Musicophilia：Tales of Music and the Brain

薩克斯結合醫學與人文，講述音樂如何影響大腦與心靈。《Musicophilia》中有無法辨認旋律的人，也有記憶受損卻仍能演奏樂曲的患者。透過這些故事，他溫和地提醒我們，音樂不只是藝術，更深刻連結著人的自我與存在。

With his trademark compassion and erudition, Dr Oliver Sacks examines the power of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people.

Among them: a surgeon who is struck by lightning and suddenly becomes obsessed with Chopin; people with ‘amusia’, to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds – for everything but music.

Dr Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson’s disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people who are deeply disoriented by Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia.

Musicophilia alters our conception of who we are and how we function, and shows us an essential part of what it is to be human.

Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.