Adrian, Edgar Douglas (1889 - 1977)British neurophysiologist, whose work on the electrical properties of the nervous system earned him the Nobel Price for Physiology or Medicine in 1932. He received the OM in 1942 and the title Baron Adrian of Cambridge 1955.
Born in London, Adrian graduated in medicine from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1915.After serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War 1, he returned to Cambridge University, becoming professor of physiology (1937), master of Trinity College (1951-65), and ultimately chancellor of the University (1968-75).
His early research centered on measuring and recording the electrical impulses in the nervous system. Using very fine electrode and amplification equipment, he managed to record impulses from single nerve fibers and showed how frequency of electrical discharges was the basic method of signaling in both and motor nerve cells.
In 1934 Adrian turned his attention to the electrical activity of the brain, recording and analyzing the various wave patterns and contributing greatly to the newly founded technique of electroencephalography.
Adrian was president of the Royal Society (1950-55). His books include
*The Basis of Sensation
*The Mechanism of Nervous
*Action Physical background of Perception
Adrian, Edgar Douglas (1889 - 1977)
