{"title":"The neurosciences at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen.","authors":"Heinz Wässle, Sascha Topp","doi":"10.1080/0964704X.2021.2021704","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute) was founded in 1971 in Göttingen. Two of the 11 departments at the institute had a neuroscientific focus. Otto D. Creutzfeldt (1927-1992) and Victor P. Whittaker (1919-2016) were directors of the Neurobiological and Neurochemical Departments, respectively. Creutzfeldt's department researched the structure and function of the cerebral cortex, and Whittaker's department concentrated on the biochemical analysis of synapses and synaptic vesicles. Creutzfeldt and Whittaker were already internationally respected scientists when they were appointed to Göttingen. The next generation of departmental directors, Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann, were \"home-grown\" researchers from the institute and, during their time as junior group leaders, they developed the so-called patch clamp technique, with which they were able to measure single ion channels in nerve cells. This technique revolutionized neurophysiology, and Neher and Sakmann were awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in this area. Neher was appointed director of the Membrane Biophysics Department in 1983 and, since then, his department has mainly examined the role of Ca<sup>2+</sup> in the release of neurotransmitters at synapses and in the secretion of catecholamines from chromaffin cells. From 1985, Sakmann was director of the Cell Physiology Department, and his laboratory concentrated on the molecular and physiological characterization of transmitter receptors in postsynaptic membranes. In 1989, he was appointed to the MPI for Medical Research in Heidelberg. Reinhard Jahn became director of the Neurobiology Department in 1997, researching the molecular mechanisms of the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic terminals, and he discovered several proteins associated with the synaptic vesicles. With their work, Neher, Sakmann, and Jahn have made the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry one of the world's leading research centers for the transmission of signals at synapses.</p>","PeriodicalId":49997,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of the Neurosciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the History of the Neurosciences","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0964704X.2021.2021704","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute) was founded in 1971 in Göttingen. Two of the 11 departments at the institute had a neuroscientific focus. Otto D. Creutzfeldt (1927-1992) and Victor P. Whittaker (1919-2016) were directors of the Neurobiological and Neurochemical Departments, respectively. Creutzfeldt's department researched the structure and function of the cerebral cortex, and Whittaker's department concentrated on the biochemical analysis of synapses and synaptic vesicles. Creutzfeldt and Whittaker were already internationally respected scientists when they were appointed to Göttingen. The next generation of departmental directors, Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann, were "home-grown" researchers from the institute and, during their time as junior group leaders, they developed the so-called patch clamp technique, with which they were able to measure single ion channels in nerve cells. This technique revolutionized neurophysiology, and Neher and Sakmann were awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in this area. Neher was appointed director of the Membrane Biophysics Department in 1983 and, since then, his department has mainly examined the role of Ca2+ in the release of neurotransmitters at synapses and in the secretion of catecholamines from chromaffin cells. From 1985, Sakmann was director of the Cell Physiology Department, and his laboratory concentrated on the molecular and physiological characterization of transmitter receptors in postsynaptic membranes. In 1989, he was appointed to the MPI for Medical Research in Heidelberg. Reinhard Jahn became director of the Neurobiology Department in 1997, researching the molecular mechanisms of the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic terminals, and he discovered several proteins associated with the synaptic vesicles. With their work, Neher, Sakmann, and Jahn have made the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry one of the world's leading research centers for the transmission of signals at synapses.
马克斯普朗克生物物理化学研究所(Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer研究所)成立于1971年,网址为Göttingen。该研究所的11个系中有两个以神经科学为重点。Otto D. Creutzfeldt(1927-1992)和Victor P. Whittaker(1919-2016)分别担任神经生物学和神经化学系主任。Creutzfeldt的部门研究大脑皮层的结构和功能,Whittaker的部门专注于突触和突触囊泡的生化分析。当克鲁茨菲尔德和惠特克被任命为Göttingen时,他们已经是国际上受尊敬的科学家。下一代部门主管Erwin Neher和Bert Sakmann是该研究所“土生土长”的研究人员,在担任初级小组领导期间,他们开发了所谓的膜片钳技术,通过这种技术,他们能够测量神经细胞中的单个离子通道。这项技术彻底改变了神经生理学,Neher和Sakmann因在这一领域的工作而获得1991年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。Neher于1983年被任命为膜生物物理系主任,从那时起,他的部门主要研究Ca2+在突触释放神经递质和从嗜铬细胞分泌儿茶酚胺中的作用。从1985年起,Sakmann担任细胞生理学系主任,他的实验室专注于突触后膜中传递受体的分子和生理特性。1989年,他被任命为海德堡MPI医学研究人员。Reinhard Jahn于1997年成为神经生物系主任,研究神经递质从突触前末端释放的分子机制,他发现了几种与突触囊泡相关的蛋白质。通过他们的工作,Neher、Sakmann和Jahn使MPI生物物理化学研究所成为世界领先的突触信号传输研究中心之一。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the History of the Neurosciences is the leading communication platform dealing with the historical roots of the basic and applied neurosciences. Its domains cover historical perspectives and developments, including biographical studies, disorders, institutions, documents, and instrumentation in neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychiatry, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuropsychology, and the behavioral neurosciences. The history of ideas, changes in society and medicine, and the connections with other disciplines (e.g., the arts, philosophy, psychology) are welcome. In addition to original, full-length papers, the journal welcomes informative short communications, letters to the editors, book reviews, and contributions to its NeuroWords and Neurognostics columns. All manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by an Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, full- and short-length papers are subject to peer review (double blind, if requested) by at least 2 anonymous referees.