New Books in Psychology Masud Husain, "Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain" (Canongate, 2025)
Apr 22, 2026
Masud Husain, Oxford neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist, shares clinical tales that explore how brain changes reshape identity. He describes cases of lost words, sudden disinhibition, and altered relationships. The conversation covers motivation, memory loss, hallucinations, dopamine and other treatments. Short, human stories illuminate neuroscience questions about self, perception and free will.
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Self Is An Emergent Brain Property
- The self emerges from interacting brain systems rather than a single localized spot.
- Masud Husain describes a 'society of mind' where perception, attention, language and motivation together build personal and social identity.
Basal Ganglia Strokes Erased Motivation
- Two small strokes in the basal ganglia left David emotionally happy but utterly unmotivated and unable to act without prompts.
- After initial failure with levodopa, Husain gave a dopamine agonist and David regained grooming, a job and a relationship.
Apathy Shows Up As Harder Brain Computation
- Motivation differences in healthy people map to basal ganglia–frontal activity when weighing reward versus effort.
- Apathetic participants show higher activity because the decision is more cognitively costly, explaining everyday avoidance.
