What makes us who we are? Is it our background that creates our identities? Or our families, where we lived, how we were brought up and educated, the jobs we've held? Yes, all of the above, but more fundamental than any of these is our brain.
Our Brains, Our Selves, What a Neurologist's Patients Taught Him About the Brain by Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience, weaves the stories of people with brain disorders with neuroscience, elements of social psychology and personal memoir.
Professor Husain says: 'It is a collection about 7 of my patients, over 30 years of being a neurologist. Each is fascinating in their own way but I realised that together they exemplify different aspects of brain damage that also help to reveal aspects of our selves – what it means to be human and have a sense of self.
We often take our personal and social identities for granted, but these are not trivial to achieve. As these patients show us, when you lose just one aspect of brain function, there can be a profound alteration of both those forms of identity.'
The book will be published by Canongate on 13 February 2025, and launched with an event at Blackwell's Bookshop, Oxford with Charlotte Stagg.
Professor Husain is also discussing the book at the Oxford Literary Festival in April.
To coincide with the book launch, Professor Husain was interviewed by David Aaronovitch for The Telegraph. You can read the full article (subscription needed) here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/conditions/dementia/masud-husain-the-scientist-tackling-our-brain-secrets/