The Neurology Lounge

In this short podcast, I highlight 10 major neurological disorders that can afflict pregnant women.

Linda Gask joins me in this episode to explore her dual perspectives of depression as a sufferer, and as a psychiatrist. Emerita Professor of Primary Care Psychiatry, Linda chronicles her history of depression which first reared its head when she was in medical school, and dogged her career as a junior doctor and then as a consultant. Linda described the manifestations of her depression, from low...

In this episode I take an exhaustive look at the diverse perspectives of depression, that pervasive mood disorder that afflicts far too many people. I explore its gradual onset and chronic, often life-long course, and highlight the overwhelming features of depression, from low mood and poor appetite to poor sleep and loss of interest in pleasurable activities. I also explore the less appreciated d...

This brief podcast reviews the top ten causes of persistent impairment of consciousness.

I am joined in this podcast by Joanne Hedger to discuss her lifelong experience of aphantasia, something she has written about in her memoir titled Aphantasia: Journeying Through Mind Blindness and Embracing Our Unique Neurodiversity with Passion and Purpose. Our conversation delved into how she discovered she had aphantasia when she alone was unable to understand a joke with friends in a camp sit...

In this episode, I explore the fascinating phenomenon of aphantasia, the inability to imagine. I discuss the manifestations of the condition which primarily affects visual imagination, but which also affects the ability to imagine sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and even feelings. The podcast also illustrates how aphantasia influences recollection of memories, and how it impacts of education and ca...

In this episode, I explore 10 disorders that manifest during sleep, or are considered sleep disorders. These range from the more familiar REM sleep behaviour disorder, to the lesser-known exploding head syndrome.

I am joined in this podcast by Holly Frances to discuss her experience of Guillain Barre syndrome as she narrated in her illness memoir titled Life Support: Surviving Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Holly is a mother in a blended family of five, and the face behind Holly After GBS on social media, where her recovery videos have inspired millions of people around the world. Our conversation traced Holly’s...

In this episode, I delve into Guillain Barre syndrome, a relatively common neurological disorder. I discuss the clinical manifestations of the disease which range from fairly rapid weakness and sensory impairment to pain and breathing difficulty. I also detail the long road to recovery from the disease. The podcast also discusses the almost limitless triggers for GBS, from infections and vaccinati...

In this episode, Amanda Ellison joins me to explore the intersection of brain science and clinical practice as it relates to cluster headache. Amanda is a neuroscientist and physiologist, professor in the Psychology Department in Durham University and former Director of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, and she is interested in understanding how different brain regions commu...

In this episode I explore the unbearable headache disorder that is cluster headache. The podcast revolves around the risk factors and causes of cluster headache, and the triggers for the attacks. It also reviews the characteristic features of the headache, and its typical accompanying cranial autonomic and behavioural symptoms. I illustrate the agonising manifestations of cluster headache using su...

In this short podcast, I count down 10 unusual variants of migraine which illustrate the challenging diversity of what is otherwise a common and well-recognised disease.

In this episode I am in conversation with Dr Robert Baloh to explore his insightful perspective of mass psychogenic illness specifically, and functional neurological disorders generally. Our conversation explored the general principles of medically unexplained symptoms and why most people have symptoms but only in some do these progress to become psychosomatic. We delved into the patterns, expecta...

In this podcast, I explore the theme of mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness. I discuss the triggers, the clinical manifestations, and the management. I use a global perspective and narrate examples of mass hysteria manifesting in different parts of the world. These included hysterical outbreaks of toxic gas anxiety in schools in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. Amongst the relatively co...

I am joined in this episode by Robert Wilson Thomas to discuss his diverse perspectives of functional neurological disorder. This includes his experience as a patient, as narrated in his illness memoir FND: Lessons form a Rather Eventful Life, and his insights as an advocate for the disorder. Our discussion covered the triggers and vulnerabilities that led to Robert’s FND, a theme that went back t...

In this podcast episode, I tackle the theme of functional neurological disorders, and I explore their almost endless types and diverse presentations. I particularly highlight functional seizures, noting their risk factors, their characteristic, even if diverse, presentations, the ways by which they may be distinguished from organic seizures. I also review functional movement disorders with a speci...

In this brief podcast, I explore 10 reversible neurological disorders that manifest as dementia. These range from HIV associated dementia and autoimmune encephalitis to Hashimoto encephalopathy and cerebral vasculitis.

I am joined by Kate Allatt to discuss her experience of, and advocacy for, locked-in state as she narrated in her book Running Free: Breaking out of Locked in Syndrome . Kate has an extraordinary journey of resilience after being ‘buried alive’, the result of a brainstem stroke when she was just 39. She described this as a condition where you can feel, think, hear and see completely normally but a...

The theme of this podcast episode is the disabling condition of locked-in state. I discuss the typical causes that lead to locked-in state, particularly large strokes in the brainstem, and highlighting cervical dissection is an important mechanism for this. I also review its main clinical manifestations, noting how blinking and eye movements are often the only preserved motor functions, along with...

I am joined in this podcast by Barbara Ludwig to discuss her experience of CJD, the disease that her husband Jürgen died from, and which she narrated in her excellent memoir No Time To Cry. She explained how and why she was able to assume and convey her husband’s perspective of his illness experience, and how she used the title of the book to convey the importance of time in context of illness. Ba...

The focus of this podcast is the enigmatic theme of prion disorders. I trace the history of our understanding of this neurodegenerative disorder with how Nobel laureate D. Carleton Gajdusek, described the transmission of kuru - the first pathologically defined human prion disease. I also narrate how the similarities in the clinical and pathological features of kuru and scrapie, the disease of shee...

In this short podcast, I count down 10 neurological disorders that can be associated with sexual activity. Whilst this list covers the usual suspects like HIV and neurosyphilis, it also includes less familiar disorders such as Lemiere’s and Elsberg syndromes.

I am joined in this podcast by Jamie Ward to explore synaesthaesia as he depicted in his book titled The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synaesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses. Jamie Ward is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, UK. His principal research interest lies in the cognitive neuroscience of synaesthesia, although he has published on many other topics, including fron...

In this podcast I explore the fascinating phenomenon of synaesthesia. Using the enlightening book by Richard Cytowic and David Eagleman titled Wednesday is Indigo Blue as template, I discuss the different types and manifestations of the condition, and I highlight the current understanding of its genesis. As I review its associated advantages, such as a superior memory, I also discuss its downsides...

I am joined in this podcast by Christine Miskelly to discuss her experience of witnessing how a brain tumour manifested in her husband Ivor. Christine narrated the subtle symptoms that Ivor first manifested, such as poor planning, social withdrawal, excessive slowness, impassivity and easy distractibility. We also discussed how the brain tumour altered Ivor’s personality, particularly reducing his...