In the neurological field there is a contrast between the method of those who study in depth individual cases of patients suffering from a syndrome and those who sift through a large number of subjects and then carry out a statistical analysis. Almost all the neurological syndromes that have stood the test of time were discovered by studying individual cases while, to my knowledge, none have ever been identified by averaging statistics across a large sample of people.

“…in my opinion the best strategy is to start with the study of individual cases and then check whether the observations are confirmed by the analysis of other patients. in my opinion the best strategy is to start with the study of individual cases and then check whether the observations are confirmed by the analysis of other patients”

Vilayanur S. Ramachandran