BrainBlog

Ulric Neisser Is Dead at 83; Reshaped Study of the Mind By DOUGLAS MARTIN The New York Times Published: February 25, 2012 "Mr. Neisser helped lead a postwar revolution in the study of the human mind by advancing the understanding of mental processes like perception and memory." Read the full obituary

Award-winning U of W prof dies BY DYLAN KRISTY THE WINDSOR STAR AUGUST 12, 2011 6:55 AM Click here for full article and photograph With a long string of letters following his name, Byron Rourke could have settled down anywhere in the world. "He was born, raised, had a wonderful life in Windsor and eventually died there and he wouldn't have had it any other way," said Phil Rourke, Rourke's oldest son. "He had lots of opportunities to move elsewhere and every time he thought about it he said 'no, I'm going to make it here.'" A retired University of Windsor professor of psychology and the recipient of numerous prestigious academic awards, Rourke died Wednesday at the age of 72. Growing up in Windsor, Rourke attended Assumption high school before receiving his honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor. He the received a master's degree and PhD at Fordham University in New York before returning home to live a...

From The New York Times : R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95 By ROBERT D. McFADDEN The New York Times Published: January 18, 2011 R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95

From The New York Times Patricia Neal, an Oscar Winner Who Endured Tragedy, Dies at 84 By ALJEAN HARMETZ Published: August 9, 2010 Patricia Neal

From UCLA: Obituary: Paul Satz Obituary: Paul Satz, 77, psychiatry professor, founder of UCLA neuropsychology program By Mark Wheeler June 25, 2010 UCLA Paul Satz, a UCLA professor emeritus of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and the founder of the neuropsychology program at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, died June 20, in Lihue, Hawaii, after a long battle with cancer. He was 77. One of the founders of the discipline of neuropsychology, Satz was widely recognized for his groundbreaking research on brain–behavior relations. During his tenure at UCLA (1981–2002), he established the UCLA Neuropsychology Program and helped turn it into one of the world's largest and most successful training programs for clinical neuropsychologists. The author of more than 300 publications, Satz's scientific contributions to the understanding of normal and abnormal brain development had — and continue to have — a major imp...

Recently, from The Telegraph : Prof. Richard Gregory of the University of Bristol

Dr. Leon Eisenberg, Pioneer in Autism Studies, Dies at 87 By BENEDICT CAREY Published: September 24, 2009 "Dr. Eisenberg conducted some of the first rigorous studies of autism, attention deficit disorder and learning delays." [snip] “Leon took a very courageous stand and denounced the way psychiatry treated children, this whole system in which we had a few rich kids and their parents getting psychoanalysis five days a week and still not being cured,” said C. Keith Conners, a professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. “No one even knew what a cure looked like. He had this conviction that nothing was being done for the bulk of children who needed help, and that we had very little scientific data to guide us.” [snip] Read the full article

The New York Times : Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies The Independent : Legacy of the only Kennedy brother to grow old The White House : Statement by the President The Office of the Vice President : Statement by the Vice President (includes YouTube link.) (Photo: The White House)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88; member of Kennedy clan, founder of Special Olympics By Bryan Marquard Boston Globe Staff / August 11, 2009 "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who planted the seeds for the Special Olympics when she launched Camp Shriver on the lawn of her Maryland home, and then with force of will and the clout of her family name spread her vision of lifting the developmentally disabled "into the sunlight of useful living," died this morning at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis." Read full article

Mark Rosenzweig, pioneer in brain plasticity, learning and hearing, has died at 86 UCBerkeley News By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | 03 August 2009 Read the full report BERKELEY — Mark R. Rosenzweig, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, whose early studies paved the way for today's recognition of the brain's ability to grow and repair itself, died July 20 at his home in Berkeley from kidney failure. He was 86. A prolific researcher, writer and French-speaking internationalist, Rosenzweig collaborated with some of the greatest minds in neuropsychology at Harvard University, UC Berkeley and the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France. At UC Berkeley, Rosenzweig collaborated with biochemist Ed Bennett, psychologist David Krech and neuroanatomist Marian Diamond on studies that provided early evidence of brain plasticity - the now-well established notion that neural pathways change throughout our lives as we grow and learn. In additio...

From The New York Times : Paul MacLean, 94, Neuroscientist Who Devised ‘Triune Brain’ Theory, Dies By JEREMY PEARCE Published: January 10, 2008 Dr. Paul D. MacLean, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist who developed the intriguing theory of the “triune brain” to explain its evolution and to try to reconcile rational human behavior with its more primal and violent side, died on Dec. 26 in Potomac, Md. He was 94. Dr. MacLean’s death was confirmed by his family. In the late 1940s, while he was a young researcher at Yale, Dr. MacLean became interested in the brain’s control of emotion and behavior. After initial studies of brain activity in epileptic patients, he turned to cats, monkeys and other models, using electrodes to stimulate different parts of the brain in conscious animals. He then recorded the animals’ responses and, in the 1950s, began to trace individual behaviors like aggression and sexual arousal to their physiological sources. Dr. MacLean (pronounced mac-LANE) termed the brai...