Famous neurologist Oliver Sacks dies

Sacks died on Sunday of liver cancer at his home in New York City, aged 82, according to the "New York Times," which cited his personal assistant of many years, Kate Edgar.

Born on July 9, 1933, Sacks studied medicine in England before moving to the United States, via Canada, in 1960. He lived in New York from 1965, practicing as a neurologist and teaching.

He began writing of his experience with his patients in 1970, publishing several books as well as articles in a number of magazines and journals.

His first book, "Awakenings" (1973), which became one of his most famous, was about his work with catatonic patients, and was made into an Oscar-nominated film in 1990 starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.

In his often humorous writings, he describes the effects various medical conditions on the mind and the behavior of people afflicted with them. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" (1985), another of his best-selling books, for example, contained an eponymous article about a patient with visual agnosia, a condition that impairs the ability to recognize objects by sight.

Another well-known book by Sacks, "An Anthropologist on Mars," was about Temple Grandin, an autistic professor of animal science who has made valuable contributions to the livestock industry.

Sacks received a number of honors and awards for his work, including Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2008 and a number of honorary doctorates.

He himself was afflicted with a medical condition known as prosopagnosia, which impairs people's ability to recognize faces.

His autobiography, "On the Move," was published this year.

tj/bk (dpa)