On Friday, March 22, the Department of Neurology will host Phillip L. Pearl, M.D., who will present the lecture “Neurological Problems of the Musical Masters.” Pearl is director of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology and the William G. Lennox chair in the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member at the Music and Health Institute of the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The lecture is from 8 to 9 a.m. in Battenfield 1003 in the Student Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd. in Kansas City, Kansas.

Pearl’s presentation will allow participants to discover the differential diagnosis of the neurological problems of the musical masters, from Beethoven’s deafness to Schumann’s madness to Gershwin’s uncinated seizures. The presentation will also explore how neurological disease affected the artistic output of musical genius. In addition, it will feature the intersecting histories of neurology and music, including a live demonstration of the musicians’ work.

“Dr. Pearl's presentation will highlight the fascinating intersection of the arts and the brain,” said Gary Gronseth, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Neurology. “On a deeper level it will emphasize the fundamental importance of the brain in determining who we are as individuals.”