Oliver Sacks

Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about hallucinations and what they tell us about how the brain works. His book, Hallucinations, weaves together stories of his patients and of his own hallucinatory experiences and explores how hallucinations have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all, a vital part of the human condition.

Neurologist Oliver Sacks was on the Leonard Lopate Show recently to talk about hallucinations, how they're caused, and why we experience them so vividly. He also told us he's a fan of ferns. Find out what else Dr. Sacks is a fan of!

Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about hallucinations, which can be linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. His new book, Hallucinations, weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences to illuminate what hallucinations tell us about the organization and structure of our brains, how they have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all, a vital part of the human condition. 

Neurologist Oliver Sacks tells stories of people who manage to navigate the world and communicate, despite losing what many consider indispensable senses and abilities: the power of speech, the ability to recognize faces, the sense of three-dimensional space, the ability to read, and to see. In The Mind’s Eye he considers the fundamental questions: How do we see? How do we think?