Black Hole (House)
Encyclopedia
"Black Hole" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season
of the American medical drama House
. It was directed by Greg Yaitanes
and written by Lawrence Kaplow. It aired on March 15, 2010.
House and team try to diagnose a high school senior suffering from blackouts and hallucinations, and are forced to take a controversial approach. Meanwhile, Taub brings his personal life into the workplace.
from her mouth. At Princeton-Plainsboro, House orders the team to do an MRI. During the MRI, she hallucinates that she is getting sucked into a black hole. Many diagnosis attempts are thwarted by negative tests. While Nick proposes to Abby, she hallucinates a younger version of herself coercing her to "tell the secret." Moments later, she begins seizing.
As a last ditch effort to diagnose her, House and his team use an experimental procedure called "cognitive
pattern recognition
" to map the unconscious thoughts of Abby. This yields images of outer space and what appears to be Abby's father who had died in a plane crash. Eventually House reveals that Nick's father, a food importer traveling around the world, contracted a Middle-Eastern parasite which he then inadvertently transmitted to Abby sexually, triggering a cerebellar schistosomiasis
delayed hypersensitivity allergy.
Meanwhile, Wilson attempts to furnish his new condo. He rents the furniture, much to the dismay of House, who returns the furniture. Then, Wilson is seen in a furniture store trying to buy furniture, but is unable to choose anything. Finally, he hires a decorator and fills the room with furniture, buying House a Hammond B-3 organ. House is pleased with the gift and plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale
".
Throughout the episode Taub is having a marital issue. His wife is upset that he is not spending enough time with her. While at work, House takes Taub's phone and sexts
with Taub's wife. Later, Taub and his wife make up. Taub proposes, getting down on one knee and giving his wife a diamond ring. When she points out that they're already married, Taub responds, "I want to be better at it." However, his loyalty to his wife is questioned once again when House sees him walking with an attractive nurse as the episode ends.
House (season 6)
House entered a sixth season on September 21, 2009 with a two-hour premiere. The season premiere, titled "Broken", was filmed at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey.Season six featured 22 episodes, two fewer than the usual number...
of the American medical drama House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
. It was directed by Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes is an American television and film director.-Directing career:*Damages **"Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker" **"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" *Lost...
and written by Lawrence Kaplow. It aired on March 15, 2010.
House and team try to diagnose a high school senior suffering from blackouts and hallucinations, and are forced to take a controversial approach. Meanwhile, Taub brings his personal life into the workplace.
Plot
A high school senior named Abby is sitting during a class discussion in a planetarium with her boyfriend, Nick. Suddenly, she starts drooling blood and sputumSputum
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways. It is usually used for microbiological investigations of respiratory infections....
from her mouth. At Princeton-Plainsboro, House orders the team to do an MRI. During the MRI, she hallucinates that she is getting sucked into a black hole. Many diagnosis attempts are thwarted by negative tests. While Nick proposes to Abby, she hallucinates a younger version of herself coercing her to "tell the secret." Moments later, she begins seizing.
As a last ditch effort to diagnose her, House and his team use an experimental procedure called "cognitive
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the brain...
pattern recognition
Statistical parametric mapping
Statistical parametric mapping or SPM is a statistical technique created by Karl Friston for examining differences in brain activity recorded during functional neuroimaging experiments using neuroimaging technologies such as fMRI or PET...
" to map the unconscious thoughts of Abby. This yields images of outer space and what appears to be Abby's father who had died in a plane crash. Eventually House reveals that Nick's father, a food importer traveling around the world, contracted a Middle-Eastern parasite which he then inadvertently transmitted to Abby sexually, triggering a cerebellar schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
delayed hypersensitivity allergy.
Meanwhile, Wilson attempts to furnish his new condo. He rents the furniture, much to the dismay of House, who returns the furniture. Then, Wilson is seen in a furniture store trying to buy furniture, but is unable to choose anything. Finally, he hires a decorator and fills the room with furniture, buying House a Hammond B-3 organ. House is pleased with the gift and plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well...
".
Throughout the episode Taub is having a marital issue. His wife is upset that he is not spending enough time with her. While at work, House takes Taub's phone and sexts
Sexting
Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. The term was first popularized in early 21st century, and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with...
with Taub's wife. Later, Taub and his wife make up. Taub proposes, getting down on one knee and giving his wife a diamond ring. When she points out that they're already married, Taub responds, "I want to be better at it." However, his loyalty to his wife is questioned once again when House sees him walking with an attractive nurse as the episode ends.