Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

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Recommended: Essay on brain function

Having always been fascinated by how biological processes occurred, I attended a talk during my GCSE years about neurons and synaptic transmission, which first sparked my interest in neuroscience. I was astounded at how such a seemingly complex process could only take a fraction of a second and how we as incredibly complicated human beings are simply controlled by a network of electrical impulses. I was shocked to say the least and I wanted to discover more about the topic.

It was not until I started reading ‘Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ that I became engrossed in neuropsychology. One case that particularly intrigued me was the case of ‘the disembodied lady- Christina’. Christina had lost her proprioception (which is considered to be our sixth sense). …show more content…

Studying maths at AS-Level bettered my problem-solving skills and logical thinking which are necessary to pursue my studies within this field. Biology has improved my knowledge of the structure of the human body and how the different systems in the body work together to keep us alive. Chemistry has developed my understanding of how chemical reactions occur in the body including the ion movements in the nervous system, and has evoked my enthusiasm for neuropharmacology. This has also stemmed for studying how SSRI’s work to treat depression and OCD in psychology. Psychology influenced my fascination with memory and how we retain information. Whilst looking at the models of memory, I was introduced to the case study of Clive Wearing, which captivated my attention. Clive Wearing contracted Herpes Encephalitis, which damaged his hippocampus and therefore his short and long term memory encoding. However he could still remember how to play the piano. I hope that by studying neuroscience I will develop a greater understanding of how such events can

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