Learn how Oliver Sacks treated patients suffering from encephalitis lethargica, or “sleeping sickness,” in this video from American Masters' Oliver Sacks: His Own Life. In 1969, Oliver Sacks began seeing patients who had been unable to move or communicate for many years after they contracted an illness. After careful observation, Sacks decided to treat his patients with a new drug for Parkinson’s disease called L-Dopa. The video includes footage of how the patients reacted to the new drug therapy over time. Sacks later wrote about this experiment and its surprising results in his book Awakenings, and the story inspired a movie of the same name. Support materials include discussion questions, help in making connections to the nervous system, and an activity that examines medicine as a science and an art.