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Torsten Wiesel

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Torsten Wiesel
Wiesel in 2011
7th President ofRockefeller University
In office
1991–1998
Preceded byDavid Baltimore
Succeeded byArnold J. Levine
Personal details
Born
Torsten Nils Wiesel

(1924-06-03)3 June 1924(age 100)
Uppsala,Sweden
Spouses
  • Teeri Stenhammar
    ​
    ​
    (m.1956;div.1970)​
  • Ann Yee
    ​
    ​
    (m.1973;div.1981)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m.1995;div.2007)​
  • Lizette Mususa Reyes
    ​
    ​
    (m.2008)​
Children1
Alma materKarolinska Institute
Known forVisual system
Awards
Scientific career
Institutions

Torsten Nils Wiesel(born 3 June 1924) is a Swedishneurophysiologist.WithDavid H. Hubel,[5][6][7]he received the 1981Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,[4]for their discoveries concerning information processing in thevisual system;the prize was shared withRoger W. Sperry[8]for his independent research on the cerebral hemispheres.[9]

Career[edit]

Wiesel was born inUppsala,Sweden, in 1924, the youngest of five children. In 1947, he began his scientific career inCarl Gustaf Bernhard's laboratory at theKarolinska Institute,where he received his medical degree in 1954. He went on to teach in the institute's department of physiology and worked in the child psychiatry unit of the Karolinska Hospital. In 1955 he moved to theUnited Statesto work atJohns Hopkins School of MedicineunderStephen Kuffler.Wiesel began a fellowship in ophthalmology, and in 1958 he became an assistant professor. That same year, he metDavid Hubel,beginning a collaboration that would last over twenty years. In 1959 Wiesel and Hubel moved toHarvard University.He became an instructor in pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, beginning a 24-year career with the university. He became professor in the new department of neurobiology in 1968 and its chair in 1973.

In 1983, Wiesel joined the faculty ofRockefeller Universityas Vincent and Brooke Astor Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology. He was president of the university from 1991 to 1998.[10]At Rockefeller University he remains co-director of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior.

From 2000 to 2009, Wiesel served as Secretary-General of the Human Frontier Science Program,[11]an organization headquartered in Strasbourg, France, which supports international and interdisciplinary collaboration between investigators in the life sciences. Wiesel also has chaired the scientific advisory board of China's National Institute of Biological Science (NIBS)[12]in Beijing, and co-chairs the board of governors of theOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology(OIST). He is also member of the boards of thePew Center on Global Climate Change,theHospital for Special Surgery,and an advisory board member of the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI).[13]

Wiesel has also served as chair of the board of theAaron Diamond AIDS Research Center(1995–2001), president of theSociety for Neuroscience(1978–1979), and theInternational Brain Research Organization(1998–2004). He was chair of the board of governors of theNew York Academy of Sciences(2001–2006); and he was the academy's chairman and interim director in 2001–2002.[14]

Research[edit]

The Hubel and Wiesel experiments greatly expanded the scientific knowledge of sensory processing. In one experiment, done in 1959, they inserted amicroelectrodeinto theprimary visual cortexof an anesthetized cat. They then projected patterns of light and dark on a screen in front of the cat. They found that someneuronsfired rapidly when presented with lines at one angle, while others responded best to another angle. They called these neurons "simple cells."Still other neurons, which they termed"complex cells,"responded best to lines of a certain angle moving in one direction. These studies showed how the visual system builds an image from simple stimuli into more complex representations.[15]

Hubel and Wiesel were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1981 for their work onocular dominance columnsin the 1960s and 1970s. By depriving kittens from using one eye, they showed that columns in the primary visual cortex receiving inputs from the other eye took over the areas that would normally receive input from the deprived eye. These kittens also did not develop areas receiving input from both eyes, a feature needed forbinocular visionandstereopsis.Hubel and Wiesel's experiments showed that the ocular dominance develops irreversibly[verification needed]early in childhood development. These studies opened the door for the understanding and treatment of childhoodcataractsandstrabismus.They were also important in the study of corticalplasticity.[15]

Awards and honors[edit]

Wiesel is a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences,theSerbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,[16]and a foreign fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.[citation needed]He also holds the following awards and honors:

In 2001, Wiesel was nominated for a position on an advisory panel in theNational Institutes of Healthto advise on assisting research in developing countries. RepublicanTommy Thompson,who at the time was Secretary of Health and Human Services, rejected Wiesel. In addition to Wiesel, Thompson's office rejected another 18 (out of 26) nominations and in return recommended other scientists thatwhistleblowerGerald Keusch described in an interview as "lightweights" with "no scientific credibility". When Wiesel's name was rejected, an official in Thompson's office told Keusch that Wiesel had "signed too many full-page letters in The New York Times critical of President Bush." This incident was cited by the advocacy groupUnion of Concerned Scientistsas part of a report detailing their allegations of abuse of science under PresidentGeorge W. Bush's administration.[24][25]

Wiesel was among the eight 2005 recipients of theNational Medal of Science.[23]In 2006, he was awarded the Ramon Y Cajal Gold Medal from theSpanish National Research Council(CSIC -Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas). In 2007, both Wiesel and Hubel were awarded the Marshall M. Parks, MD Medal from The Children's Eye Foundation.

Personal life[edit]

Wiesel is married to Lizette Mususa Reyes (m. 2008).[4]Wiesel was married to Teeri Stenhammar from 1956 to 1970, Ann Yee from 1973 to 1981,[4]and author and editorJean Steinfrom 1995 to 2007.[4]His daughter Sara Elisabeth was born in 1975.[4]

Wieselturned 100on 3 June 2024.[26]

Human rights[edit]

Wiesel has done much work as a global human rights advocate. He served for 10 years (1994–2004) as chair of theCommittee of Human Rights of the National Academies of Sciencein the US, as well as the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies.[27]He was awarded the David Rall Medal from theInstitute of Medicinein 2005, in recognition of this important work.[citation needed]In 2009, Wiesel was awarded the Grand Cordon Order of the Rising Sun Medal in Japan.

He is a founding member of the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization, a nongovernmental nonprofit established in 2004 to support collaborative research between scientists in Israel and Palestine.[27]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abHubel, David;Wiesel, Torsten (2012)."David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel".Neuron.75(2): 182–184.doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2012.07.002.ISSN0896-6273.PMID22841302.
  2. ^ab"Professor Torsten Wiesel ForMemRS".London:Royal Society.Archived fromthe originalon 11 November 2015.
  3. ^ab"Fellowship of the Royal Society 1660-2015".London:Royal Society.Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2015.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmno"Torsten N. Wiesel - Biographical".Nobelprize.org.Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2015.Retrieved6 September2015.
  5. ^Shatz, C. J. (2013)."David Hunter Hubel (1926–2013) Neuroscientist who helped to reveal how the brain processes visual information".Nature.502(7473): 625.doi:10.1038/502625a.PMID24172972.
  6. ^Hubel, D. H.;Wiesel, T. N. (1959)."Receptive fields of single neurones in the cat's striate cortex".The Journal of Physiology.148(3): 574–591.doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1959.sp006308.ISSN0022-3751.PMC1363130.PMID14403679.
  7. ^Hubel, D. H.;Wiesel, T. N. (1962)."Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat's visual cortex".The Journal of Physiology.160(1): 106–154.doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1962.sp006837.ISSN0022-3751.PMC1359523.PMID14449617.
  8. ^Voneida, T. J. (1997)."Roger Wolcott Sperry. 20 August 1913--17 April 1994: Elected For.Mem.R.S. 1976".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.43:463–470.doi:10.1098/rsbm.1997.0025.
  9. ^Multiple sources:
    • David H. Hubel,Torsten N. Wiesel.Brain and Visual Perception: The Story of a 25-Year Collaboration.Oxford University Press, 2004.ISBN0195176189
    • Berlucchi, Giovanni (2006). "Revisiting the 1981 Nobel Prize to Roger Sperry, David Hubel, and Torsten Wiesel on the occasion of the centennial of the Prize to Golgi and Cajal".Journal of the History of the Neurosciences.Vol. 15, no. 4 (published December 2006). pp. 369–75.doi:10.1080/09647040600639013.PMID16997764.
    • Shampo, M A; Kyle, R A (1994). "Torsten Wiesel--Swedish neurobiologist wins Nobel Prize".Mayo Clin. Proc.Vol. 69, no. 11 (published November 1994). p. 1026.doi:10.1016/s0025-6196(12)61367-6.PMID7967753.
    • Korczyn, A (1981). "[Nobel prize winners in medicine--1981 (Torsten Wiesel, David Hubel)]".Harefuah.Vol. 101, no. 12 (published 15 December 1981). pp. 378–9.PMID7042494.
    • Prasanna, Venkhatesh V (2011). "Do we learn to see?".Resonance: Journal of Science Education.Vol. 16, no. 1 (published 12 January 2011). pp. 88–99.doi:10.1007/s12045-011-0013-4.
  10. ^Angier, Natalie."Acting President of Rockefeller U. to Stay at Least 3 More Years,"New York Times.21 February 1992; Sengupta, Somini."Princeton Cancer Expert Is New Rockefeller U. President,"New York Times.1 July 1998.
  11. ^"| Human Frontier Science Program".
  12. ^"Nibs Bắc Kinh sinh mệnh khoa học viện nghiên cứu".Archived fromthe originalon 8 October 2009.Retrieved8 November2009.NIBS
  13. ^[1]Archived4 January 2010 at theWayback Machine
  14. ^Overbye, Dennis."New York Academy of Sciences Elects a New Chief Executive,"New York Times.19 November 2002.
  15. ^abGoldstein, B. (2001).Sensation and Perception(6th ed.).Wadsworth Publishing.[ISBN missing]
  16. ^"The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: Torsten Wiesel".Retrieved1 May2009.[dead link]
  17. ^Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,"2009 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals," p. 1.
  18. ^"University of Cambodia".Retrieved7 May2018.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^"Torsten Nils Wiesel".
  20. ^"Torsten N. Wiesel".
  21. ^"APS Member History".
  22. ^"David Rall Award Recipients".iom.nationalacademies.org.Archived fromthe originalon 11 November 2015.Retrieved21 October2015.
  23. ^abNational Eye Institute:"NEI Grantees Receive National Medals of Science,"Archived2009-09-24 at theWayback Machine2007.
  24. ^Emma Marris (14 July 2004)."Bush accused of trying to foist favourites on health agency".Nature.430(281): 281.Bibcode:2004Natur.430..281M.doi:10.1038/430281a.PMID15254502.
  25. ^Seth Shulman (2007).Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration.University of California Press.
  26. ^"Torsten Wiesel, 100 år av höjdpunkter".Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien(in Swedish). 3 June 2024.Retrieved3 June2024.
  27. ^ab"Torsten N. Wiesel - Facts".nobelprize.org.

External links[edit]

  • Media related toTorsten Wieselat Wikimedia Commons
  • Torsten Wieselon Nobelprize.orgEdit this at Wikidataincluding the Nobel Lecture 8 December 1981The Postnatal Development of the Visual Cortex and the Influence of Environment

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