What happens if you’re a scientist who studies the brain and you have a stroke? This talk by Jill Bolte Taylor (part of TED series) really is a must see. She had a stroke in the left side of her brain, which is the part that controls logic and reason. It’s a fascinating talk (just over 20 minutes).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU[/youtube]
She also wrote a book about the experience.
This story is both infuriating and touching, called My Lobotomy. It’s the story of Howard Dully, who was lobotomized as a 12-year-old at the behest of his stepmother. I highly recommend listening to this story, it’s about 25 minutes long. Howard Dully also has a memoir available.
If you’re really interested in the weird things your brain can do, I recomment The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (Sacks is the doctor from Awakenings). It’s a book about various neurological disorders and the strange effects they can have. The book is old (first published in 1970), so you may be surprised by some of the terminology in it.