Oliver Sacks in 2005.

Oliver Wolf Sacks (born July 9, 1933, London), is a United States-based British neurologist, who has written popular books about his patients; the most famous of which is Awakenings, which was adapted into a film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system and disorders affecting it. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. ...

Sacks considers that his literary style follows the tradition of 19th-century "clinical anecdotes", a literary-style that included informal case histories, following the writings of Alexander Luria.^[1] Sacks is a childhood friend of Jonathan Miller^[2] and a cousin of Robert Aumann and the late Abba Eban.^[3] Alexander Romanovich Luria Александр Романович Лурия (July 16, 1902-1977) was a famous Russian neuropsychologist. ... Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller, CBE (born 21 July 1934) is a British neurologist, theatre and opera director, television presenter, humourist and sculptor. ... Israel Robert John Aumann (ישראל אומן) (born June 8, 1930) is an Israeli mathematician and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. ... Abba Eban (אבא אבן) (February 2, 1915 – November 17, 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician. ...

In 2007,^[4] Columbia University appointed Sacks as "its first Columbia artist, a newly created designation." Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Biography

The fourth and youngest child of a prosperous North London Jewish medical family: his father Sam a doctor, his mother Elsie a surgeon. Aged six in 1939, his parents sent him to a boarding school in the Midlands for four years to keep him out of harm's way.^[2] During his childhood, Sacks was passionate about chemistry and tried to collect samples of all the elements and did many experiments in his home laboratory. He derived much inspiration from his uncle Dave, as told in Oliver Sack's autobiographical book Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. North London is that part of London which is north of the River Thames. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (or just Uncle Tungsten) is a memoir by Oliver Sacks about his childhood published in 2002. ...

Sacks earned his medical degrees from Oxford University while a member of The Queen's College. In 1960, he went to Canada on holiday, and on arrival sent his parents a one-word telegram: "Staying". Sacks hitch-hiked to the Rockies, and then down to San Francisco, where he fell in with the poet and motorcycle enthusiast, Thom Gunn.^[2] Sacks became a resident in neurology at UCLA. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... College name The Queens College Collegii Reginae Named after Queen Philippa of Hainault Established 1341 Sister College Pembroke College Provost Sir Alan Budd JCR President Vishal Mashru Undergraduates 350 MCR President Matthias Range Graduates 133 Homepage Boatclub High Street entrance to Queens College from the main quad. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Thom Gunn (August 29, 1929 - April 25, 2004) was a British poet. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with residency (medicine). ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ... Binomial name Ucla xenogrammus Holleman, 1993 The largemouth triplefin, Ucla xenogrammus, is a fish of the family Tripterygiidae and only member of the genus Ucla, found in the Pacific Ocean from Viet Nam, the Philippines, Palau and the Caroline Islands to Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Christmas Island), and the...

After converting his British qualifications to American recognition, Sacks moved to New York where he has lived since 1965, and taken twice weekly therapy sessions since 1966.^[2] This article is about the state. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... The word counseling or counselling comes from the Middle English counseil, from Old French conseil, from Latin cōnsilium; akin to cōnsulere, to take counsel, consult. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1966, Sacks began working as a consulting neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital (now Beth Abraham Health Services), a chronic care facility in the Bronx. It was here that he first encountered a group of patients, many of whom had spent decades unable to initiate movement due to the devastating effects of the 1920s sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica.^[5] His work at Beth Abraham provided the foundation on which the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), where Sacks is currently an honorary medical advisor, is built. In 2000, he was honored with the IMNF’s Music Has Power Award for his contributions towards advancing knowledge of the power of music to awaken and heal, and again in 2006 to commemorate his 40th year at Beth Abraham and recognize his dedication to its patients. Encephalitis lethargica (EL) is an atypical form of encephalitis. ... The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function is a US nonprofit organization conducting research into and applying music therapy. ...

Sacks was formerly a clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, adjunct professor of neurology at the New York University School of Medicine, where he worked for over 43 years. On September 1, 2007, he became professor of clinical neurology and clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, leading that department while serving as Columbia University's first "artist"—a new position the university hopes will help bridge the gap between disciplines such as medicine, law, and economics.^[4] He remains a consultant neurologist to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and maintains a practice in New York City. Albert Einstein College of Medicine logo For the engineering company, see AECOM The Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. ... New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in New York City. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Seal of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, abbreviated P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. ... The Little Sisters of the Poor is a Roman Catholic religious order for women. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Sacks describes his cases with little clinical detail, concentrating on the experiences of the patient (in the case of his A Leg to Stand On, the patient was himself). The patients he describes are often able to adapt to their situation in different ways despite the fact that their neurological conditions are usually considered incurable.^{[citation needed]} His most famous book, Awakenings, upon which the movie of the same name is based, describes his experiences using the new drug L-Dopa on Beth Abraham post-encephalitic patients in 1969. Awakenings was also the subject of the first film made in the British television series Discovery. A Leg to Stand On is a book written by Oliver Wolf Sacks based on his own experience of losing the control of his legs after an accident. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... This article is about a 1990 film. ... // Therapeutic use L-DOPA is used to replace dopamine lost in Parkinsons disease because dopamine itself cannot cross the blood-brain barrierwhere its precursor can. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... Discovery was a documentary television series produced by Duncan Dallas, Yorkshire Television. ...

In his other books, he describes cases of Tourette syndrome and various effects of Parkinson's disease. The title article of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is about a man with visual agnosia and was the subject of a 1986 opera by Michael Nyman. The title article of An Anthropologist on Mars is about Temple Grandin, a professor with high-functioning autism. In his book The Island of the Colour-blind he describes the Chamorro people of Guam, who have a high incidence of a form of ALS known as Lytico-bodig (a devastating combination of ALS, dementia, and parkinsonism). Along with Paul Cox, Sacks is responsible for the resurgence in interest in the Guam ALS cluster, and has published papers setting out an environmental cause for the cluster, namely toxins such as beta-methylamino L-alanine (BMAA) from the cycad nut accumulating by biomagnification in the flying fox bat.^[6][7] “Tourette” redirects here. ... The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a 1985 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing the case histories of some of his patients. ... Visual agnosia is the inability of the brain to make sense of or make use of some part of otherwise normal visual stimulus, and is typified by the inability to recognize familiar objects or faces. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. ... An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales is a 1995 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks consisting of seven medical case histories of individuals with neurological conditions such as autism and Tourette syndrome. ... Dr. Temple Grandin, one of the more successful adults with autism. ... Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior, all exhibited before a child is three years old. ... The Chamorro people or Chamoru people are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, which include the American territory of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. ... Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrigs Disease, Maladie de Charcot or motor neurone disease) is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. ... β-methylamino L-alanine, or BMAA, is a neurotoxin found in the seeds of the cycad. ... Biomagnification is a similar but distinct concept from bioaccumulation. ... A flying fox can be: One of several species of megabat. ...

Sacks's writings have been translated into 21 languages, including Catalan, Finnish, and Turkish. He was awarded the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science in 2001. Oxford University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in June 2005. In March 2006, he was one of 263 doctors who published an open letter in The Lancet criticizing American military doctors who administered or oversaw the force-feeding of Guantanamo detainees who had committed themselves to hunger strikes.^[8] Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of Sardinia. ... This article lacks information on the subject matters importance. ... The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... An honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum, not to be confused with an honors degree) is an academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. ... Some universities, such as the University of Oxford, award Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) degrees instead of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degrees. ... March 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase announces that the 2006 Fiji general elections will be held in the second week of May 2006 from the 6th to the 13th. ... The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, published weekly by Elsevier, part of Reed Elsevier. ... Force-feeding is the practice of feeding someone against his or her will. ... Detainees upon arrival at Camp X-Ray, January 2002 Guantánamo Bay detainment camp serves as a joint military prison and interrogation center under the leadership of Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), has occupied a portion of the United States Navys base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002. ... A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ...

Books

• Migraine (1970)
• Awakenings (1973)
• A Leg to Stand On (1984) (Sacks' own experience of losing the control of one of his legs after an accident.)
• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985)
• Seeing Voices: A Journey Into The Land of the Deaf. (1989). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06083-0.
• An Anthropologist on Mars (1995)
• The Island of the Colour-blind (1997) (total congenital color blindness in an island society)
• Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (2001)
• Oaxaca Journal (2002)
• Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007)

Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... A Leg to Stand On is a book written by Oliver Wolf Sacks based on his own experience of losing the control of his legs after an accident. ... This article is about the year. ... The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a 1985 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing the case histories of some of his patients. ... This article is about the year. ... An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales is a 1995 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks consisting of seven medical case histories of individuals with neurological conditions such as autism and Tourette syndrome. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Color blindness in humans is the inability to perceive differences between some or all colors that other people can distinguish. ... Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (or just Uncle Tungsten) is a memoir by Oliver Sacks about his childhood published in 2002. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Essays and articles

• article in TATE ETC. Summer 2007 including exclusive stereograph of his first photograph, taken at age 12
• "The Mind's Eye (Oliver Sacks)" (positive experiences of blind people) - published in "The Best American Essays 2004", Ed. Robert Atwan
• New York Times Op-Ed by Oliver Sacks regarding the Island of Stability theory

Television series

• The Mind Traveller

References

For other uses, see All in the Mind. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide radio network with many various programs, involving news and current affairs, arts, music, society, science, drama and comedy. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... Eric Richard Kandel (born November 7, 1929) is a neuroscientist who won a Nobel Prize in the year 2000 for his research on the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons. ... Emil Adolf von Behring was the first person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for his work on the treatment of diphtheria. ... Gregory Mosher presently serves as Director of the Columbia University Arts Initiative. ... Interdisciplinarity is the act of drawing from two or more academic disciplines and integrating their insights to work together in pursuit of a common goal. ... National Institutes of Health Building 50 at NIH Clinical Center - Building 10 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical research. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... National Institutes of Health Building 50 at NIH Clinical Center - Building 10 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical research. ... is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Scotsmans offices in Edinburgh The Scotsman is a Scottish national newspaper, published in Edinburgh. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Oliver Sacks

• Oliver Sacks website
• 1989 audio interview with Oliver Sacks at Wired for Books.org by Don Swaim
• Wired article (04/2002)
• New York Times Op-Ed piece about encephalitis lethargica.
• Questionable Aspects of Oliver Sacks' (1985) Report.
• 2007 video of Oliver Sacks discussing his book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (10/27/2007)