On Mon, 26 Jul 1999, Jeff Ricker wrote:
> Yesterday, I sent a post discussing Hans Berger's intention to create a
> device (the EEG)
> that could measure neural activity associated with psychic phenomena.
> Donald McBurney
> contacted me off-list with the following. Can anyone answer his
> question
>
> > "Donald H. McBurney" wrote:
> >
> > > Jeff:
> > > .... Did Berger ever work in the US? It runs in my
> > > mind that the Berger rhythm was discovered in a Providence, RI
> hospital. At least I
> > > think I heard that when I was at Brown about 100 years ago.
OK, I tried but couldn't verify this. It seems unlikely. According to
Stanley Finger (1994), in a footnote on p. 251 of his big, beautiful
book _Origins of Neuroscience_
"The first human EEGs were recorded in 1929 by Hans Berger, the head
of neurology at a county hospital in Jena, Germany".
Marshall and Magoun (1998) in _Discoveries in the Human Brain_, p.
87, also state:
""Spontaneous" background electrical activity was eventually recorded
through the intact scalp and skull of humans as "brain waves" by Hans
Berger (1973-1941) in Germany (1929).
There's an interesting website at the University of Jena which has a
portrait of Berger, a picture of his laboratory, and a reproduction of
the first page of his paper (in German, naturally) announcing his
finding. It's at:
http://jenameg10.meg.uni-jena.de/nostalg.htm
The article gives his address as Jena. While this doesn't prove the
work was done there, the website seems to imply this and perhaps they
thought it was obvious. I think they'd be quite upset at any
claim otherwise.
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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