Search results for ""Author Dr Guy Leschziner""

A fascinating exploration of how our senses can enrich our experience of the world around us – and how they can work against us Our senses form an integral part of our daily experiences, memories and the way in which we view our surroundings. They can both enrich or hinder our life experiences, offering their own interpretation on what we can see, hear, smell, touch or feel. However, what we perceive to be the absolute truth of the world around us is a complex reconstruction, a virtual reality recreated by the machinations of our minds and our nervous systems. In The Man Who Tasted Words, consultant neurologist and author and presenter Guy Leschziner seeks to explore our senses and how they construct our perception of the world around us. This book features extraordinary individuals, whose senses have been altered in some way, and whose stories illustrate important insights into normal sensory function. It will also explore how our senses can work against us – wreaking havoc not only with our perceptions, but our relationship with ourselves and our families, sometimes with unexpected consequences. Featuring interviews with patients and experts in the field, this book will change the way we view the power of our senses and their role in our way of being.

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‘From the opening paragraph, I was spellbound, entranced. Through real stories about what happens when our fragile perception of the world around us and within us is severed, Guy Leschziner connects us back to our senses.’ Professor Alice Roberts Where are you now? Look around you; what can you see? Close your eyes and think of a loved one – do you see their face? Stretch out a hand; what can you feel with your fingertips, your palm, the soft underside of your wrist? What can you hear – nearby and far away? The information you receive from your senses makes up your world. But that world does not exist. What we perceive to be the absolute truth of the world around us is a complex reconstruction, a virtual reality created by the complex machinations of our minds in tandem with the wiring of our nervous systems. But what happens if that wiring goes awry? What happens if connections falter, or new and unexpected connections are made? Tiny shifts in the microbiology of our nervous systems can cause the world around us to shift and mutate, to become alien and unfamiliar. In The Man Who Tasted Words, consultant neurologist Guy Leschziner takes us on a journey through the senses, exploring how each one shapes our experience of the world. And investigating what happens when they deviate from the norm. Along the way we meet a number of extraordinary individuals and step through the looking glass and into their worlds. Worlds where hot and cold are reversed, where a person with no sight sees fantastical visions, or where words have a taste and sounds create sensations. But while fascinating, their experiences are more than simply curiosities. They teach us about our own perception of the world, forcing us to question the idea of ‘normal’ senses, and whether such a thing even exists. Does blue look the same to you and me? Does grass smell the same? Or sugar taste as sweet? Do we even have the same understanding of what ‘sweet’ is?The Man Who Tasted Words unpacks the science behind your senses and challenges you to try and see the world through another’s eyes – and ears, and nose and mouth. It will illuminate, it will surprise, and it will leave your world just a little bit changed. ‘A truly astonishing book – from the story of the man who tasted words to that of Paul who could pull out his own teeth and break his legs yet feel no pain. These are beautifully and engagingly written stories of how our senses tell us about the reality of the world – or, sometimes, don’t.’ Gavin Esler, author of How Britain Ends ‘Stories of people who experience the world differently show us what it means to be human. This is a deeply moving and powerful book, full of provocative ideas about human perception and the way we construct reality.’ Daniel M. Davis, author of The Secret Body and The Beautiful Cure ‘This is a book vibrant with personality and full of wonder. Professor Leschziner takes us through an exploration of our senses, making us question the nature of our reality and how we interpret the world around us. It is a profound, entertaining and quite exceptional book.’ Dr Alastair Santhouse, Psychiatrist and Author of Head First ‘In vivid stories of patient maladies that affect our very human sensations of sight, sound, smell, touch and pain, Leschziner has deeply explored the sensory experiences that bombard every moment of our lives but of which we are barely aware. What a terrific melding of brain science with thoughtful ideas on our window to the outside world.’ Allan Ropper, author of Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole and How the Brain Lost its Mind. ‘A fascinating, important and disturbing book. Words will never taste the same again!’ John Humphrys

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For those fascinated by neurology and for fans of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat comes a powerful exploration of the mind during night time. Here are the mysteries of sleep, explained – from known conditions to the extreme. ‘The Secret World of Sleep interweaves bizarre real life stories with cutting edge neurological science in the true tradition of Oliver Sacks. A fascinating read.' Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4 World-renowned neurologist and sleep expert, Doctor Guy Leschziner, takes you through various sleep conditions and how they arise and affect people. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors and apnoea are just some of the conditions afflicting those struggling with sleep. Then there are the extreme cases. The people frighten into paralysis by hallucinations. The woman in a state of deep sleep who gets dressed and goes for a drive. The teenager with ‘Sleeping Beauty Syndrome’, stuck in a cycle of excessive unconsciousness. The man who cleans out kitchens while 'sleep-eating'. With compassionate stories of his patients and their conditions, Leschziner illustrates the neuroscience behind our sleeping minds, revealing the many biological and psychological factors necessary in getting the rest needed for health and happiness. Pick of the Best Paperbacks - Sunday Times Best January Paperbacks - The Times Must Read Brain Books 2019 - Forbes Magazine The Best Neuroscience Books of 2019 - The Scientist Magazine The Best Books of 2019 - New Zealand Herald Best 100 Summer Reads 2019 - Sunday Times Week's best Science Picks - Nature Books of the Year 2019 - Irish Independent

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