Musicophilia

Musicophilia is neurologist Oliver Sacks' latest book delving into "different brained" people. The book focuses on music and its impact on people afflicted with different reactions to music. One patient is a man who after being struck by lightening, is suddenly inspired to become a concert pianist.

Sacks also examines a group of children with Williams Syndrome who have an extreme love of music right from birth. As a contrast, he examines a group of people with amusia - they hear a symphony as if it's just pots and pans banging away. He also examines an especially intriguing patient who has no short term memory and can't remember anything that happened more than 7 seconds ago, except when it comes to music, which he can remember thoroughly.

Oliver Sacks has been an instrumental person in bringing rare brain phenomenon to the mainstream. With Musicophilia he examines how music goes wrong in some individuals and how it goes absolutely right in most others. He features inspiring stories of Alzeimer's patients, patients suffering from Parkinson's and stroke victims and how music helped in some way.