Ferrier Lecture

The Ferrier Lecture is a Royal Society lectureship given every three years "on a subject related to the advancement of natural knowledge on the structure and function of the nervous system".[1] It was created in 1928 to honour the memory of Sir David Ferrier, a neurologist who was the first British scientist to electronically stimulate the brain for the purpose of scientific study.[1]

In its 90-year history, the Lecture has been given 30 times. It has never been given more than once by the same person. The first female to be awarded the honour was Prof. Christine Holt in 2017. The first lecture was given in 1929 by Charles Scott Sherrington, and was titled "Some functional problems attaching to convergence".[2] The most recent lecturer was provided by Prof. Christine Holt, who presented a lecture in 2017 titled "understanding of the key molecular mechanisms involved in nerve growth, guidance and targeting which has revolutionised our knowledge of growing axon tips".[3] In 1971, the lecture was given by two individuals (David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel) on the same topic, with the title "The function and architecture of the visual cortex".[2]

List of Lecturers

Year Name Lecture title Notes
1929 Charles Scott Sherrington "Some functional problems attaching to convergence" [4]
1932 C. U. Ariëns Kappers "Some correlations between skull and brain" [5]
1935 Otto Loewi "Problems connected with the principle of humeral transmission of nervous impulses" –
1938 Edgar Douglas Adrian "Some problems of localization in the central nervous system" [6]
1941 Frederic Charles Bartlett "Fatigue following highly skilled work" [7]
1944 Gordon Morgan Holmes "The organization of the visual cortex in man" [8]
1947 Wilder Penfield "Some observations of the cerebral cortex of Man" [9]
1950 John Zachary Young "Growth and plasticity in the nervous system" –
1953 Francis Martin Rouse Walshe "The contribution of clinical observation to cerebral physiology" [10]
1956 Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark "Inquiries into the anatomical basis of olfactory discrimination" [11]
1959 John Carew Eccles "The nature of central inhibitory action" [12]
1962 William Albert Hugh Rushton "Visual adaptation" [13]
1965 Stephen William Kuffler "Physiological properties of vertebrate and invertebrate neurological cells and the movement of substances through the nervous system" [14]
1968 Charles Garrett Phillips "Studies of a primates brain and hand" [15]
1971 David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel "The function and architecture of the visual cortex" [16]
1974 Wilhelm Siegmund Feldberg "Body temperature and fever, changes in our views during the last decade" [17]
1977 Janos Szentagothai "The neuron network of the cerebral cortex, a functional interpretation" [18]
1980 Horace Basil Barlow "Cerebral cortex and the design of the eye" –
1983 Leslie Lars Iversen "Amino acids and peptides: fast and slow chemical signals in the nervous system" –
1986 Giles Brindley "The actions of parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves in human micturition, erection and seminal emission, and their restoration in paraplegic patients by implanted electrical stimulators" –
1989 Lawrence Weiskrantz "Side glances at blindsight, recent approaches to implicit discrimination in human cortical blindness" [19]
1992 Gerald Westheimer "Seeing depth with two eyes, stereopsis" [20]
1995 Semir Zeki "Behind the scene: an exploration of the visual brain" [21]
1998 Jean-Pierre Changeux "The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and synaptic plasticity" [22]
2001 Andrew Lumsden "Patterning the embryonic brain" –
2004 Alan Cowey "Magnetic brain stimulation: what can it tell us about brain function?" [23]
2007 Marc Tessier-Lavigne "Brain development and brain repair: Molecules and mechanisms that control neuronal wiring" –
2010 Colin Blakemore "Plasticity of the brain: the key to human development, cognition and evolution" [24]
2013 John O'Keefe "cognitive neuroscience, especially on the role of the hippocampus, and the mechanisms supporting memory and cognition" [25]
2017 Christine Holt "understanding of the key molecular mechanisms involved in nerve growth, guidance and targeting which has revolutionised our knowledge of growing axon tips" [26]
2019 Ray Dolan "for his work charting the brain activity related to fundamental aspects of human conduct and behaviour" [27]
2021 Daniel Wolpert "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of how the brain controls movement. Using theoretical and experimental approaches he has elucidated the computational principles underlying skilled motor behaviour." [28]
2023 Richard G. Morris "for greatly advancing the understanding of the physiological and psychological processes underlying memory." [29]
2025 Gillian Bates "for her work in understanding the molecular basis of Huntington’s disease and consistently producing highly impactful findings which have moulded the course of this field." [30]

References

General
  • "Previous Ferrier lectures 2004- 1929". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  • "The Ferrier Lecture (1928)". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "The Ferrier Lecture (1928)". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Previous Ferrier lectures 2004- 1929". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Wiring up the brain: How axons navigate". royalsociety.org.
  4. ^ Jacobson, Marcus (1993). Foundations of neuroscience (2nd ed.). Springer. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-306-44540-8.
  5. ^ "Societies and Academies". Nature. 129 (3267): 878–879. 11 June 1932. Bibcode:1932Natur.129..878.. doi:10.1038/129878a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  6. ^ Moruzzi, Giuseppe (1980). "In memoriam Lord Adrian (1889–1977)". Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology. 87. Springer Berlin Heidelberg: 1–24. doi:10.1007/BFb0030894. ISBN 3-540-09944-1. ISSN 0303-4240. PMID 6999582.
  7. ^ "Sir Fredrick Bartlett (1886–1969). An Intellectual Biography". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  8. ^ McDonald (2007). "Gordon Holmes lecture: Gordon Holmes and the neurological heritage". Brain. 130 (1): 288–98. doi:10.1093/brain/awl335. ISSN 1460-2156. PMID 17178743.
  9. ^ "RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada : Flavelle Medal Award". Royal Society of Canada. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  10. ^ "Guide W-Z". University of Bath. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Medical News" (PDF). British Medical Journal. 2 (5004): 1316. 1 December 1956. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5004.1315. S2CID 4807333. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  12. ^ "AAS-Biographical memoirs-Eccles". Australian Academy of Science. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  13. ^ Rushton, W.A.H. (1962). "The Ferrier Lecture, 1962: Visual Adaptation". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 162 (986): 20–46. doi:10.1098/rspb.1965.0024. PMID 14296430. S2CID 129301526.
  14. ^ Nicholls, John. "Stephen W. Kuffler August 24, 1913 — October 11, 1980 By John G. Nicholls". National Academies Press. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  15. ^ Porter, Robert (November 1996). "Charles Garrett Phillips. 13 October 1916 – 9 September 1994". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 42. The Royal Society: 341–362. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1996.0021. ISSN 1748-8494. PMID 11619335.
  16. ^ Hubel, David (8 December 1981). "1981 Nobel Lecture" (PDF). Retrieved 3 July 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ^ "Oxford DNB article: Feldberg, Wilhelm Siegmund (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51909. Retrieved 3 July 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  18. ^ Somogyi, Peter (17 September 1994). "Obituary: Professor John Szentagothai". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  19. ^ "Lawrence Weiskrantz". Baylor University. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  20. ^ Ed. By larry r. Squire (2006). Larry R. Squire (ed.). The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography (PDF). Vol. 5. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-12-370514-3. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  21. ^ "Art and Mind Semir Zeki". Art and Mind. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  22. ^ "News from Jean-Pierre CHANGEUX's laboratory". Institut Pasteur. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  23. ^ "News: Distinguished neurosciences expert delivers Ferrier lecture". University of Durham. 12 November 2004. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  24. ^ "Royal Society Events Diary". 15 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  25. ^ "Ferrier Lecture". Royal Society. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Ferrier Medal and Lecture". 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Ferrier Lecture and Medal". Royal Society. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Ferrier Lecture and Medal". Royal Society. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  29. ^ "The Royal Society announces this year's medal and award winners". Royal Society. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  30. ^ "Nobel Prize-winning scientist wins Royal Society's most prestigious scientific award". Royal Society. Retrieved 2024-09-19.