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So, what you do?

I’m a clinical neuropsychologist, which means I see patients with known or suspected brain injuries or diseases and assess cognitive skills such as memory. My research is on how music can trigger memories in people with dementia.

Why did you choose to work in this field?

I read Oliver Sacks’s book The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat when I was 15 and found the case studies incredibly fascinating.

Your book is about how our brains control our sex lives. Is this a specific part of the brain?

Our brains control all aspects of our sex drives and lives. There isn’t just one part of the brain that controls sex, but among people who experience a change in their sex life after a brain injury, the frontal and temporal lobes are most commonly damaged.

In what ways can people’s sex lives change?

The most common change after a brain injury is a decline in interest in sex. Some people who have had a temporal lobe removed due to epilepsy can experience a dramatic increase in sexual thoughts and behaviour. This can also occur after a brain injury or in response to treatments used for Parkinson’s disease. It can have a devastating effect on relationships and even lead to criminal acts.

Can brain injuries affect feelings of love and affection too?

Yes, in some cases. Barry was a patient of mine who had a stroke and it affected the left hemisphere of his brain. His wife Sue said that before his injury he was grumpy and only grunted at her. She was close to filing for divorce. After his stroke, he became loving and romantic, always telling her how much he loved her. His brain injury saved their marriage.

What is the most unusual case you encountered while researching your book?

There is a case study of a man who had temporal lobe epilepsy and a fetish triggered by safety pins. Both disappeared with surgery to remove his left temporal lobe. The case is over 60 years old but it remains extraordinary – for the unique nature of the fetish and its unequivocal evidence that the temporal lobe is a crucial part of the “sexual neural network”, the parts of the brain that control our sex drive and behaviour.

“One of my patients, who his wife said was grumpy and only grunted at her, became loving and romantic after having a stroke”

What are you working on right now?

I’m finalising some papers from my dementia research, including one looking at cases in which people with dementia have committed murder. I’ve become increasingly interested in the issue of criminal responsibility in such cases.

How has your field of study changed in the time you have been working in it?

The rapid advances in neuroimaging are the biggest change. When I did my PhD in the early 2000s, I had to manually colour in a structure called the amygdala to calculate its volume, but now this can all be done automatically.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I knew I wanted to be a doctor of some kind. My parents have an old kitchen table that I crawled under and practised writing my signature as “Dr Amee Baird” repeatedly.

What scientific development do you hope to see in your lifetime?

A cure for dementia.

Do you have an unexpected hobby?

I like to collect bicycles – not full size ones, but mini models. I have a shelf in my study that is full of mini bicycles from around the world.

How useful will your skills be after the apocalypse?

Not at all! I don’t think anyone would be seeking a neuropsychological assessment if they were struggling to survive.

OK, one last thing: tell us something that will blow our minds…

Sex can actually blow your mind! Having sex can cause a pre-existing brain aneurysm to burst. It can also trigger a rare condition called “transient global amnesia”, or sudden loss of short-term memory.