Narratives and neurons: stories of damaged brains

Stories register in human memory in special ways, and stories about neurological cases can entertain and move a reader while simultaneously being an important part of any neuroscience curriculum. Here we describe a course taught in the context of the liberal arts curriculum of Baldwin-Wallace College. Students from a variety of disciplines learned basic neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry and then used this information to help them understand published neurological case studies, which were analyzed for their literary as well as scientific qualities. Later in the course, students were paired with a person with a neurological disorder and they investigated their cases in some depth. The capstone experience was a monograph that aimed to be both good science and good story telling. Narratives and Neurons was team taught by faculty from the Neuroscience and English departments. However, the case studies were shaped and improved by all the class participants using writing workshop methods common to creative writing classes. Assessments of this course were very favorable, suggesting that students find that the work enhanced their resourcefulness and challenged their abilities to critically evaluate and problem solve. Some of the cases have found their way into the peer-reviewed literature. Moreover, the interaction between students and individuals with neurological disorders provided a diversity of experiences that enriched the lives of all the participants.