal--the answer to "a question that has been steeped in mysticism and metaphysics for millennia: What is the nature of the self?"
From Booklist
Neurologist Ramachandran believes that being a medical scientist is not much different from being a detective. Helped by science writer Blakeslee, he demonstrates the likeness with maps of the brain, case histories, and reports of experiments. So doing, he strives to account, for instance, for how someone who has lost a leg may still report sensation in it. He shows how injured patients react when the "how" or "what" visual pathways in the brain have been damaged. He explains what happens to a person's self-image when one side of the body has been paralyzed: how can a person just neglect this side or deny the damage, as does happen? His explanations are clear and often helped by humor, and his experiments are masterpieces of both scientific logic and amazing inventiveness. Did James Thurber's visual hallucinations affect his cartoons? Why should a child feel his parents are impostors? Is there really a barrier between mind and matter? Those are some of the other fascinating neurological conundrums he considers. William Beatty
Dr. Francis Crick, Nobel Laureate
"This is a splendid book."
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