Born and died: November 27, 1907 ~ November 4, 2007
Description: a famous neurophysiologist, one of the founders of neuroscience in new China. Internationally recognized as one of the pioneers in the study of dendritic physiology and function, and one of the main academic leaders in the study of the mechanism of acupuncture anesthesia in China.
Origin: Xiaoma Village, Zhengding County, Hebei Province, now Xiaoma Village, Yuhua District
Special Contributions: Based on the analysis of evoked potentials in the visual cortex, he put forward the theory of three-color conduction in the visual pathway, and discovered the phenomenon of "light reinforcement", which was named "Zhang's effect" by the world physiological community. "
[edit]Zhang Xiangtong-Personal Profile
A Chinese neurophysiologist, Zhang Xiangtong is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, born on November 27, 1907 in Zhengding County, Hebei, China, graduated from the Department of Physiology of Peking University in 1933, and was a postgraduate student at the Department of Physiology of Yale University School of Medicine from 1943 to 1946, where he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He has been a lecturer and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine, an associate researcher at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Physiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher and director of the Shanghai Institute of Brain Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a director of the Central Council of the International Brain Research Organization, a resident scholar of the American Institutes of Health at the Fogarty Research Institute, and an honorary member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Medical Sciences. He was the first to put forward the argument that the motor area of the cerebral cortex represents muscle; he put forward the theory of three-color conduction in the visual pathway based on the analysis of evoked potentials in the visual cortex, and discovered the phenomenon of "light intensification", which was named "Zhang's effect" by the world physiology community; he also discovered dendritic potentials for the first time; he was also engaged in the research of acupuncture and acupuncture. In 1991, he was elected as an honorary member of the World Association for the Study of Analgesia (WASA). He has published more than a hundred treatises, including "Muscle representation in the motor area of the macaque cerebral cortex", "Functional organization of the central visual pathway", "Repeated discharges in the circulatory circuits between the cerebral cortex and the thalamus", "Dendrites of cortical neural progenitors", "Neurophysiological basis of acupuncture analgesia", etc. He is also engaged in research on the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia.
Outstanding member of the Chinese **** Producers' Party, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Deputy to the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth National People's Congresses of China, Honorary Member of the Romanian Medical Association, Foreign Honorary Member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Medical Sciences, Member of the Central Council of the International Brain Research Organization, Member of the Advisory Board of the World Health Organization's Experts in Neuroscience, Honorary Member of the Panamanian Society of Anesthesiology, and Member of the National Institutes of Health. Fogarty Resident Scholar of the National Institutes of Health of the United States, and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Society for Neural Networks.
Zhang Xiangtong loved science, was rigorous in his studies, was indifferent to fame and fortune, was knowledgeable and far-sighted, defended the dignity of science and opposed unethical practices, and made outstanding contributions to China's scientific and educational endeavors.
[edit]Zhang Xiangtong - Chronology of Events
November 27, 907, was born in Zhengding County, Hebei Province, the city of twenty miles of store townships in Xiaoma Village, a poor peasant family.
In 1921, he entered a new-style elementary school, Pillow Town Elementary School, in the township of Bailipu.
In 1923, after finishing elementary school in two years, he was admitted to the Seventh High School of Zhili Province in Zhengding County.
In 1927, he graduated from middle school and was admitted to the preparatory course of Peking University.
In 1929, he was admitted to the Psychology Department of Peking University for four years.
In the summer of 1933, he graduated from the Department of Psychology of Peking University and stayed there as an assistant professor.
In 1934, he was transferred to the Institute of Psychology of the National Academia Sinica as an assistant research institute. In the fall of the same year, he moved with the Institute of Psychology to Shanghai, and then to Nanjing the following year.
In 1936, he published his first paper, "An auditory reflex in hedgehogs", which appeared in the Chinese Journal of Physiology, Volume 10, 1936.
July 7, 1937, the anti-Japanese victory broke out, in August, left Nanjing, in order to escort the instruments and equipment moved around in Changsha, Guilin, Yangshuo, Liuzhou north of Danzhou, Liangfeng, etc., in the dislocation still do not forget the scientific research. The paper "Hedgehog midbrain hypophysis downstream pathway" was published in the Central Academy of Physiology Research Special Issue, No. 10, 1937.
In 1941, he was appointed as an instructor of Anshun Military Medical School.
At the end of 1942, he left Chongqing and went to the United States for further study.
On March 24, 1943, he arrived at Yale University in New Haven, USA. From then on, he began his three-year training under the mentorship of Prof. Fulton, a renowned neurophysiologist and head of the Department of Physiology at the Yale University School of Medicine.
In 1946, he received his doctorate in philosophy from Yale University and entered the Department of Physiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
In 1946, he received his PhD in Philosophy from Yale University, and then entered the Department of Physiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for a year of postdoctoral research.
In 1947, he was recruited to return to Yale University School of Medicine to work in the Aeromedical Research Unit, where he served as a faculty member and assistant professor until 1952.
In 1950, he discovered the "photoreinforcement effect", which has been known as the "Zhang effect" in the international physiological community since 1954.
In 1952, he was appointed to the Associated Research Institute of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, USA, until 1956.
In 1956, he returned to China and became a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he was the director of the second research laboratory.
In May 1957, he was co-opted as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Academician)
In 1960, he went to Romania to participate in the Physiology Conference of that country.
In the spring of 1965, he went to Havana, the capital of Cuba, to participate in the International Symposium on Disciplines, and began the research on the mechanism of acupuncture anesthesia.
In 1977, he visited Japan to give lectures.
In 1978, he attended the International Symposium in Sweden and was invited to participate in the annual meeting of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as a Chinese guest.
In 1979, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) awarded the title of "Resident International Scholar" to the Institute.
In 1980, he received the Threshold Award in Boston, U.S.A. In November, the Shanghai Brain Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was founded, and he served as the first director.
In 1981, he was awarded "Honorary Member" by the Panama Society of Anesthesiology.
In 1982, he was awarded the title of "Honorary Foreign Member" by the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences of Belgium.
In 1984, he became Honorary Director of the Shanghai Institute of Brain Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In 1987, he was invited to Washington, D.C., to attend the centennial celebration of the founding of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
In 1989, he was listed in the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience as one of the "people who contributed to the progress of neuroscience between 300 BC and 1950 AD", and in the "Introduction to the People", he was included in the "Encyclopedia of Neuroscience" as one of the "people who contributed to the progress of neuroscience between 300 BC and 1950 AD". In the "Profile", two of his research results were included: one was the work on "Representation of Muscle Sites in the Motor Cortex of Monkeys"; and the other was the study of the composition of the fibers that penetrate the muscle nerves of the hind limbs of cats, which Zhang Xiangtong did together with the famous neurophysiologist D.P.C. Lloyd.
[edit]Xiangtong Zhang-Personal Honors
1980, Zlehuld Prize;
1992, Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Neural Networks;
2000, Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for Advancement in Science and Technology;
Chen Jiageng's "Prize for Life Science ".
Served as a consultant editorial board member of the Journal of Neurophysiology (published in the United States), the International Journal of Neuropharmacology, and the international Journal of Brain Research; elected honorary member of the Romanian Medical Society, foreign honorary member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium, member of the Central Council of the International Brain Research Organization, member of the Advisory Board of the Neuroscience Experts of the World Health Organization, honorary member of the Panamanian Society of Anesthesiology, and member of the National Institutes of Health. Honorary Member and Fogarty Resident Scholar of the National Institutes of Health, USA.
[Edit]Zhang Xiangtong - A Legendary Life
At the age of 14, Zhang Xiangtong was the son of a peasant family in Hebei province, and was so poor that he never went to school. 14 years old, his beloved mother died, causing him great grief. That year, under the advice of his private school teacher and the support of his uncles, he finally entered Qiaotou Township Elementary School. In just two years, he finished elementary school, got his elementary school diploma, and became the top news figure in Xiaoma Village. Hidden from his father, he enrolled in Zhengding County, located in the seventh provincial secondary school, the examination of the two days, he did not have the money to live in the county's inn, on the street to find a stall of the hut to sleep, relying on their own home-baked corn cakes and the street next to the well water to quench their thirst. After the examination, he returned to the village to help his father work as usual, until the day of the list. Zhang Xiangtong, who had sneaked out to see the list, was naturally happy to see his name on the list, but he never expected his father to let him continue his education. Or in the uncles and elementary school class teacher's persuasion, his father managed to get enough money, Zhang Xiangtong finally realized the desire to cross into the day and night into the door of the secondary school.
The children of the poor can go to school, the opportunity to do so naturally cherish, in the provincial seventh, Zhang Xiangtong's hard work is notorious, his results in the class is naturally among the best. His popularity is also particularly good, in the school, teachers and students like him.
The day there are unpredictable wind clouds, Zhang Xiangtong never thought, in his third year of secondary school, the family suffered a fire, the whole family rely on the survival of a few houses almost all burned down, heard the news rushed back to the village of Zhang Xiangtong, in front of the bleak scene, to the father and uncles of the sadness of the frown, he vaguely felt that his dream of studying has been done to the end. Without saying a word, he went back to school to pack his bags, ready to quit.
"Xiangtong, do not be too busy to quit school, we all help you think of a way." Classmates are quite enthusiastic and righteous. In a few days, the same classmate Xiao Liang said to do, ran to Zhang Xiangtong to report the good news.
"There is a good solution. My uncle's family is in need of a tutor for a few cousins, I'll go to my uncle and say, you're a good learner, you'll be this tutor!" Xiao Liang's uncle was an official in Baoding Prefecture, and it is needless to say that his family is rich and powerful.
Zhang Xiangtong looked at the enthusiastic Xiao Liang, he thanked these good students from the bottom of his heart. After thinking about it, he said with a red face, "Being a tutor is perfect for me, but I want to wait until I graduate from high school, if it is possible, can you lend me 200 yuan to help me get through this difficult time?"
He really didn't feel very sure. The first thing I did was to ask my uncle to discuss the situation with me, and he agreed to send me 200 yuan. The first half of the 200 yuan, Zhang Xiangtong until he graduated from high school, the other half sent to the village of Xiaoma, to help his father and uncles through the famine.
When he graduated from high school, Zhang Xiangtong was faced with a difficult problem, whether to continue to study at the university, or to fulfill the contract to go to the home of the commander of the city as a tutor he found a few friends to discuss a discussion, a discussion, we have come up with a wonderful two-fold solution: the tutor to be, this is for the personality of the person; the university to be examined, this is for the future of the person. So, Zhang Xiangtong enrolled in the cheaper Peking University preparatory course, and successfully passed the examination, was admitted to Peking University.
However, he did not go to Peking University to study, but stayed in Zhengding as a tutor, and let his classmates report to Peking University on his behalf. So, he was working as a teacher in Zhengding on the one hand, and on the other hand, he was actively self-study courses in the university preparatory course, until the semester exams are approaching, the classmates sent the examination paper from Beijing, he finished, and then sent it back to the school. This is Zhang Xiangtong not miss the fulfillment and not miss the study of the two strategy. The company's main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
Two years of Peking University preparatory school, Zhang Xiangtong as a year and a half of students do not attend classes. Until the last six months, for fear that the matter was detected, the school canceled the qualification to enter the undergraduate program, he only centralized a friend to help substitute classes, he officially went to Beijing to study.
Hard times insist on scientific research
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army created the Lugou Bridge Incident, the war broke out. In the same year, Shanghai "August 13th" Incident, soon after the fall of Shanghai, Nanjing emergency. Zhang Xiangtong, who was working in the Neuroanatomy Laboratory of the Institute of Psychology, Academia Sinica, and another young researcher volunteered to be responsible for transporting the books and instruments to the mainland. One evening, the Japanese airplanes attacked Nanjing, in that air raid, a corner of the Institute was hit by a bomb, Zhang Xiangtong's entire body was buried in the bombing of the collapsed rubble, but fortunately unharmed, the only personal loss is a pair of glasses so that the shockwave sucked away, the whereabouts of the unknown.
Zhang Xiangtong in the books and instruments with the Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences during the escape, there are always a few times a little respite. The first time was from Nanjing to Yangshuo after they had stayed for a few months; the second time was from Guilin through Liuzhou to Danzhou, the mouth of the Sanjiang River in Guangxi, where they stayed for another six months; the third time was from Danzhou to Liangfeng after.
The Liujiang River is a beautiful river in Guangxi, and Danzhou is a small island in the center of the river in the upper reaches of the Liujiang River. This is a dozens of families living in the name of the island, the local people are simple, and the scenery is beautiful, if not the war, it is really a good place to read and study. Zhang Xiangtong lived in an empty temple on the island, guarding the books and instruments that are more valuable than life.
When he realized that he will live on this island, this broken temple for a period of time, he thought of the war and interrupted the research, fortunately, microscopes and some commonly used experimental animal brain tissue continuous section specimens he brought with him at his side, that is because, he has long thought that the war will not be a short-term, in the fleeing, if there is a condition, you can find time to do some observational research, at least will not let the knowledge and business wasted. Knowledge and business is wasted. So, in a corner of the broken temple hall, Zhang Xiangtong set up a square table, he put the microscope and brain slices lined up on the table, without distractions, tastefully do his research work.
In that half a year's time, on that island, in that broken temple, Zhang Xiangtong completed the histological observation on the nucleus clusters in the hedgehog's brain stem, drew more than 40 pictures related to it, and completed a monograph on this observation. Most importantly, it was during that time that he spent an entire period of time on a comprehensive and in-depth study of neuroanatomy, focusing on this discipline that has traditionally been regarded as boring and tedious, and since then, he has been able to do so, and is familiar with the relationship between each neural structure and its surrounding tissues to the extent that he is as familiar with them as he is familiar with the neighborhoods he has been accustomed to living in since his childhood, and is well versed and well versed in them.
By chance, Zhang Xiangtong bought a pangolin in the market, and he started his research on the brain structure of this very special neurological system of the pauperodont. In the process of studying the external morphology and tissue sections of the pangolin's brain, he made a new discovery: it turned out that the pangolin's pyramidal fasciculus crosses at a higher level than that of other animals, and significantly surfaces on the ventral surface of the medulla oblongata, which can be seen with the naked eye! This is a phenomenon not found in any animal. It is also a phenomenon that has never been documented.
A late bloomer: 36 years old went to the United States to study
In 1942, Zhang Xiangtong was teaching at the Anshun Military Medical School in Guiyang. One day, he read a book in the library, "The Nervous System" by John Fulton. Fulton's Physiology of the Nervous System, and found it very profitable. At a later party, he expressed the wish to study in Fulton's laboratory, but did not want to attract the ridicule of colleagues, some people laughed at him as a "fool's dream", and some people unabashedly mocked him: "like you such a poor man, if you can go to the United States to study, the sun will surely come up from the west." Holding his breath, Zhang Xiangtong summoned up the courage to write a letter of self-recommendation to Fulton, the renowned master of neurophysiology. In fact, he himself did not hold much hope, soon after the letter was sent, he forgot about it.
Three months later, he suddenly received a telegram from abroad. At first, he was really a bit confused, he was a farmer's son from the people, where overseas friends and relatives? He thought that the postman had made a mistake, so he didn't even open the seal and returned it to the letter carrier on the spot. "Please send it to Professor Zhang Pengchong of the Department of Pharmacology, he has quite a few overseas connections." An hour later, the postman turned a corner and returned it to him.
"Professor Zhang Pengchong says this telegram must be for you."
Now he became serious, and while unwrapping the telegram, he searched desperately through his memory banks.
The content of the telegram was very simple, only three words in English: "YesLetterFollows".
At this point, he finally remembered that three months ago, in a fit of pique, he had sent a letter to Professor Felton. It seemed that the sun was really coming up in the west.
Since receiving that telegram, he has begun to take his studies seriously. He is looking forward to the result that is no longer a dream.
After another month, the letter he was waiting for finally came. In accordance with the usual practice, the letter was signed by Francis Blake, dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. The letter was signed by Francis Blake, dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. The letter reads, "We welcome Zhang Xiangtong's application and authorize him to work as a visiting scholar in the Department of Physiology at the school, and we promise to apply for a scholarship for him, which will be sufficient to cover all of his living expenses during the period of his work in the U.S., and he will take care of his own travel expenses.
After selling his clothes, books, and finally, even a good book "Schaff's Textbook of Physiology" that he had treasured for many years, Zhang Xiangtong finally got enough money to pay for his trip to the United States. He then rushed to the wartime capital of Chongqing, knocked on countless government offices, filled out countless forms, and relied on the Yale University School of Medicine Dean Francis Blake to sign a telegram and letter. The first time I saw this, I was able to get my hands on the phone, and then I was able to get my hands on the phone, and then I was able to get my hands on the phone.
On the eve of New Year's Day in 1943, the most important day for Westerners to reunite with their families, a military transport plane from Chongqing to Calcutta, India, walked into a unique passenger, who was going to the United States to further his studies at Yale University, Zhang Xiangtong.
In 1946, at the age of forty, Zhang Xiangtong was awarded a doctorate with honors from Yale University. Since then, his contributions to the study of the cerebral cortex have become increasingly significant. There are two types of nerve cell fibers: axons and dendrites. The function of axons in conducting nerve impulses is widely known, while the function of dendrites is still poorly understood in the 1950s. Zhang Xiangtong used the advanced technology at that time to record the cerebral cortical unit potentials, and started to study the function of dendrites, which was regarded as the pioneer in the study of dendritic function of the cerebral cortex. Years later, this famous brain scientist was honored as "one of the leaders in the field of neurophysiology" by his international peers with his outstanding research results, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society for Neural Networks (ISN) in 1992. In 1992, the International Society for Neural Networks honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has never forgotten Prof. Fulton's consistent love and teaching.
Prof. and Mrs. Felton had no children, but they cared for Zhang Xiangtong as if he were their own. Zhang Xiangtong studied and worked at Yale University for more than a decade, and spent almost every Christmas at Prof. Felton's home.
A generation of neurophysiologists, Fulton died in 1960.
On July 15, 1980, Zhang Xiangtong went to Boston, USA to participate in the 1980 World Zleichertz Foundation awards ceremony for four international scientists, including him, through the Foundation's careful arrangements, he was able to meet with his teacher's mother, Mrs. Fulton, in the awards ceremony, a goodbye of more than 20 years, Mrs. Fulton saw him the first words are:
"I'm very glad that I can see that you have another chicken feather stuck in your hat!" (Indian custom: Anyone who has made an important contribution to the tribe, every merit, by the chief himself in his hat insert a chicken feather, in recognition)
Wind and rain homecoming
Zhang Xiangtong's home in the compound of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Inside the red facade, the aura of books is hard to hide in its simplicity. In one corner of the dining room there is a treasure - a large wooden box, the corners wrapped in iron. Seemingly inconspicuous, it came to China with Zhang Xiangtong after a long and difficult journey from the other side of the ocean. This is Zhang Xiangtong's good friend Prof. Bukta's home clothing with a specially vacated to support him to install the instrument. In those risky years, Zhang Xiangtong shipped back six boxes of instruments from the U.S., but did not bring back his own savings, clothing and books.
On October 1, 1949, New China was founded. Far away in the United States, New Haven, Zhang Xiangtong learned of the good news, frequently write letters to friends and relatives at home, to express their feelings of longing for the motherland, in a letter to a friend, he wrote: "heard the domestic liberation of the new phenomenon, very excited, I can not wait to jump back to participate in this new founding of the country's movement ...... I am anxious to want to serve the motherland ah!"
In 1950, for reasons well known to all, the U.S. government imposed a blockade policy on China, including Zhang Xiangtong, including many Chinese scientists want to return to China through the U.S. government's approval of the plan to become a failure. Zhang Xiangtong waited for 5 years!
In July 1955, Zhang Xiangtong got a chance to go to Northern Europe to give lectures, and a plan began to brew in his mind: to return to the motherland by way of Northern Europe. He told his trusty Prof. Fulton about this plan, and Fulton gazed at the simple student in front of him and said sincerely, "Xiangtong Zhang, you should go back to serve your motherland."
Zhang Xiangtong also told his landlord Mr. and Mrs. Hughes about this intention. This pair of kind-hearted Americans seem reluctant to give up, they repeatedly retained with their own years with the Chinese tenants: "Here is not quite good? Here the research conditions are good, life is stable and comfortable, or do not go back to it!"
They were telling the truth, but they couldn't keep Zhang Xiangtong. Zhang Xiangtong always remembered what the psychologist Pavlov said: "No matter what I'm doing, I'm always thinking that as long as my energy permits, I have to serve my motherland first."
In 1956, Zhang Xiangtong arrived in Belgium, where he was to attend an international physiology conference. Naturally, he had, beforehand, made all the preparations to return home. Before leaving the United States, in order to avoid arousing the suspicion of the U.S. government, Zhang Xiangtong departed for Belgium, in the United States, all the savings, furniture and books have not moved, only with some change of clothes, a set of experiments with electronic instruments. The first time I saw this, it was a little bit of a maze.
After the International Physiology Conference in Belgium, Zhang Xiangtong continued to lecture in the Nordic countries, seeking a way back to China. In the fall, the melon is ripe. After unremitting efforts, in Europe, some of the friends of the enthusiastic help, Zhang Xiangtong finally through the Finnish Helsinki, transit Eastern Europe and Moscow, successfully returned to Beijing.
The motherland and the people of the motherland to break through the difficulties of the return of the wanderer expressed a warm welcome, Zhang Xiangtong just returned to Beijing, then President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Guo Moruo set up a family dinner to entertain him, and then, Chen Yi, Vice Premier on behalf of Premier Zhou met with him. The care of the party and the government, such as a gust of spring breeze, warming the heart of this long time away from his homeland.
Yes, in his own country, Zhang Xiangtong felt everywhere, is as warm as spring. Soon, Zhang Xiangtong in all aspects of support, in the Shanghai Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the establishment of the Central Nervous System Physiology Laboratory, which is also the first brain research laboratory in New China. 6 years later, that is, in 1962, under the leadership of Zhang Xiangtong, and then built a neural tissue culture laboratory, in this laboratory, has been able to successfully cultured into a living human cerebral cortex, single neurons.