On The Brain

This essay describes lessons the author learned through treating a difficult patient.

This essay describes a visit to a library in the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière in Paris, France, that houses the works of Jean-Martin Charcot and several other scientists who contributed to early insights into neurology.

This essay describes a standard question from medical school interviews that first annoyed and then held special insight for the author.

This essay discusses lessons learned by being a caretaker for a grandparent with Alzheimer disease.

This essay describes a physician’s self-reflection and analysis about her own gender bias.

In this article, the authors mull the emotional difficulties and ethical obligations associated with noticing symptoms of possible medical problems on strangers and other nonpatients.

This essay discusses caring for a dying spouse.

This essay describes the author’s experience with early-stage Alzheimer disease.

This essay discusses the experience of a family member included in a medical visit.

This personal narrative examines the sudden end of an ill spouse’s medical career through the metaphor of a surfing mishap.

This personal narrative shares insights gleaned after the author’s father, a patient with Parkinson disease, experiences a cervical spine fracture that mandates a complicated hospitalization.

This essay describes a clinician’s insights after a personal conversation with a new patient about the questions that most patients do not ask.

This essay discusses a husband and wife’s recovery from hemineglect.

In this essay, a medical student reflects on his grandfather’s experience with stroke and the ways emotions and personal relationships affect a patient’s health.

This On the Brain article looks at Mary Shelley’s classic work Frankenstein in film adaptations and spin-offs.

This essay describes a patient’s account of experimental clinical trials for spinal muscular atrophy.