Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian OM (London, 30 November 1889 – 4 August 1977) was a British electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physiology, won jointly with Sir Charles Sherrington for work on the function of neurons. For other Orders see Order of Merit (disambiguation). ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining, as the final day of November. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on Friday. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to the present day. ... Sherrington is considered one of the fathers of neuroscience. ... Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of cells in the pigeon cerebellum. ...

Son of Alfred Douglas Adrian, legal adviser to the British Local Government Board, he attended Westminster School and studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, remaining in Cambridge for the major part of his life. Motto: Dat Deus Incrementum The Royal College of St. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names Kings Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ...

Completing a medical degree in 1915, he did clinical work at St Bartholomew's Hospital London during World War I, treating soldiers with nerve damage and nervous disorders such as shell shock. Adrian returned to Cambridge in 1919 and in 1925 began his studies of nerve impulses in the human sensory organs. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The main entrance at Barts. ... World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world conflict lasting from August 1914 to the final Armistice (cessation of hostilities) on November 11, 1918. ... The military term combat stress reaction (CSR) comprises the range of adverse behaviours in reaction to the stress of combat and combat related activities. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Continuing earlier studies of Keith Lucas, he used a capillary electrometer and cathode ray tube to amplify the signals produced by the nervous system and was able to record the electrical discharge of single nerve fibres under physical stimulus. An accidental discovery by Adrian in 1928 proved the presence of electricity within nerve cells. Adrian said, Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT The cathode ray tube or CRT, invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun, is the display device that was traditionally used in most computer displays, video monitors, televisions and oscilloscopes. ... The Balls of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ...

"I had arranged electrodes on the optic nerve of a toad in connection with some experiments on the retina. The room was nearly dark and I was puzzled to hear repeated noises in the loudspeaker attached to the amplifier, noises indicating that a great deal of impulse activity was going on. It was not until I compared the noises with my own movements around the room that I realized I was in the field of vision of the toad's eye and that it was signaling what I was doing."

A key result, published in 1928, stated that the excitation of the skin under constant stimulus is initially strong but gradually decreases over time, whereas the sensory impulses passing along the nerves from the point of contact are constant in strength, yet are reduced in frequency over time, and the sensation in the brain diminishes as a result. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), acts as the control center of the central nervous system. ...

Extending these results to the study of pain causes by the stimulus of the nervous system, he made discoveries about the reception of such signals in the brain and spatial distribution of the sensory areas of the cerebral cortex in different animals. These conclusions lead to the idea of a sensory map, called the homunculus, in the somatosensory system. Cortex (Latin for bark) has different meanings, depending on the context: In neuroanatomy: the cerebral cortex (often simply called cortex) is the thin wrinkled outermost layer of the brain. ... Hartsoekers homunculus The concept of a homunculus (Latin for little man, sometimes spelled homonculus, plural homunculi) is often used to illustrate the functioning of a system. ... The somatosensory system is the sensory system of somatic sensation. ...

Later, Adrian used the electroencephalogram to study the electrical activity of the brain in humans. His work on the abnormalities of the Berger rhythm paved the way for subsequent investigation in epilepsy and other cerebral lesions. He spent the last portion of his research career investigating olfaction. Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic exploration of the electrical activity of the brain by the application of electrodes to the scalp. ... Hans Berger was born in May 21, 1873, in Neuses near Coburg, Thuringia, Germany. ... Olfaction, the sense of odor (smell), is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air (or, by animals that breathe water, in water). ...

Among the many awards and positions he received during his career were Foulerton Professor 1929-1937; Professor of Physiology at the University of Cambridge 1937-1951; President of the Royal Society 1950-1955; Master of Trinity College, Cambridge 1951-1965; Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1967-1975. In 1942 he was awarded the Order of Merit, and in 1955 was created Baron Adrian, of Cambridge in the County of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The President of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected head of the Royal Society of London. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names Kings Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... This is a list of Chancellors of the University of Cambridge, from about 1246 to the present day: Hugh de Hotton, c. ... For other Orders see Order of Merit (disambiguation). ...

Bibliography

• The Basis of Sensation (1928)
• The Mechanism of Nervous Action (1932)
• Factors Determining Human Behavior (1937)

References

• Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine 1922-1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1965.

External link

Nobel Prize Biography