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Hans Berger

Hans Berger

Born 21 May 1873Neuses, Saxe­Coburg and Gotha,German Empire

Died 1 June 1941 (aged 68)Jena, GermanySuicide

Nationality Germany

Fields Psychiatry

Alma mater University of Jena

Known for Electroencephalograms

Hans BergerFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hans Berger (21 May 1873 – 1 June 1941) was aGerman psychiatrist, best known as the inventor ofelectroencephalography (EEG) (the recording of "brainwaves") in 1924, coining the name,[1] and the discovererof the alpha wave rhythm known as "Berger's wave".

Contents

1 Biography2 Research3 Hans­Berger­Preis4 See also5 Sources

5.1 Notes5.2 Print5.3 Online

6 Further reading7 External links

Biography

Berger was born in Neuses (now part of Coburg), Saxe­Coburg and Gotha, Germany.

After attending Casimirianum, where he gained his abitur in 1892, Berger enrolled as a mathematics studentat the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena with a view to becoming an astronomer. After one semester, heabandoned his studies and enlisted for a year of service in the cavalry. During a training exercise, his horsesuddenly reared and he landed in the path of a horse­drawn cannon. The driver of the artillery battery haltedthe horses in time, leaving the young Berger shaken but with no serious injuries.[2] His sister, at home manykilometres away, had a feeling he was in danger and insisted their father telegram him. The incident madesuch an impression on Berger that, years later in 1940, he wrote: “It was a case of spontaneous telepathy inwhich at a time of mortal danger, and as I contemplated certain death, I transmitted my thoughts, while mysister, who was particularly close to me, acted as the receiver.”[3]

On completion of his military service, and obsessed by the idea of how his mind could have carried a signalto his sister, Berger returned to Jena to study medicine with the goal of discovering the physiological basisof “psychic energy”.[4] His central theme became “the search for the correlation between objective activityin the brain and subjective psychic phenomena”.[5]

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After obtaining his medical degree from Jena in 1897, Berger joined the staff of Otto Ludwig Binswanger(1852–1929) who held the Chair in psychiatry and neurology at the Jena clinic. Habilitated in 1901, hequalified as a senior university lecturer in 1906 and physician­in­chief in 1912, eventually succeedingBinswanger in 1919.[6] He also collaborated with two famous scientists and physicians, Oskar Vogt (1870–1959) and Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918), in their research on lateralization of brain function. Bergermarried his technical assistant, Baroness Ursula von Bülow, in 1911 and later served as an army psychiatriston the Western front during World War I.[7] He was elected Rector of Jena University in 1927.

In 1924, Berger succeeded in recording the first human electroencephalogram (EEG).[8] Filled with doubt,it took him five years to publish his first paper in 1929 which demonstrated the technique for "recording theelectrical activity of the human brain from the surface of the head".[9] His findings were met withincredulity and derision by the German medical and scientific establishments.[10] Having visited the EEGlaboratory at Jena in 1935, American roboticist William Grey Walter noted that Berger "was not regardedby his associates as in the front rank of German psychiatrists, having rather the reputation of being a crank.He seemed to me to be a modest and dignified person, full of good humour, and as unperturbed by lack ofrecognition as he was later by the fame it eventually brought upon him. But he had one fatal weakness: hewas completely ignorant of the technical and physical basis of his method. He knew nothing aboutmechanics or electricity."[11] After British electrophysiologists Edgar Douglas Adrian and B. H. C.Matthews confirmed Berger's basic observations in 1934, the importance of his discoveries inelectroencephalography (EEG) were finally recognized at an international forum in 1937.[12] By 1938,electroencephalography had gained widespread recognition by eminent researchers in the field, leading toits practical use in diagnosis in the United States, England, and France.[13]

In 1938, at the retirement age of 65, Berger was made Professor Emeritus in Psychology. According tobiographers Niedermeyer and Lopes da Silva, the appointment occurred in an unceremonious manner as hisrelationship with the Nazi regime was particularly strained.[14] Numerous sources report that, given theirhostile relationship, the Nazis forced Berger into retirement that same year with a complete ban of anyfurther work on EEG.[15] These biographical accounts were contradicted in 2005 by Ernst Klee, the Germanjournalist specializing in the exposure and documentation of Nazi medical crimes, who demonstrated thatBerger was a member of the SS.[16] In 2005, Dr Susanne Zimmermann, medical historian at the Universityof Jena, found evidence that Berger had not been forced into retirement but had "served on the selectioncommittee for his successor"[17] who was sacked as a Nazi after the war. Moreover, official records at theUniversity of Jena dating from the 1930s proved that Berger had served on the Erbgesundheitsgericht(Court for Genetic Health) that imposed sterilizations while his diaries contained anti­Semiticcomments.[18] Dr Zimmermann's findings corroborated research published in Germany in 2003documenting Berger's invitation by the SS racial hygienist Karl Astel to work for the EGOG (Court forGenetic Health) in 1941. Berger replied: "I am gladly willing to work again as an assessor at the Court forGenetic Health in Jena, for which I thank you."[19]

After a long period of clinical depression, and suffering from a severe skin infection,[20] Berger committedsuicide by hanging on June 1, 1941 in the southern wing of the clinic.

Research

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An early EEG recording done by Berger

Among his many research interests in neurology, Berger studied brain circulation, psychophysiology andbrain temperature. However his main contribution to medicine and neurology was the systematic study ofthe electrical activity of human brain and the development of electroencephalography (EEG), following thepioneering work done by Richard Caton (1842–1926) in England with animals. In 1924, Berger made thefirst EEG recording of human brain activity and called it Elektrenkephalogramm.

Using the EEG he was also the first to describethe different waves or rhythms which werepresent in the normal and abnormal brain, suchas the alpha wave rhythm (7.812–13.28 Hz),also known as "Berger's wave"; and itssuppression (substitution by the faster betawaves) when the subject opens the eyes (the so­called alpha blockade). He also studied and described forthe first time the nature of EEG alterations in brain diseases such as epilepsy.

His method involved inserting silver wires under the patients scalp, one at the front of the head and one atthe back. Later he used silver foil electrodes attached to the head by a rubber bandage. As a recordingdevice he first used the Lippmann's capillary electrometer, but results were disappointing. He then switchedto the string galvanometer and later to a double­coil Siemens recording galvanometer, which allowed himto record electrical voltages as small as one ten thousandth of a volt. The resulting output, up to threeseconds in duration, was then photographed by an assistant.

Hans­Berger­Preis

Hans­Berger­Preis is awarded triennially by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Klinische Neurophysiologie(German Society of Clinical Neurophysiology) for long­standing, extensive academic work in theoretical orclinical neurophysiology.[21]

See also

Sleep medicine

Sources

Notes

1. Berger's invention has been described "as one of the most surprising, remarkable, and momentous developmentsin the history of clinical neurology." David Millet (2002), "The Origins of EEG"(http://www.bri.ucla.edu/nha/ishn/ab24­2002.htm) International Society for the History of the Neurosciences(ISHN)

2. Dean Radin (2006), Entangled Minds, 21.3. Hans Berger (1940), Psyche, 6.4. Radin (2006), Entangled Minds, 21.5. Hans Berger bio (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hans_Berger.aspx)6. H. R. Wiedemann (1994), “Hans Berger” (http://www.springerlink.com/content/q4285240572603q0/) inEuropean Journal of Pediatrics, Vol. 153, Number 10, 705.

7. Hans Berger bio (http://www.answers.com/topic/hans­berger­1) Answers.com

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8. L. F. Haas, "Hans Berger (1873­1941), Richard Caton (1842­1926), and electroencephalography"(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1738204/?tool=pmcentrez). In Journal of Neurology,Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, Vol. 74, Issue 1.

9. Millet (2002), "The Origins of EEG" (http://www.bri.ucla.edu/nha/ishn/ab24­2002.htm) (ISHN).10. “[...] the medical and scientific establishments met him with incredulity and overwhelming skepticism when they

did not ignore him altogether." Millet (2002), The Origins of EEG (http://www.bri.ucla.edu/nha/ishn/ab24­2002.htm) (ISHN).

11. W. Grey Walter (1953), The Living Brain, page no. required12. Hans Berger bio (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hans_Berger.aspx) Encyclopedia.com13. Wiedemann (1994), “Hans Berger” (http://www.springerlink.com/content/q4285240572603q0/) in European

Journal of Pediatrics, 705.14. “Dr. Hans Berger” (http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcne/founders/page0008.html) Online document of the Dept of

Neurology, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago. Niedermeyer, Ernst and Lopes da Silva, Fernando (2005).Electroencephalography: Basic Principles, Clinical Applications, and Related Fields.

15. Hans Berger bio (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16334737) PubMed.gov16. That Berger was a member of the SS has yet to be double­checked for this article. The German­language source

provided is: Ernst Klee, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich: Wer war was vor und nach 1945, 4117. Quoted in R. Douglas Fields (2009), The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, 150 Google Books

(http://books.google.fr/books?id=2nmHpXPmV80C&pg=PA350&lpg=PA350&dq=%22The+other+brain%22+front+Douglas+Fields.&source=bl&ots=GtQQmUOcPn&sig=vM_OxOTda2Ucco4MVeSjLaoy0m8&hl=fr&ei=yLoUTYLQC4Wg8QOb­8iCBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Hans%20Berger&f=false)

18. Fields (2009), The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, 150­151 Google Books(http://books.google.fr/books?id=2nmHpXPmV80C&pg=PA350&lpg=PA350&dq=%22The+other+brain%22+front+Douglas+Fields.&source=bl&ots=GtQQmUOcPn&sig=vM_OxOTda2Ucco4MVeSjLaoy0m8&hl=fr&ei=yLoUTYLQC4Wg8QOb­8iCBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Hans%20Berger&f=false)

19. The exact German quotation is as follows: "Als ihn 1941 Karl Astel bat, erneut am EGOG Jena tätig zu werden,teilte Berger mit: 'Ich bin sehr gerne bereit, wieder als Beisitzer beim Erbgesundheitsobergericht in Jenamitzuwirken und danke Ihnen dafür.' Ein Einsatz Bergers erfolgte nicht mehr, da er sich am 1. Juni 1941 im„Zustand tiefster Depressionen“ das Leben nahm." In Hoßfeld, John, Lemuth, and Stutz (2003), "KämpferischeWissenschaft" ­ Studien zur Universität Jena im Nationalsozialismus, 414. Google Books(http://books.google.fr/books?id=bJCxIkTe1gYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=K%C3%A4mpferische+Wissenschaft#v=onepage&q=Hans%20Berger&f=false)

20. Radin (2006). Entangled Minds, 23.21. Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Klinische Neurophysiologie ­ DKGN (Deutsche EEG­Gesellschaft). Preise und

Preisträger (http://www.dgkn.de/index.php?id=284); Erläuterungen zu Ehrungen und Preisen (http://portal.mytum.de/forschung/eoe/doc/preisen_erlaeuterungen.pdf),Further information about honours and awards(http://portal.mytum.de/forschung/eoe/doc/preisen_erlaeuterungen_en.pdf)

Print

Primary sources

Berger, Hans (1940). Psyche. Jena: Gustav Fischer.—. Über das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen. Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 1929, 87:527­570.

Secondary sources

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Fields, R. Douglas (2009). The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia. New York: Simon & Schuster.ISBN 978­0­7432­9141­5Klee, Ernst (2005). Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich: Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Frankfurt amMain: Fischer­Taschenbuch­Verlag. ISBN 3­596­16048­0Hoßfeld Uwe, John Jürgen, Lemuth Oliver, Stutz Rüdiger (2003). "Kämpferische Wissenschaft" ­ Studien zurUniversität Jena im Nationalsozialismus., Köln: Böhlau Verlag Gmbh. ISBN 3­412­04102­5.Niedermeyer, Ernst and Lopes da Silva, Fernando (2005). Electroencephalography: Basic Principles, ClinicalApplications, and Related Fields. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (5th Edition). ISBN 0­7817­5126­8Radin, Dean (2006). Entangled Minds. New York: Paraview Pocket Books. ISBN 1­4165­1677­8Walter, W. Grey (1953). The Living Brain. New York: Norton

Online

Andreae, H. (1967), "To the great psychiatrist, Professor Hans Berger, an exemplary physician and genialresearcher. In the 25th year of remembrance (1873­1941)", Deutsches medizinisches Journal (Feb 5, 1967) 18(3), pp. 83–4, PMID 4876739

Blakemore, Colin (1977), Mechanics of the Mind, London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 49–51.Cortez, P.; Crotez­Sărmăşanu, M. L. (1976), "Hans Berger (1873­1941)", Revista de medicină internă,neurologie, psihiatrie, neurochirurgie, dermato­venerologie. Neurologie, psihiatrie, neurochirurgie 21 (4),pp. 304–5, PMID 799341

Fischgold, H. (1962), "Hans Berger and his time", Actualités neurophysiologiques 4, pp. 197–221,PMID 14072351

Fischgold, H. (1967), "Hans Berger and his time", Beiträge zur Neurochirurgie 14, pp. 7–11, PMID 4873369

Gerhard, U­J; Schönberg, A.; Blanz, B. (2005), "Hans Berger and the Legend of the Nobel Prize", Fortschritteder Neurologie­Psychiatrie (Mar 2005) 73 (3), pp. 156–60, doi:10.1055/s­2004­830086, PMID 15747225

Gloor, P. (1969), "The Work of Hans Berger", Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology (Sep 1969)27 (7), p. 649, doi:10.1016/0013­4694(69)91207­3, PMID 4187257

Gloor, P. (1969), "Hans Berger and the discovery of the electroencephalogram", Electroencephalography andClinical Neurophysiology, pp. Suppl 28:1–36, PMID 4188910

Haas, L. F. (2003), "Hans Berger (1873–1941), Richard Caton (1842–1926), and electroencephalography",Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (Jan 2003) 74 (1), p. 9, doi:10.1136/jnnp.74.1.9,PMC 1738204, PMID 12486257

Karbowski, K. (2002), "Hans Berger (1873­1941)", Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (Aug2002) 249 (8), pp. 1130–1, doi:10.1007/s00415­002­0872­4, PMID 12420722

Klapetek, J. (1969), "Reminiscence of Hans Berger", Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. (Oct 10, 1969) 94 (41), pp. 2123–6, PMID 4898295

Kolle, K. (1970), "40 years of Electroencephalography (EEG). In memoriam Hans Berger", Münchenermedizinische Wochenschrift (1950) (Apr 10, 1970) 112 (5), pp. 712–3, PMID 4939408

Millett, D. (2001), "Hans Berger: From Psychic Energy to the EEG", Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 44(4), pp. 522–42, doi:10.1353/pbm.2001.0070, PMID 11600799

Schulte, W. (1959), "Hans Berger: a biography of the discoverer of the electroencephalogram", Münchenermedizinische Wochenschrift (1950) (May 29, 1959) 101 (22), pp. 977–80, PMID 13674375

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Tudor, Mario; Tudor, Lorainne; Tudor, Katarina Ivana (2005), "Hans Berger (1873­1941): the history ofelectroencephalography", Acta medica Croatica : casopis Hravatske akademije medicinskih znanosti 59 (4),pp. 307–13, PMID 16334737

Walsa, R. (1991), "Hans Berger (1873­1941)", Orvosi hetilap (Oct 20, 1991) 132 (42), pp. 2327–30,PMID 1945370

Wieczorek, V. (1991), "In memory of Hans Berger. Inventor of the human electroencephalogram", DerNervenarzt (Aug 1991) 62 (8), pp. 457–9, PMID 1944707

Wiedemann, H. R. (1994), "Hans Berger (1873­1941)", European Journal of Pediatrics (Oct 1994) 153 (10),p. 705, doi:10.1007/BF01954482, PMID 7813523

Further reading

Schulte, B.P.M. (1970), "Berger, Hans", Dictionary of Scientific Biography 2, New York: CharlesScribner's Sons, pp. 1–2, ISBN 0­684­10114­9.

External links

Hans Berger bio (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hans_Berger.aspx) at Encyclopedia.comHans Berger (http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/845.html) at Who Named It.com

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Categories: 1873 births 1941 deaths Förderndes Mitglied der SS German neuroscientistsHistory of neuroscience People from Coburg People from Saxe­Coburg and GothaScientists who committed suicide Suicides by hanging in Germany University of Jena alumni

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