AKA Walter Rudolf Hess

Born: 17-Mar-1881
Birthplace: Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Died: 12-Aug-1973
Location of death: Locarno, Switzerland
Cause of death: Natural Causes

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Scientist, Doctor

Nationality: Switzerland
Executive summary: Brain mapping, neurophysiological methods

Walter Hess established a thriving practice as an ophthalmologist, then gave it up, returned to medical school, and became a physiologist. His primary area of research was blood circulation and the respiratory system, but his most famous work involved mapping the brain. Experimenting on living cats and dogs that had tiny needles piercing their skulls, he was able to ascertain which parts of the brain control various functions and internal organs. With pressure on a cat's brain, he could trigger a panicked response in the animal, even control its heartbeat and breathing. Hess and Portuguese neurosurgeon Egas Moniz shared the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Father: (physicist)

    Medical School: MD, University of Zurich (1906)
    Scholar: University of Bonn (1912-17)
    Professor: Physiology, University of Zurich (1917-51)
    Administrator: University of Zurich (1917-51)

    Nobel Prize for Medicine 1949, with Egas Moniz

Author of books:
The Biological Aspect of Psychology (1962)
The Biology of Mind (1964)

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