Phillip L. Pearl, M.D., was the featured speaker during the Sixth Annual Lillian Pardo, M.D., Pediatric Lecture this spring. Pearl, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, presented “Neurological Problems of the Musical Masters.” Pearl is also director of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology and the William G. Lennox chair in the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is a faculty member at the Music and Health Institute of the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“It’s special for me to be here today,” said Pearl. “It reminds me of my days in medical school and is a way to give back to students and faculty.” Pearl’s presentation focused on the differential diagnosis of the neurological problems of the musical masters, from Schumann’s madness to Gershwin’s uncinated seizures and Beethoven’s deafness. Pearl highlighted the intersecting histories of neurology and music with a live demonstration of the musicians’ work.

The annual lectureship was established by Pardo, professor emerita in pediatrics and neurology at KU Medical Center, with her husband, Manuel P. Pardo, M.D., to help inspire today’s students, residents and young faculty the way visiting professors often inspired her during her medical education and academic medical center career.