Table of Contents

Acknowledgments *

Chapter 1: "What could Possibly go Wrong?" - An introduction to Neurotrauma *

Chapter 2: "Bone Windows" – Trephination and the Modern Craniotomy *

Chapter 3: "In with a Bang" - The American Crowbar Case, Mr. Phineas Gage *

Chapter 4: "No Words to Describe" – Patient Tan and Aphasias *

Chapter 5: "We’re All Mad Here" – Mercury Toxicity and the Origin of the Phrase ‘Mad as a Hatter’ *

Chapter 6: "My World of Pure Imagination" – Roald Dahl’s Journey from Fighter Pilot to Children’s Author *

Chapter 7: "Fast, Affordable Brain Surgery for Everyone!" – Walter Freeman, Pioneer of the Transorbital Lobotomy *

Chapter 8: "Hi, my name is Henry" – The world’s most memorable amnestic, H.M. *

Chapter 9: "To Jodie with Love" – James Brady’s Emotional Journey *

Chapter 10: "On Shaky Ground" – The Frozen Addicts and Toxin-Induced Parkinsonism *

Chapter 11: "The One True Superman" – Christopher Reeve’s Steps Toward Hope *

Chapter 12: "A Stream of Water is Endlessly Beautiful" – Jason Padgett and Acquired Savant Syndrome *

Chapter 13: "Man Bites Dog" – How Rabies Encephalitis May Someday Be Curable *

Chapter 14: "Down like a Ton of Bricks" – Iron Mike Webster and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy *

Chapter 15: "Misery Loves Company" – Similarities among Highly Variable TBIs/SCIs *

References *

Index*

About the Author

Jessica Matyas is the Chair of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Rochester University, located in Rochester, Michigan, with research and teaching experience. She has previously published in the area of spinal cord injury and is an authority in this aspect of CNS trauma.