A doctor discovers a new medication that helps revive his catatonic patients, allowing them a chance to experience life once again.

Dr. Malcolm Sayer learns of a new medication called L-Dopa that he believes will help revive his patients who suffer from a Parkinson's- like  condition caused by encephalitis. Dr. Sayer tests his hypothesis on Leonard Lowe, a patient who has been in a catatonic state for thirty years. The drug proves to be a success with Leonard and so the drug is administered to all the other catatonic patients at the hospital. While the new medication allows Leonard and the other patients a second chance at experiencing life, it also brings some unexpected challenges. Leonard must now cope with his romantic feelings for a visitor at the hospital, the restrictions on his freedom as a patient, as well as a gradual decline in the effectiveness of the treatment.

A young man on the autism spectrum sets out to find a job and a girlfriend in order to demonstrate his independence. 

Luke's rigid lifestyle is disrupted when his grandmother and primary caretaker passes away forcing Luke and his grandfather  to move in with Luke’s dysfunctional family.  Not wanting to  be a burden to his family or to be viewed as disabled due to his autistic spectrum diagnosis, Luke embarks on a journey to gain independence and demonstrate that he is just as capable as any other member of society. Heeding his grandfather’s advice, he sets out to obtain a job and then find love, two factors that his grandfather tells him are necessities in life. In his quest, Luke learns how to cope with his condition while changing the lives of those he encounters in the process.


Neuropsychological Review
Social Perception Technology in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adept or Just Pretending?
Mary V. Spiers & Kristina E. Patrick 

Previously published in Spiers, M.V. & Patrick K. E. (2013) Social perception technology in autism spectrum disorder: Adept or “just pretending”?  [Review of film (2012) The Story of Luke]. PsycCRITIQUES, 58(34), Doi: 10.1037/a0033962.
Copyright APA.  This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.


The Story of Luke (2012) explores relationship issues in a young man with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who is on a quest for an independent life... 

Two prominent musicians divorce their spouses and get married, only for one to develop Alzheimer’s disease, causing pain and struggle for both of them.  

When Martin, a talented and famous composer in his late-fifties, meets Barbara, the beautiful first violinist ten years his junior, it is love at first sight. All is bliss for the newlyweds, until five years later when Martin suddenly starts to experience small memory slips, which aggressively progress. Rapidly, Barbara finds herself helplessly watching her once brilliant and loving spouse turn into someone who does not even know who she is. A Song for Martin dives deep into the denial, sadness, and struggle experienced by the person with Alzheimer’s disease, and the grief, depression, and desperation experienced by their caregiver. 

Neuropsychological Review Alzheimer’s Disease: Ruling Out Other Options
Mallory Sykes, Kristen Focht, and Reed Vennel    


En Sang for Martin (A Song for Martin) is a  film that presents a compelling, but tragic story of how painful and far-reaching Alzheimer’s disease can be….

A father attempts to reconnect with his estranged son who suffers from anterograde amnesia.

A father learns that his son Gabriel, who ran away from home twenty years ago, is now suffering from a brain tumor that is causing severe damage to his brain. When the tumor is removed, doctors find that Gabriel possesses anterograde amnesia. It is discovered that while Gabriel is not able to form new memories on his own, he is able to do so with the help of music. As Gabriel's father attempts to reconnect with him, he finds that he must not only cope with Gabriel's illness, but also confront the very issues that led to their separation.

A scientist harvests the brain of a sinister millionaire which starts to exert its control on the obsessed doctor.    

After a violent plane crash, millionaire W. H. Donovan is brought to the office of Dr. Patrick Cory, whose research is on the preservation of a living brain.  Unable to revive Donovan, Dr. Cory quickly removes his brain from his body and finds that the brain still functions.  Donovan’s brain starts to impose its’ thoughts and will on Dr. Cory, leaving Dr. Cory in an amnestic state while living the life of Donovan, even mimicking his physical symptoms.  Unable to break the bond himself, it is up to those close to Dr. Cory to end the brains run.  

Mario, a man diagnosed with Korsakoff’s Syndrome, uncovers lost memories of his dark past and regains the ability to form new memories with the aid of his psychiatrist Paloma.

Mario, a man who resides in a psychiatric clinic, has no memory of the last 22 years of his life and cannot form new memories.  Paloma, a new psychiatrist believes that Mario has Korsakoff’s Syndrome, a neurological illness characterized by both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. Paloma suspects that the first forgotten years of Mario’s retrograde amnesia were not caused by his illness but rather by a traumatic event and sets out to uncover these buried memories. Under the effects of increasingly larger doses of a stimulant medication, Mario remembers details of his dark past and begins forming new memories. 

Neuropsychological Review
Sé Quién Eres (I Know Who You Are)
Katherine Alvarez   

Sé Quién Eres (I Know Who You Are), is a Spanish film that  presents an interesting story concept  through it’s examination of Korsakoff’s syndrome, psychiatric amnesia and the methods used to treat these conditions, but it blurs the lines between various types of memory problems it is attempting to portray.

A brilliant neurosurgeon finds himself in a telepathic relationship with a surgically removed brain.  

Dr. Hfuhruhurr is the world’s brightest neurosurgeon for his innovative cranial screw top brain entry surgerical technique.  While in Vienna, another surgeon, Dr. Necessiter eagerly shows Dr. Hfuhruhurr his radical research that preserves and stores live human brains.  A lonely Dr. Hfuhruhurr finds that he can telepathically communicate with the brain of Anne Uumellmahaye, and he finds her conversation to be enchanting.  Dr. Hfuhruhurr falls in love with Anne for her personality rather than her body.  But when the brain of Miss Uumellmahaye begins to die, Dr. Hfuhruhurr must decide between saving Anne or committing murder.    

Henry, a prominent defense lawyer, attempts to rebuild his life after a shooting leaves him with significant brain damage.    


Henry, an aggressive defense lawyer, is shot in the head and shoulder during a robbery. He wakes up in the hospital unable to speak, coordinate his movements, and has extensive memory loss. His doctor explains that interrupted blood flow to the brain resulted in generalized brain damage. During rehabilitation, he is able to regain some verbal ability and motor function, but not his memory. He goes home, and manages to reconnect with the family he barely remembers. He returns to work, but now has ethical concerns with his previous cases. He decides to firmly establish himself as a different person rather than attempting to identify the person he used to be.

Neuropsychological Review
Amnesia and Hollywood: Can Brain Injury Improve Your Life?
Elizabeth K. Whipple

It is a frequent scene in Hollywood, that of a hapless bystander who gets pulled into a disastrous situation that is neither his fault nor under his control.  The character must do everything in his power to rise above the situation, to learn and grow in order to overcome...

In spite of his social challenges, Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, begins a romantic relationship with his neighbor Beth.

Adam, a socially-awkward but intelligent man with Asperger's, struggles to get his life back on track after the death of his father and the loss of his job.  Adam copes by rigidly following a regular schedule that includes engaging in the same activities day after day.  He is thrown for a loop, however, when he meets Beth.  The two start up a friendship that blossoms into a romantic relationship.  As their relationship develops, the couple face increasing challenges as they try to understand one another and they begin to question whether a relationship between a man with Asperger's and a neurotypical woman can survive.

Neuropsychological Review
Romantic Relationships for Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome 
Kristina E. Patrick

Movies often depict individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as loners who reject opportunities for social relationships.  In actuality, those with high-functioning... 

 An egotistic man embarks on a cross country trip with his autistic savant brother.    


 Charlie Babbitt is a successful car dealer in Los Angeles. When his father leaves most of his inheritance to his long-lost autistic brother Raymond, Charlie is determined to find him and claim what he believes is his. Charlie liberates Raymond from his care facility and sees an opportunity to exploit his brother’s extraordinary savant memory and make a fortune in Las Vegas.  But, Raymond's lack of social awareness and rigid routine irritate his brother on the trip.  Throughout their trip, Charlie learns more about his brother, autism, and savant syndrome, and what true brotherhood is.