Hellmuth Petsche

Hellmuth Petsche (born August 24, 1923 in Scheibbs , N.Ö .; † October 14, 2017 ) was an Austrian neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist .

Life

Petsche studied human medicine in Vienna, Würzburg and Innsbruck , obtaining his doctorate in 1948. After completing specialist training in neurology and psychiatry at the Psychiatric-Neurological University Clinic in Vienna , he went to the Department of Anatomy at the University of California, Los, as a Fulbright scholarship holder for one year in 1959/60 Angeles (UCLA) in the United States.

From 1961 Petsche was head of the department for experimental neurology and electroencephalography at the Neurological University Clinic Vienna. In 1963 he completed his habilitation and was appointed professor of neurology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology . In the same year he was awarded the Cardinal Innitzer Prize . From 1969 he was department head at the Institute for Brain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and from 1973 head of the Institute for Neurophysiology at the University of Vienna, from 1975 as a full professor. Since 1993 he has been Professor Emeritus.

plant

Petsche's three scientific priorities were:

• Research into the micro-morphology as the basis for the development of the EEG, especially with regard to its synchronization,
• Mathematical analysis of the EEG, and
• Use of the EEG to study and understand cognitive processes, especially in connection with music.

While researching electrical brain activity, he dealt with the development of epileptic seizures and - from 1978 mainly - with the possibility of objectifying musical thinking and other mental processes.

Petsche was among other things founding editor of the journal for clinical neurophysiology in 1970 . In 1961 he was elected Vice President of the International Society for Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology .

He is (co-) author of more than 300 articles in specialist journals and book chapters as well as (co-) author or (co-) editor of seven books:

• C. Stumpf, H. Petsche: Creation of disease states through experiment. Part 7 (= handbook of experimental pharmacology. Volume 16). Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 1962.
• H. Petsche, MAB Brazier (Ed.): Synchronization of EEG Activities in Epilepsy. A Symposium Organized by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria, September 12–13, 1971. Springer, Vienna / New York 1972.
• H. Petsche, JC Shaw: EEG Topography. (= Handbook of Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. Vol 5B ). Elsevier, Amsterdam 1973.
• MAB Brazier, H. Petsche (Ed.): Architectonics of the Cerebral Cortex. (= International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). Monograph Series. Vol 3). Raven Press, New York 1978.
• G. Pfurtscheller , P. Buser, F. Lopes da Silva , H. Petsche (Eds.): Rhythmic EEG Activities and Cortical Functioning. Elsevier, Amsterdam 1980.
• U. Zwiener, H.-P. Ludin , H. Petsche: Neuropathophysiology: General, special and clinical pathophysiology of the nervous system. G. Fischer, Jena 1990.
• H. Petsche, SC Etlinger (Ed.): EEG and Thinking. Power and Coherence Analysis of Cognitive Processes. With a chapter on technical aspects by P. Rappelsberger . Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1998.

Awards

• 1969: Hans Berger Prize from the German EEG Society (from 1996: German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Imaging , DGKN)
• 1974: Corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
• 1978: Michael Prize from the Michael Foundation
• 1978: Scientific director of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna (with the organization of biennial symposia under the title Brain and Music until Karajan's death in 1990)
• 1981: Member of the Leopoldina
• 1986: Honorary membership of the German section of the International League Against Epilepsy (since 2004: German Society for Epileptology )
• 1988: Real member of the mathematical and natural science class of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

Petsche is also an honorary member of numerous other national and international societies.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cbr.meduniwien.ac.at
2. ↑ G. Schnaberth: The neurology in Vienna from 1870 to 2010. Memo - Association for historical research, Vienna 2010, pp. 63–64.
3. ↑ cbr.meduniwien.ac.at
4. ^ H. Petsche, H. Pockberger, P. Rappelsberger: On the search for the sources of the electroencephalogram. In: Neuroscience. 11, 1984, pp. 1-27.
5. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Hellmuth Petsche at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on September 30, 2017.