Disturbances of the Mind

Douwe Draaisma is Professor in the History of Psychology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is the author of Metaphors of Memory (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older (Cambridge University Press, 2004).

• Introduction: not the Draaisma syndrome; 1. Towards dusk the images appear: Bonnet syndrome; 2. A tormenting round of tremors: Parkinson's disease; 3. Phineas Gage's posthumous stroll: the Gage matrix; 4. The Celestine Prophesy: Broca's area; 5. Sparks from a Leyden jar: Jackson's epilepsy; 6. Siberian brandy: Korsakoff syndrome; 7. Go to hell, idiot! Gilles de la Tourette syndrome; 8. A labyrinth of tangles: Alzheimer's disease; 9. The Mercator of neurology: Brodmann's areas; 10. The headquarters of madness: Clérambault syndrome; 11. A cup of tea for the doppelgänger: Capgras syndrome; 12. Little professors: Asperger syndrome; 13. The Cardan suspension of science.

'One can open this book at any chapter - but having done so, one cannot put it down. Disturbances of the Mind, combining deep learning with beguiling narrative, and full of fascinating information and ideas, is one of those rare books that will delight professionals and public alike.' Oliver Sacks