''Hallucinations'' is a 2012 book written by the

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...

. In ''Hallucinations'', Sacks recounts stories of

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

s and other mind-altering episodes of both his patients and himself and uses them in an attempt to elucidate certain features and structures of the brain including his own migraine headaches.

Summary

''Hallucinations'' was written with the intention to remove the stigma of hallucinations in the eyes of society and the medical world. The book is separated into fifteen chapters; each chapter pertains to a different observation of hallucinations made by Sacks. The hallucinations mentioned in this book come from the everyday citizen and his own experiences, which are used to connect the structure and function of the brain of a healthy person to the symptom of hallucination. Sacks also mentions the positive effects of hallucinations in culture and art. Sacks notes that the symptom of hallucinations have a negative connotation that was created by society. The purpose of ''Hallucinations'' was to take away the public fear of symptoms relating to mental illness by showcasing many instances where healthy individuals experienced hallucinations. Sacks also uses this book to educate society on the different types of hallucinations and the neurological basis behind hallucinations.

Awards and honors

*2014

Wellcome Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established i ...

shortlist

References

2012 non-fiction books Books by Oliver Sacks Effects of psychoactive drugs Picador (imprint) books {{neuroscience-book-stub