Have you ever been plagued by an earworm—an insidiously catchy tune trapped in your head? The pervasive and distracting way that the Jeopardy theme song can permeate consciousness demonstrates the powerful influence of music on the human brain. In his new book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, neurologist Oliver Sacks, the author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and many other books, shares his patients’ experiences with music. From the man who was suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two after being struck by lightning, to the way in which music can calm and organize people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer’s or amnesia, Sacks will discuss how music can be both a neurological symptom and a tool for healing.

Listen to Science & the City’s podcast interview with Oliver Sacks or read an interview with him in the current edition of the New York Academy of Sciences Member Magazine.

Sacks will speak Tuesday, October 16, at 6 pm at The New York Academy of Sciences, 250 Greenwich St., 7 World Trade Center, in lower Manhattan. The event is part of the Science & the City Author Series.