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Woman's Brain Reverses Language After Seizure
4 Sep
Summary
- A seizure at 17 caused Michal Sklar's brain to process words in reverse.
- Doctors deemed the grand mal seizure idiopathic, with no identifiable cause.
- Researchers from Oxford Brookes University studied her unique ability.
Michal Sklar experienced a life-altering grand mal seizure just before her 17th birthday in October 2010. Doctors were unable to identify a cause, deeming it idiopathic. In the days following the hospitalization, Sklar noticed a remarkable change: her brain began processing spoken language in reverse.
This unusual ability persisted, with familiar words and songs playing backward in her mind. Despite seeking medical explanations, including an encounter with an apathetic neurologist, Sklar found little validation. Years later, researchers from Oxford Brookes University, led by Dr. Dianne Newbury and Dr. Hayley Moutford, contacted her in 2017 to study her 'backwards brain'.
Sklar participated in a research project in 2018, describing the experience as incredible. This unique cognitive function gained significant public attention when Sklar recently shared her story on TikTok, reaching over 4.1 million people. While the exact cause remains a mystery, Sklar is open to further scientific investigation into her extraordinary linguistic processing.
