The Neurology Lounge

In this short podcast, I highlight 10 major neurological disorders that can afflict pregnant women.

Linda Gask joins me in this episode to explore her dual perspectives of depression as a sufferer, and as a psychiatrist. Emerita Professor of Primary Care Psychiatry, Linda chronicles her history of depression which first reared its head when she was in medical school, and dogged her career as a junior doctor and then as a consultant.

Linda described the manifestations of her depression, from low mood and poor motivation to physical pain and suicidality. She also highlighted her co-morbid performance anxiety, obsessiveness, and ruminative thoughts. We also explored her biopsychosocial vulnerabilities to depression, such as a...

In this episode I take an exhaustive look at the diverse perspectives of depression, that pervasive mood disorder that afflicts far too many people. I explore its gradual onset and chronic, often life-long course, and highlight the overwhelming features of depression, from low mood and poor appetite to poor sleep and loss of interest in pleasurable activities. I also explore the less appreciated dimension of the pain of depression.

I illustrate the lived experience of depression with such fascinating patient accounts as that of Sally Brampton titled Shoot the Damned Dog, of Lewis Wolpert titled Malignant Sadness...

This brief podcast reviews the top ten causes of persistent impairment of consciousness.

I am joined in this podcast by Joanne Hedger to discuss her lifelong experience of aphantasia, something she has written about in her memoir titled Aphantasia: Journeying Through Mind Blindness and Embracing Our Unique Neurodiversity with Passion and Purpose. Our conversation delved into how she discovered she had aphantasia when she alone was unable to understand a joke with friends in a camp site. We also explored the emotions this discovery evoked in her, from loneliness and regret to relief and understanding.

Beyond her inability to imagine visually, Joanne also reflected on other lifelong characteristics, such as...

In this episode, I explore the fascinating phenomenon of aphantasia, the inability to imagine. I discuss the manifestations of the condition which primarily affects visual imagination, but which also affects the ability to imagine sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and even feelings. The podcast also illustrates how aphantasia influences recollection of memories, and how it impacts of education and career.

I illustrate aphantasia with such fascinating memoirs as that of Charlotte Langlais, titled 'Aphantasia Club', and of Alan Kendle titled 'Discover the Fascinating World of Aphantasia', to show the different ways by which people with aphantasia discover that...

In this episode, I explore 10 disorders that manifest during sleep, or are considered sleep disorders. These range from the more familiar REM sleep behaviour disorder, to the lesser-known exploding head syndrome.

I am joined in this podcast by Holly Frances to discuss her experience of Guillain Barre syndrome as she narrated in her illness memoir titled Life Support: Surviving Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Holly is a mother in a blended family of five, and the face behind Holly After GBS on social media, where her recovery videos have inspired millions of people around the world.

Our conversation traced Holly’s illness from onset with mild sensory symptoms through to complete paralysis within a short time. Importantly, she highlighted less appreciated symptoms of the disease that she experienced, particularly neck pain, a...

In this episode, I delve into Guillain Barre syndrome, a relatively common neurological disorder. I discuss the clinical manifestations of the disease which range from fairly rapid weakness and sensory impairment to pain and breathing difficulty. I also detail the long road to recovery from the disease. The podcast also discusses the almost limitless triggers for GBS, from infections and vaccinations to trauma and childbirth.

I also review the pathology of the disease, explaining how a wide range of antibodies target the fatty myelin covering of the nerves to reduce the efficiency of electrical nerve transmission. The...

In this episode, Amanda Ellison joins me to explore the intersection of brain science and clinical practice as it relates to cluster headache. Amanda is a neuroscientist and physiologist, professor in the Psychology Department in Durham University and former Director of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, and she is interested in understanding how different brain regions communicate to create our behaviour and experience of the world around us.

Our conversation on the history of the understanding of cluster headache used the monickers that have been applied over time as fulcrum, and these included migrainous...

In this episode I explore the unbearable headache disorder that is cluster headache. The podcast revolves around the risk factors and causes of cluster headache, and the triggers for the attacks. It also reviews the characteristic features of the headache, and its typical accompanying cranial autonomic and behavioural symptoms.

I illustrate the agonising manifestations of cluster headache using such patient illness memoirs as those of John Niven titled O Brother, Howard fast titled Being Red, and Rafael Haussler titled You Can’t See What I Feel. These narratives illustrate the characteristic features of cluster headache, from its ab...

In this short podcast, I count down 10 unusual variants of migraine which illustrate the challenging diversity of what is otherwise a common and well-recognised disease.

In this episode I am in conversation with Dr Robert Baloh to explore his insightful perspective of mass psychogenic illness specifically, and functional neurological disorders generally. Author of 15 books, over 350 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and over 100 book chapters, Dr Baloh is a pioneer in the study of the vestibular system, and is a leader in the field of neurotology.

Dr Baloh also has an interesting the boundary between neurology and psychology with the publication of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria (with Robert Bartholomew, 2020) and Medically Unexplained...

In this podcast, I explore the theme of mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness. I discuss the triggers, the clinical manifestations, and the management.

I use a global perspective and narrate examples of mass hysteria manifesting in different parts of the world. These included hysterical outbreaks of toxic gas anxiety in schools in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh.

Amongst the relatively contemporary conditions the podcast covers are the Havana syndrome, TikTok tics, and the epidemics of sleeping narrated by Suzanne O’Sullivan’s in her book titled The Sleeping Beauties.

I also discuss the...

I am joined in this episode by Robert Wilson Thomas to discuss his diverse perspectives of functional neurological disorder. This includes his experience as a patient, as narrated in his illness memoir FND: Lessons form a Rather Eventful Life, and his insights as an advocate for the disorder.

Our discussion covered the triggers and vulnerabilities that led to Robert’s FND, a theme that went back to his childhood and which covered the role of emotions. We also reviewed the manifestations of his FND, from seizures to gait difficulty and falls. We also reviewed the convoluted path he...

In this podcast episode, I tackle the theme of functional neurological disorders, and I explore their almost endless types and diverse presentations. I particularly highlight functional seizures, noting their risk factors, their characteristic, even if diverse, presentations, the ways by which they may be distinguished from organic seizures. I also review functional movement disorders with a special emphasis on functional tremors.

I also highlight the negative attitudes by which people with FND are treated by medical staff, who are themselves often poorly trained in the condition, and the tendency for FND to be misdiagnosed. I highlight the...

In this brief podcast, I explore 10 reversible neurological disorders that manifest as dementia. These range from HIV associated dementia and autoimmune encephalitis to Hashimoto encephalopathy and cerebral vasculitis.

I am joined by Kate Allatt to discuss her experience of, and advocacy for, locked-in state as she narrated in her book Running Free: Breaking out of Locked in Syndrome.

Kate has an extraordinary journey of resilience after being ‘buried alive’, the result of a brainstem stroke when she was just 39. She described this as a condition where you can feel, think, hear and see completely normally but are unable to move a single muscle. She explored the transformation from being an active and passionate runner to being helpless and requiring help for every need.

Kate...

The theme of this podcast episode is the disabling condition of locked-in state. I discuss the typical causes that lead to locked-in state, particularly large strokes in the brainstem, and highlighting cervical dissection is an important mechanism for this. I also review its main clinical manifestations, noting how blinking and eye movements are often the only preserved motor functions, along with the emotional burden it imposes on patients and their families.

I particularly highlight the uncertainty that dominates the early stages when the patient is aware, but family and healthcare personnel assume they are brain dead. Similarly...

I am joined in this podcast by Barbara Ludwig to discuss her experience of CJD, the disease that her husband Jurgen died from, and which she narrated in her excellent memoir No Time To Cry. She explained how and why she was able to assume and convey her husband’s perspective of his illness experience, and how she used the title of the book to convey the importance of time in context of illness.

Barbara explored Jurgen’s early symptoms with walking difficulty and anxiety, and how this progressed to disorientation and paranoid jealousy. She also captured the...

The focus of this podcast is the enigmatic theme of prion disorders. I trace the history of our understanding of this neurodegenerative disorder with how Nobel laureate D. Carleton Gajdusek, described the transmission of kuru - the first pathologically defined human prion disease.

I also narrate how the similarities in the clinical and pathological features of kuru and scrapie, the disease of sheep, opened the way to this breakthrough. I also chronicled how the efforts of another Nobel laureate, Stanley Prusiner, characterised the pathology, genetics and transmission of scrapie, and how he succeeded in a bitter scientific...

In this short podcast, I count down 10 neurological disorders that can be associated with sexual activity. Whilst this list covers the usual suspects like HIV and neurosyphilis, it also includes less familiar disorders such as Lemierre’s and Elsberg’s syndromes.

I am joined in this podcast by Jamie Ward to explore synaesthaesia as he depicted in his book titled The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synaesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses. Jamie Ward is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, UK. His principal research interest lies in the cognitive neuroscience of synaesthesia, although he has published on many other topics, including frontal lobe function, memory and disorders of reading and spelling.

We explored the history of synaesthesia and why the scientific interest has waxed and waned over time, and how the understanding of the...

In this podcast I explore the fascinating phenomenon of synaesthesia. Using the enlightening book by Richard Cytowic and David Eagleman titled Wednesday is Indigo Blue as template, I discuss the different types and manifestations of the condition, and I highlight the current understanding of its genesis. As I review its associated advantages, such as a superior memory, I also discuss its downsides, such as physical pain.

To illustrate the lived experience of synaesthesia, I deploy such historical anecdotes as that of Solomon Shereshevky as narrated by neurologist Alexander Luria in his book titled The Mind of a...

I am joined in this podcast by Christine Miskelly to discuss her experience of witnessing how a brain tumour manifested in her husband Ivor. Christine narrated the subtle symptoms that Ivor first manifested, such as poor planning, social withdrawal, excessive slowness, impassivity and easy distractibility. We also discussed how the brain tumour altered Ivor’s personality, particularly reducing his empathy, and how it impacted on their relationship.

The podcast also explores the shock of getting a brain tumour diagnosis for Ivor, but also how this brought them together to face the challenges ahead. We also discussed the br...

In this podcast I explore the diverse perspectives of brain tumours, from their pathology and clinical manifestations to their complications and management. The podcast discusses the common primary brain tumours, particularly highlighting the usually benign meningioma, and the typically aggressive glioblastoma.

I illustrate these themes with such graphic illness memoirs as The Iceberg by Marion Coutts, All in My Head by Jessica Norris, and Difficult Gifts by Courtney Burnett. I also discussed secondary brain tumours using the illustrative memoir of Barbara Lipska titled The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind.

These memoirs helped to demonstrate the...

In this short podcast, I count down 10 routine everyday things that can surprisingly be triggers for epileptic seizures.

In this episode I am joined by Lone Frank to talk about her book, The Pleasure Shock, in which she narrated the work of Robert Galbraith Heath, the unacknowledged pioneer of deep brain stimulation.

We talked about how she got interested in the subject when she was writing about Parkinson’s disease, and how her exploration revealed that he developed the technique of deep brain stimulation, initially as a treatment for schizophrenia. She painted a vivid portrait of his personality and his ideas, and she explained why his contemporaries resisted his innovation, and how history forgot him.

In this episode, I am joined by Leslie Davidson to discuss her husband, Lincoln’s illness with Lewy body dementia, and her experience of caring for him whilst she was herself struggling with the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Leslie chronicled the onset of his symptoms with night terrors and its progression to delusions, hallucinations, confusion, and memory impairment, and eventually culminating in motor difficulties. She explores the challenges of managing his fluctuating symptoms, his night-time confusion, and his tendency to think she was her own twin.

The discussion also covered what Leslie referred to as t...

In this episode, I review the four main mimics of Parkinson’s disease, also called the Parkinson’s Plus syndromes. These are multiple system atrophy (MSA), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal degeneration (CBD).

I explore the clinical manifestations, investigations, and treatments of these disorders, highlighting such striking features as autonomic dysfunction in MSA, unusual eye movements in PSP, fluctuating cognition in DLB, and alien hand syndrome with CBD.

I also illustrate the patient perspectives of the disorders with such illness memoirs as those of Kimberly Bohannon titled The Beautiful Dest...

I am joined in this exploration of narcolepsy by Julie Flygare, an internationally recognized patient-perspective leader, and an accomplished advocate, to discuss her patient perspective of the disease as narrated in her award-winning memoir, Wide Wake and Dreaming.

Julie has advanced her leadership in the sleep and healthcare space through speaking engagements, publications, earned media, collaborations, and advocacy and awareness initiatives.

Our conversation explored Julie’s onset of narcolepsy with excessive sleepiness long before she was diagnosed with narcolepsy after she developed cataplexy. She discussed her on-going struggles with the diverse symptoms of the disease, as...

In this episode, I explore the curious sleep disorder narcolepsy. With apt patient memoirs, I describe its clinical manifestations, from sleep attacks and cataplexy, to sleep paralysis and sleep-related hallucinations.

I also review its association with other sleep disorders, and its non-sleep related manifestations. The podcast also discusses the genetic and acquired causes of narcolepsy, its association with hypocretin deficiency, and its risk factors. I also explore the investigations of narcolepsy, such as multiple sleep latency test, and its treatments, such as modafinil and sodium oxybate.

I also discussed the history of narcolepsy, such as...

I am joined in this episode by journalist Lauren Aguirre, an award-winning science journalist, to explore the neuroepidemiology work of neurologist Jed Barash and colleagues which revealed the existence of a silent epidemic of what is now named opioid associated amnestic syndrome.

Lauren chronicled the onset and progress of the epidemic using the two index cases she described in her book. She narrated the way Barash and colleagues went about convincing the public health authorities and the CDC about the existence of the epidemic, and how they got the neurology community to pay attention to it.

In this brief podcast, I count down 10 unusual but unique headaches that may be perplexing for patients, and challenging for doctors to diagnose.

In this episode, I explore the intriguing condition of amnesia, the isolated loss of memory with the preservation of other cognitive disorders.

I use remarkable patient anecdotes, such as those of musician Clive Wearing, and of Jimmie G, a patient of neurologist Oliver Sacks, to illustrate the diverse causes of amnesia, from herpes virus encephalitis to chronic alcoholism.

I also narrate the clinical spectrum of amnesia with an emphasis on Korsakoff’s syndrome and transient global amnesia or TGA.

The podcast also goes back in time to review the case of Henry Molaison, th...

In this podcast, I am joined by Susan Mockler to discuss her harrowing experience of traumatic spinal cord injury, which she narrated in 'Fractured'. This is her memoir that detailed her experiences with acquired disability following a car accident which left her with a spinal cord injury.

She recalls how she sustained a cervical spinal injury as the front seat passenger of a car that hit a moose, and the devastating near-total paralysis that followed. She also explored her emotional response to the injury, and the mental attitude she adopted to help her through a reasonably successful...

In this episode, I explore the two catastrophic forms of traumatic neurological injury, brain and spinal cord. I discuss the life-changing physical consequences of traumatic neurological injury, and the equally harrowing but often invisible emotional fallouts.

I particularly highlight the often incomprehensible ways by which neurological injuries result – from riding horses and diving into pools, to boat and road traffic accidents. I illustrate the diverse features of traumatic brain injury with prominent historical cases which highlight its causes and manifestations and complications.

One is the case of Phineas Gage, as described by Antonio Damasio in hi...

In this episode I count down 10 top causes of insomnia, and these range from the habitual to the pathological. I also highlight the treatment approaches to these.

I am joined in this podcast by Randye Kaye to discuss the patient and family perspectives of schizophrenia as she narrated in her memoir titled Ben Behind His Voices. Randye is a radio and podcast host, actress, singer, teacher, mental health advocate, and motivational speaker who speaks to groups of doctors, nurses, medical students, families, providers, and legislators regarding the family experience when mental illness hits.

Our conversation chronicled her experience of witnessing and managing her son’s struggles with schizophrenia. She highlighted the long prodrome of adolescent behavioural and mood changes which she pointed out typifies th...

In this podcast episode, I explore the diverse facets of the debilitating mental illness schizophrenia. I particularly highlight its varied manifestations such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganised thoughts and abnormal behaviours.

I illustrate these concepts with insightful illness memoirs, such as the classics Is There No Place on Earth for Me, by Susan Sheehan, The Centre Cannot Hold, by Ellen Saks, and A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar'. These especially demonstrate the frequent manifestation of the disease as paranoid schizophrenia with grandiose and paranoid delusions. I use these memoirs to explore the genetic, environmental and maternal risks factors...