[Neurology and literature].

INTRODUCTION

Literature complements medical literature in the academic and clinical development of neurologists. The present article explores the contributions of writers of fiction on neurology.

SOURCES

Literary works of fiction with particular reference to neurology.

DEVELOPMENT

A symbiosis between writers of fiction and doctors has been well recognised. From Shakespeare to Cervantes by way of Dickens and Cela to writer - physicians such as Anton Chekhov or António Lobo Antunes have contributed through their medically informed literature to the better understanding of neurology. Some writers like Dostoevsky, Machado de Assis and Margiad Evans have written about their own experiences with disease thus bringing new insights to medicine. Furthermore, some neurological disorders have been largely based on literary descriptions. For instance, Dostoevsky's epilepsy has been retrospectively analysed by famous neurologists including Freud, Alajouanine or Gastaut, whilst his writings and biography have prompted others like Waxman and Geschwind to describe typical behavioural changes in temporal lobe epilepsy, finding their source of inspiration in Dostoevsky. Likewise, Cirignotta et al have named an unusual type of seizure after the Russian novelist. Inspired by Lewis Carroll, Todd introduced the term Alice in Wonderland Syndrome to refer to visual distortions generally associated with migraine.

CONCLUSIONS

Writers of fiction offer a humanised perception of disease by contributing new insights into the clinical history, informing about the subjective experience of the illness and helping to eradicate the stigma associated to neurological disorders.