Where are the keys?
Where are the keys?: Neuropsychology of everyday life is a scientific psychological reference book written by the director of the Neuropsychology department at CDINC, Spanish neuropsychologist, professor and lecturer Saúl Martínez Horta. The work was published by the GeoPlaneta publishing label in 2023, giving life to a somewhat controversial text that deals, to a large extent, with the loss of memory.
When a renowned expert in a certain area of knowledge claims that what we believe is a myth, or that, at least, we have been seeing a problem from the wrong perspective, more than one person is capable of panicking. Statements like Senile dementia does not exist o ADHD is a pharmaceutical invention have raised some eyebrows. Now, what is this revealing title about?
Synopsis of Where are the keys?
Summary of the first two sections of Where are the keys?
The daily forgetfulness
In the first section of his book, Saúl Martínez Horta comments that, in his office, it is normal to receive patients who believe they are losing their memory, when the truth is that their Statements are absolutely subjective. The doctor also explains that, in most cases, affected people or family members are subjected to irreversible and regrettable clinical processes, since we are what we know, and anything that dilutes that state is harmful.
Saul Martinez Horta explains that cognitive degeneration can happen at different levels and therefore brain commitments different. Therefore, it is not prudent to associate them directly with age, as occurs in the case of senile dementia, for example. Furthermore, he asserts that not being able to access a set of stored memories is not the same as completely losing the storage. Before diagnosis it is necessary to do tests.
Memory failures are not always indicative of an illness
Apparently, Memories can become misaligned as a result of complex brain processes. It is normal to confuse people, places and objects, although the real concern begins when a human being drastically modifies a memory, or brings an image from the past to the present to complete their thought sequence and make sense of an exact moment.
In this context, the author indicates that no sign or symptom of brain failure should be trivialized. On these occasions, it is necessary to consult with a brain health professional, either to rule out any truly malignant pathology, or to complete a treatment that reduces the symptoms of troubled memory as a sign of acute stress. The doctor confesses that It is worth examining behavior patterns, words and environment of the patient to reach a conclusion.
"We know each other?"
Where are the keys? is packed with fascinating subtitles, and this one is no exception. It has happened to all of us to meet another person who greets us effusively, even though we have no idea who. In that case, we begin to think about where we know her from, while we create a great theater in our head to be able to solve the situation without becoming completely socially useless.
This particular behavior was inherited to us by evolution. Over millions of years we have had to adapt to the environment to survive. This involves assertively recognizing the elements around us, being aware of adjacent dangers, and maintaining control when necessary. In We know each other?, Saúl Martínez Horta talks about semantic memory and its benefits, such as the identification of general characteristics of space.
The enigmatic world of face recognition
Oddly enough, the natural predator of humans is other humans, so Facial recognition has become almost a superpower. It should be noted that those people who suffer from a condition that prevents the proper perception of objects - such as visual agnosia - are associated with a failure associated with the eye and not with memory. The reason is simple: not recognizing an object is not the same as not remembering its name.
On the other hand, it may also happen that there are people incapable of registering faces naturally, and this could be a birth defect. In addition, Diseases such as epilepsy, in certain cases, prevent us from processing information related to other people's faces.. In the same way, it can occur with migraine episodes, where it is normal for the features to conflict or become distorted in the best style of Pablo Picasso.
List of topics from Where are the keys?
FIRST PART: EVERYDAY FORGOTTENNESS
- "We know each other?";
- "At the tip of the tongue";
- "It was not so!";
- "Where are the keys?";
- “I have already experienced this!”;
- “What the hell did I come to the kitchen to do?”
PART TWO: NORMAL ABNORMAL PERCEPTIONS
- "Have you called me?";
- “Nocturnal Apparitions”;
- “Presences”;
- “Astral travel”;
- “Other complex visions.”
PART THREE: OF THE GOODNESS AND THE EVIL OF THE HUMAN BEING
- "Cubatas, stripes, anger and daily violence”;
- “Violence behind the wheel”;
- "I would never do it".
PART FOUR: INTUITION, CLAIRVOIDENCE AND OTHER STRANGE EXPERIENCES
- “The brain magic of intuition”;
- “Predictions of the future.”
SUMMARY
- "The tunnel";
- “The werewolves.”
PART FIVE: LITTLE CURIOSITIES, MYTHS AND TRUTHS
- “We use 10% of the brain”;
- “The diabolical brain of the child and the adolescent”;
- “Sofa, movie and blanket or backpacking trip to Everest”;
- “Senile dementia does not exist”;
- “ADHD is a pharmaceutical invention”;
- "mental illnesses they do not exist".
About the Author, Saúl Martínez Horta
Saúl Martínez Horta was born in 1981, in Barcelona, Spain. He has a Doctor of Medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, as well as a specialist in clinical neuropsychology. The author serves in the Neurology Service of the leading Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona. There he dedicates his time to research into various diseases, such as Huntington's and other movement disorders.
He has extensive experience in the research and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as in scientific dissemination through talks, conferences and posts on social networks. Saúl Martínez Horta has written more than 70 articles for various national and international magazines. In addition, he collaborates as a professor in the Department of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.