I have to admit up front that I am a huge fan of Oliver Sacks and narrative medical literature in general, especially when it deals with the further reaches of our treacherous brains. This is just a warning to those suffering from ADHD (or whatever bizarre name and/or acronym it hides under this week) that you may want to skip this post.
In my inbox today appeared a wonderful edition of Cerebrum from the Dana Foundation. The lead story is about a British Neurologist and amateur pianist who lost his ability to read or play music from a score following a stroke which damaged a small area of his brain. He also lost his ability to appreciate music emotionally, though the damaged parietal cortex is not typically associated with emotional response, suggesting that:
part of the parietal cortex might be a gateway through which the emotional systems of the brain find out whether a sequence of events and actions merges into a coherent experience.
I doubt that the editors realize that music long ago lost its coherent musical notation and can often lead to absurd emotional chaos.
A bonus feature, and one close to my own current experiences, deals with the idea of "Cosmetic Neurology" and The Problem of Pain.
Image of the score for Brain Eno's "Music for Airports."
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