Brain injury and dementia
![Two women painting together at a table. The one in the foreground is older, wears glasses and is focused on her brushstroke.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ccf6a953-465e-489c-9f46-d53955eb1fac/rt-final-gettyimages-1235760494.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Brain injury and dementia
idea
Dementia is not a death. For some, it marks a new beginning
Advocates are reframing the syndrome as a different way of being – one in which potential for growth and connection endures
by Isabel Sutton
![A man in a white robe walks down a staircase with an ornate iron railing in a stone building. Sunlight streams through the large windows.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/61dcd35c-02e9-4137-b829-27b86160f196/rt-final-panos_00249383.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Spirituality and religion
idea
A monk showed me that spirituality needs more space in medicine
As a doctor, I’ve seen how brain diseases can become entwined with spiritual pain. Who is responsible for addressing it?
by Michael P H Stanley
![Silhouetted man playing guitar in a dimly lit room near a window with plants on the sill and music sheets on the counter.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6f90e11c-6e54-421f-8ca9-015d4e58d395/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Brain injury and dementia
film
The songs of Bob Dylan suffuse a poignant story of dementia and music
Directed by Harry Shaw
![Elderly couple in hats watching colourful kites flying in a blue sky with scattered clouds.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/7f9fc987-8198-4339-949e-abefb057d55b/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Brain injury and dementia
idea
Earlier memories are relatively spared in dementia. Why?
People with Alzheimer’s have richer memories of late childhood and early adulthood and this could help therapeutic care
by Dorthe Berntsen
![Abstract painting featuring blurred figures in a green and blue environment with splashes of brown. The scene has a dreamy, ethereal feel.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ee995783-f8cf-48db-b1d7-1e0c68559798/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
The self
idea
Memory involves the whole body. It’s how the self defies amnesia
People with anterograde amnesia can’t rely on memory alone for their sense of self. Instead, they remember with their body
by Ben Platts-Mills