Wilfrid Rall
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Rall is a neuroscientist who spent most of his career at the National Institutes of Health
. He is considered one of the founders of computational neuroscience
, and was a pioneer in establishing the integrative functions of neuronal dendrites. Rall developed the use of cable theory
in neuroscience, as well as passive and active compartmental modeling of the neuron
.
Rall studied physics at Yale University, from which he graduated with highest honors in 1943, and where he was Chairman of the Yale Political Union
's Labor Party. He was involved with the Manhattan Project
at the University of Chicago
during the war, and subsequently worked with K.S. Cole at Woods Hole. He then moved to the University of Otago in Dunedin to work with John Carew Eccles
for his PhD, and remained there after Eccles' departure for Australia. In 1954 he spent a sabbatical year at University College London
in the Biophysics Department headed by Bernard Katz
, and after a final year in Dunedin (where he was Acting Head of Department) he then moved to Bethesda, Maryland and the National Institutes of Health
, where he remained until his retirement in 1994.
Rall's work has led to a number of major conceptual breakthroughs, including the following:
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. He is considered one of the founders of computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system...
, and was a pioneer in establishing the integrative functions of neuronal dendrites. Rall developed the use of cable theory
Cable theory
Classical cable theory uses mathematical models to calculate the flow of electric current along passive neuronal fibers particularly dendrites that receive synaptic inputs at different sites and times...
in neuroscience, as well as passive and active compartmental modeling of the neuron
Neuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...
.
Rall studied physics at Yale University, from which he graduated with highest honors in 1943, and where he was Chairman of the Yale Political Union
Yale Political Union
The Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge Union Society and Oxford Union...
's Labor Party. He was involved with the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
during the war, and subsequently worked with K.S. Cole at Woods Hole. He then moved to the University of Otago in Dunedin to work with John Carew Eccles
John Carew Eccles
John Carew Eccles, AC FRS FRACP FRSNZ FAAS was an Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin....
for his PhD, and remained there after Eccles' departure for Australia. In 1954 he spent a sabbatical year at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in the Biophysics Department headed by Bernard Katz
Bernard Katz
Sir Bernard Katz, FRS was a German-born biophysicist, noted for his work on nerve biochemistry. He shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1970 with Julius Axelrod and Ulf von Euler...
, and after a final year in Dunedin (where he was Acting Head of Department) he then moved to Bethesda, Maryland and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, where he remained until his retirement in 1994.
Scientific focus
Wilfrid Rall's scientific achievements concern the electrical properties of neurons, and in particular the excitability of dendrites.Rall's work has led to a number of major conceptual breakthroughs, including the following:
- the application of cable theoryCable theoryClassical cable theory uses mathematical models to calculate the flow of electric current along passive neuronal fibers particularly dendrites that receive synaptic inputs at different sites and times...
to single neurons (Rall 1957, 1959, 1960) - the first theoretical exploration of active dendrites (Rall and Shepherd, 1968)
- the first theoretical exploration of active spines (Rall 1974; Miller, Rall and Rinzel, 1985)