The
hypothesis that finds most favor is that the two halves of the
brain do not work in unison; in other words, that there has been
some interference with the connections which in the ordinary
normal being make of a wonderful composite organ like the brain
one organic whole."
Proust tells a story of a Parisian barrister of thirty-three. His
father was a heavy drinker, his mother subject to nervous
attacks, his younger brother mentally deficient, and the patient
himself was very impressionable. It was said that a judge in a
court, by fixing his gaze on him, could send him into an abnormal
state. On one occasion, while looking into a mirror in a cafe, he
suddenly fell into a sleep, and was taken to the Charite where he
was awakened. He suffered occasional loss of memory for
considerable lengths of time, and underwent a change of
personality during these times. Though wide awake in such
conditions he could remember nothing of his past life, and when
returned to his original state he could remember nothing that
occurred during his secondary state, having virtually two
distinct memories. On September 23, 1888, he quarreled with his
stepfather in Paris and became his second self for three weeks.
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