Oliver Sacks Reaches into History for Latest Diagnosis

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Cheryl Grogan, [email protected]

Oliver Sacks Reaches into History for Latest Diagnosis

ST. PAUL, MN -- Celebrated neurologist Oliver Sacks combines his loves of chemistry and neurology in his latest article, which explores the mind of 18th Century British chemist Henry Cavendish. The article is published in the October 9 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Cavendish is known for his wide-ranging scientific discoveries, including calculating the weight of the earth and determining that water was not an element but a compound of two gases. But he is also known for his peculiarities.

"He did all his work alone, in complete solitude," writes Sacks. "He rarely spoke to anyone, and insisted that his servants communicate with him in writing. He published only a fraction of what he did, and showed only indifference when others claimed priority for discoveries he himself had made years before."

Sacks, who may be best known for his book Awakenings, which inspired the Oscar-nominated movie starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, hypothesizes that Cavendish had Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by the inability to understand the feelings of others, single-mindedness and an intense preoccupation with one or two subjects.

Asperger's syndrome is considered by some to be a sub-type of autism. Asperger's differs from high-functioning autism by later onset -- it is usually not recognized before 30 months of age -- and because speech is generally not delayed, as it may be in children with autism.

"The evidence gathered by Cavendish's biographer is almost overwhelming," said Sacks. "And he was writing a century before autism and Asperger's syndrome had even been identified, so he was not making assumptions about a possible diagnosis, only writing with a wondering admiration and sympathy for his subject."

The biographer, physician and chemist George Wilson, writes about Cavendish in his 1851 book: "He did not love; he did not hate; he did not hope; he did not fear'His brain seems to have been but a calculating engine; his eyes inlets of vision, not fountains of tears; his hands instruments of manipulation which never trembled with emotion, or were clasped together in adoration, thanksgiving or despair'"

Sacks writes, "Many of the characteristics that distinguished Cavendish are also distinctly characteristic of Asperger's syndrome: a striking literalness and directness of mind, extreme single-mindedness, a passion for calculation and unconventional, stubbornly held ideas, coupled with a virtual incomprehension of social behaviors and human relationships. Many of these are the very traits he used so brilliantly in his pioneering scientific research."

Cavendish's contributions to science also include discovering the properties of the element hydrogen, demonstrating that air was a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and determining the specific heats of a number of substances.

The grandson of a duke, Cavendish was for much of his life the richest man in England, according to Sacks. "We are fortunate that he happened to have the means and opportunity to purse his 'eccentric' interests despite his lack of worldliness," he said.

Sacks himself was eventually discouraged from his childhood fascination with chemistry and encouraged to follow in the footsteps of his parents and brothers, who were all physicians. His latest book, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, explores his early fascination. It will be available October 16. Sacks is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 17,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit its web site at www.aan.com.

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