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Strange Behavior Chapter Summary

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Strange Behavior, by Harold Klawans, is told through the first person perspective of Klawans himself about the medical mysteries he has encountered throughout his career. He is a neurologist, who mainly specializes in Parkinson’s disease. The first part of the book illuminates some of the case studies he has conducted in great detail. One incident Klawans describes, Defending the Cavewoman, is about a young child, Lacey, who had been locked in a closet for presumably most (if not all) of her life--approximately six years. Having been concealed from the realms of society for such a long time, she had not yet acquired language when she was found. Her case is compared to others with aphasia as well- including Genie and Victor, who each experience …show more content…

One of these symptoms must include either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure. This is further explored in the book as Klawans attempts to diagnose a girl, Marilou, with unusual symptoms. The child’s mother believes she has depression because she had stopped talking, seemed as if she had no concern for her surroundings, and paid little attention to her family or peers. It was later discovered by Klawans that she did not have depression, however, she had abnormal electrical charges in her left temporal lobe which inhibited her speech output and left her temporarily deaf. These symptoms, as shown, can be easily mistaken as depression, partially because it is such a commonly diagnosed disease. The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs. It typically operates on the unconscious level, automatically. Klawans explains to a man who came to him with the inability to read how the autonomic system works. The man, who had urinary issues and woke up several times in the night to use the bathroom, was awakened by his autonomic nervous system. As the bladder is controlled by the ANS, it promptly alerted him in his sleep to wake up and go to the

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