Medicine is based on a lot of scientific diagnostic tests and scans. But one specialty, neurology (medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system), can rely more heavily on bedside observation and conversation to determine issues going on in the brain, according to this article from NPR.
Simple tasks like repeating a phrase or squeezing a rolled-up blood pressure cuff can be difficult for someone who has suffered a stroke or for someone who has myasthenia, a disease that causes muscles to weaken rapidly with use.
The article features Dr. Allan Ropper, a Harvard neurologist, who says, “When someone develops a serious brain problem, it can be like falling down a rabbit hole and entering an Alice in Wonderland world.”
He shares that a neurologist’s job is to find a way to understand the odd landscape of a damaged brain. “You’re querying the organ that has the problem and you’re asking it to talk to you, but it can’t do it properly because of that damage,” he says. “That’s the Alice in Wonderland part. You have to figure out with mirrors and metaphors how to get at the problem.”
There are many issues in the brain that cannot be detected by any test or scan that’s why the ability to reach down the “rabbit hole” is an important skill for neurologists. To read more visit NPR.
