Gray Matters: Exploring the Frontiers of Neurosurgery

Sep 24, 2024

Dr. Theodore Schwartz, a leading neurosurgeon and author, dives into the intriguing world of brain surgery. He discusses the evolution of neurosurgery, sharing pivotal historical moments and the psychological burdens surgeons face. The brain's remarkable adaptability, including recovery from trauma, is highlighted, alongside the challenges of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes. Schwartz also explores philosophical questions about consciousness and identity, while revealing innovative surgical techniques that are revolutionizing brain tumor treatments.

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ANECDOTE

Amazing Hemispherectomy Recovery

Dr. Theodore Schwartz performs hemispherectomies on children with severe epilepsy to remove an entire half of the brain.
Children under six can fully recover and relearn functions like language with their remaining half.

INSIGHT

Brain's Language Plasticity

Language function is usually lateralized but the brain has bilateral language circuitry that can adapt if one side is damaged early.
Brain wiring is latent and shaped by usage, strengthening connections used and weakening unused ones.

INSIGHT

Brain Rewires for Echolocation

Blind individuals can develop echolocation by using visual cortex areas for auditory processing.
Latent abilities exist in all brains but require loss of a sense and training to develop fully.

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Dr. Theodore Schwartz’s book Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery offers a comprehensive exploration of neurosurgery, a field barely a century old that profoundly connects two human beings. The book delves into the history of how early neurosurgeons came to understand the complex human brain and how this challenging specialty emerged. Drawing from his own cases and various archives, Schwartz provides insights into the practical aspects of brain surgery and its life-or-death nature.

The book covers a wide range of brain-related topics that have long captivated public interest, including famous cases like JFK’s assassination and President Biden’s brain surgery, as well as the NFL’s management of CTE. Dr. Schwartz also discusses the field’s latest advancements and tackles philosophical questions about the unity of self and free will. As a practicing neurosurgeon and professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, Schwartz brings a unique perspective to this cultural and scientific history of a mind-blowing human endeavor.

Theodore Schwartz, MD, is the David and Ursel Barnes Endowed Professor of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, one of the busiest and highest-ranked neurosurgery centers in the world. He has published over five hundred scientific articles and chapters on neurosurgery, and has lectured around the world—from Bogotá to Vienna to Mumbai—on new, minimally invasive surgical techniques that he helped develop. He also runs a basic science laboratory devoted to epilepsy research. He studied philosophy and literature at Harvard. His new book is: Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery.

Shermer and Schwartz explore a wide range of neurosurgical topics, from Schwartz’s career path to brain anatomy and anesthesia. They discuss brain mapping, sports-related injuries, tumors, strokes, and famous medical cases. The conversation delves into neurological conditions like dementia and historical practices like lobotomies. They examine the neuroscience of aggression, philosophical questions about consciousness and free will, and the concept of self. Personal experiences, including Schwartz’s father’s stroke, are shared. The discussion includes future technologies like Neurolink and their potential impact on brain-computer interfaces.