|
Items in cart [0] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
HARDBACK PDF BOOK Free Resources |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 24
OCR for page 25
GEORG VON BEKESY
June 3,1899-June 13, Z972
BY FLOYD RATLIFF
ON THE OCCASION of Georg von Bekesy s election to the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences in 1956, he gave the following
replies to two items in a questionnaire sent to him by the
Academy to obtain biographical information for its files:
"Major interest?" "Art."
"Major influences which determined the selection of your
particular field of science?" "Pure accident."
These replies "Art" and "Pure accident"—succinctly char-
acterize much of the life and work of Georg van Bekesy. His life
was devoted almost as much to art as it was to science; and,
although his love of art was carefully cultivated, the course of
his scientific career was determined almost as much by chance
as it was by design. He found his life work outside of his original
chosen field during the economic depression in Hungary follow-
ing World War I, and he was set on his wanderings half way
around the face of the earth by the political turmoil there after
World War II.
Professor Georg von Bekesy died on June 13, 1972, at the
age of seventy-three, in Honolulu. Born on June 3, 1899, in
Budapest, he was the son of Alexander and Paula van Bekesy.
The Bekesys were an old and distinguished family in Hungary,
25
OCR for page 26
26
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and Alexander van Bekesy held a position in the Hungarian
diplomatic service. Because of his father's various assignments,
Georg von Bekesy spent his early childhood in Budapest,
Munich, and Constantinople. In 1916 he obtained his bacca-
laureate in chemistry at Berne, Switzerland, where his father
was then a charge d'afaires in the Hungarian Embassy. Follow-
in~, World War I, Bekesy returned to Hungary and in 1923
received his doctorate in physics at the University of Budapest.
Bekesy began his scientific career in the laboratory of the Hun-
garian Post, Telephone, and Telegraph. He spent the next
several years there (except for the year 1926-1927, when he
worked in Berlin with K. Kupfmuller in the laboratories of
Siemens and Halske). In 1932 he was appointed privet docent
in the University of Budapest, where in 1940 he became Pros
fessor of Experimental Physics. For some time Bekesy had two
laboratories; for, after his appointment at the University, he
continued his research in the government laboratory at the
Hungarian Post.
During the foreign occupation of Hungary after World War
II, Bekesy found conditions intolerable for scientific research
and in 1946 accepted an invitation to go to the Karolinska
Institutet in Stockholm to work with Y. Zotterman. A year later,
under the aegis of Professor S. S. Stevens, he came to the United
States and joined the faculty of Harvard University. In 1949 he
was given a special appointment there as Senior Research Fellow
in Psychophysics, which enabled him thereafter to devote his
full attention to research. Bekesy held this post for nineteen
years. At the age of sixty-seven, with the unhappy prospect of
retirement facing him, Bekesy resigned and moved to a new
laboratory built for him at the University of Hawaii, where he
accepted an appointment as Professor of Sensory Sciences—an
endowed chair provided by the Hawaiian Telephone Company.
He continued his research at Hawaii for six years—almost until
the day of his death.
OCR for page 27
GEORG VON BiKiSY
27
In 1961 Georg van Bekesy was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine "for his discoveries concerning the
physical mechanism of stimulation within the cochlea." The
following excerpt from the Presentation Speech by C. G. Bern-
hard of the Karolinska Institutet provides a fine characterization
of Bekesy's research on the mechanics of the ear:
"According to the saga, Heimdal was able to hear the grass
grow. Our hearing ability is perhaps not of that kind, but our
ear is anyhow almost sensitive enough to record the bounce of
an air molecule against the eardrum, while, on the other hand,
it can withstand the pounding of sound waves strong enough to
set the body vibrating. Moreover, the ear is capable of a selec-
tivity which permits a close analysis of sounds the various
qualities of which determine the characteristics of the spoken
word and of instrumental and vocal expressions in the universe
of music.
"A sound which hits the ear makes the eardrum vibrate.
Within the air-filled middle ear the vibrations are transmitted
via a subtle system of levers, the ossicle chain, to the fluid of the
inner ear, the cochlea. The footplate of the stirrup which serves
as the innermost link of the ossicle chain is movably mounted
in the opening of the oval window of the inner ear which faces
the middle ear. The vibrations of the fluid engage in their turn
the so-called basilar membrane, an oblong partition which
divides the spiral-shaped cavity of the cochlea in its longitudinal
direction. Along its entire length the membrane carries sense
cells, receptors, like fine tapering columns with hairy points
reaching up to a covering membrane. The receptor cells, or hair
cells, transform the mechanical energy, represented by the vi-
brations of the basilar membrane, into the specific form of
energy which triggers the nerve impulses. The frequency of
these impulses serves as the code to the information carried on
to the higher nerve centers.
"don Bekesy has provided us with the knowledge of the
OCR for page 28
28
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
physical events at all strategically important points in the trans-
mission system of the ear. This does not mean that the proper-
ties of the oscillating systems of the ear have not been an object
of study and theoretical considerations by scientists before van
Bekesy. The field of physiological acoustics has a noble ancestry,
in which the theories of von Helmholtz hold an authoritative
· .
position.
"don Bekesy's distinction is, however, to have recorded the
events in this fragile biological miniature system. Authorities
in this field evaluate the elaborate technique which he devel-
oped for this purpose as being worthy of a genius. By micro-
dissection he reaches anatomical structures difficult of access,
uses advanced teletechniques for stimulation and recording, and
employs high magnification stroboscopic microscopy for making
apparent complex membrane movements, the amplitudes of
which are measured in thousandths of the millimeter.
"Among van Bekesy's important contributions to our knowl-
edge of sound transmission in the middle ear should be men-
tioned the elucidation of the vibration patterns of the eardrum
and of-the interplay of the ossicle movements. His technical and
theoretical mastery has reached its peak in those investigations
which led to the fundamental discoveries concerning the dy-
namics of the inner ear. Experimental and clinical data had
confirmed von Helmholtz's assumption that the frequency of
the sound waves determines the location along the basilar
membrane at which stimulation occurs. The physical character-
istics of the pattern of the membrane vibrations and the condi-
tions for its appearance had, however, previously only been the
object of theoretical considerations. Von Bekesy succeeded in
unveiling the features of the vibration pattern. He found that
movements of the stirrup footplate evoke a wave complex in the
basilar membrane, which travels from the stiffer basal part to
the more flexible part in the apex of the cochlea. The crest of
the largest wave first increases, thereafter quickly decreases. The
OCR for page 29
GEORG NON Bi:KiSY
29
position of the maximal amplitude was found to be dependent
on the frequency of the stimulating sound waves in such a way
that the highest crest of the travelling wave appears near the apex
of the cochlea at low-frequency tones and near its base at high
frequencies. The conditions for the appearance of these specific
vibration patterns were determined in model experiments.
"don Bekesy then turned to the question of how the hair
cells are stimulated. With a thin needle, the point of which
touched the basilar membrane, different parts of the membrane
could be set in vibrations in various directions. The point of
the needle simultaneously served as an electrode for recording
the electrical potentials from the receptor cells. It was found
that a local pressure on the basilar membrane is transformed
into strong shearing forces which act on the hair cells in various
degrees.
"Thus, van Bekesy has given us a clear picture of how the
cochlea functions mechanically and his discoveries serve as a
basis for our conception of the cochlea as a frequency analyzer." ~
Fortunately for the student and researcher in the field of
hearing, Bekesy's writings on the main results of his many
studies on hearing over the thirty-year period 1928-1958 were
published in 1960 in a single volume, Experiments in Hearing,
translated and edited by E. G. Wever. These papers are models
of technical skill, elegance of experimental design, and clarity
~ .
0t presentation.
Bekesy's physical measurements of the mechanical properties
of the ear convinced him that some sort of neural "sharpening"
mechanism must be required to account for the remarkable
sharpness of pitch discrimination. The general form of Bekesy's
ideas was derived from the earlier work of Ernst Mach on
#C. G. Bernhard, "Presentation Speech," in Nobel Lectures, Including Presen-
tation Speeches and Laureate's Biographies. Physiology or Medicine, 1942-1962
(Amsterdam-London-New York: Elsevier Publishing Co. for the Nobel Founda-
tion, 1964), pp. 719-21.
OCR for page 30
30
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
inhibitory interactions in the visual system. Bekesy published a
few preliminary observations on the possible role of inhibition
in hearing as early as 1928; but extensive investigations (includ-
ing work on skin senses, vision, and taste) were not carried out
until much later, as he gradually became more and more inter-
ested in this aspect of his work. His researches in this field, prior
to 1967, are well summarized in his book Sensory Inhibition.
This brief account of Bekesy's life and work represents the
sum and substance of the public record, excepting one auto-
biographical sketch published posthumously in 1974. Bekesy
generally left it to others to extol his virtues and proclaim his
accomplishments.
Bekesy was a solitary person. Although friendly, he was
reserved; few people knew him intimately, and those who did
respected his desire for privacy. Despite Bekesy's usual solitary
ways, however, when the occasion demanded he was outgoing
and sociable. He had a keen sense of humor, and his lectures
and conversations were always punctuated with some anecdote,
wry comment, or little aphorism that went directly to the heart
of the matter. For example: One day at the weekly colloquium
in the Harvard Psychology Department (with which the Psycho-
Acoustic Laboratory was affiliated), the guest speaker was at his
worst and gave an extraordinarily long and dull lecture on a
mathematical theory of behavior. Unfortunately, the audience
responded in kind, and at equally great length, with pointless
questions and irrelevant comments. When at long last it was
all over, Bekesy led me directly to the blackboard in his office,
picked up a piece of chalk, and said, "This is the most important
but least known equation in all of the social sciences. Always
remember it, for as you have just seen, it completely describes
a threat deal of human behavior." And then—summing up the
whole afternoon neatly—he wrote:
0+0 O.
OCR for page 31
GEORG VON BiKiSY
31
Bekesy often remarked that his was a lonely life, but he
preferred it that way. His closest friends, from which he drew
both solace and inspiration, were the art objects he had col-
lected over the years. These filled his laboratory, secreted here
and there in drawers and filing cabinets where one might ordi-
narily expect to find only tools, supplies, and records of data.
But always at least one of these treasures was out on display on
his work bench or desk where he might spend hours examining
it and reflecting on its beauty. This was not a surprising aspect
of Bekesy's character, for he was truly creative himself, and his
contributions to science were very close to art. Indeed, the
private Bekesy—known only to a few and even to them incom-
pletely—can only properly be portrayed as the many-faceted
person which he was: A true Renaissance man with very broad
interests and great depth of knowledge in both the arts and
the sciences.
Bekesy's interest in art was undoubtedly fostered by the
circle in which his family moved. During all of his early years
he was surrounded by artists, sculptors, musicians, and other
intellectuals who were friends and acquaintances of his parents.
As a young man, Bekesy studied music seriously; and it has
always seemed strange to many people that in his later years
the world's greatest authority on hearing was more interested
in the visual arts than in the musical arts. The explanation is
simple. Bekesy found that he could not get music off his mind.
After playing or listening to a good tune, he felt compelled to
hum it or go over it in his mind for hours, or even days. This,
he felt, interfered with sound, logical thinking. Because the
perception of a work of visual art faded away at once—unless
he made a conscious effort to recall it—he chose to make the
study of art and archeology, rather than music, his avocation.
Bekesy studied art not only for the great pleasure it gave
him, but also for an effect that he believed it would have on
his mind. Comparing one art object with another to determine
OCR for page 32
32
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
quality and authenticity, he thought, greatly improved his
ability to make judgments about the quality of scientific work
too. Whether such transfer actually took place no one can say.
But there is no question that art pervaded all of Bekesy's
science. The many superb instruments of his own design, the
models and movies of various wave phenomena, the illustrations
in the papers describing his experiments—indeed, even the ex-
periments themselves—can all properly be called works of art.
(Many of Bekesy's private papers, films, and slides are now avail-
able for study in the Library of Congress.)
During his lifetime, Bekesy collected a large number of
works of art and rare books. Many were lost in World War I,
others in World War II, and some were destroyed or damaged
as a result of a fire in Memorial Hall at Harvard. In spite of all
this, the collection gradually grew larger and more varied. But
the collection was almost as private as was Bekesy's personal
life—few persons were ever privileged to see more than a mere
fragment of it. Now, however, it is in the public domain. In his
last will and testament, Bekesy chose to honor the Nobel
Foundation, which had earlier bestowed such great honor upon
him, with a gift of that which was closest and dearest to him—
the art objects that he had collected over the years and that had
been both a source of inspiration in his work and a source of
solace for a lonely man in times of need of comfort. The Georg
van Bekesy Collection of Art was placed on public exhibition
for the first time, by the Nobel Foundation, on December 9,
1974.~ His collection of books is now in the Library of the
University of Hawaii.
As was mentioned above, Bekesy's choice of a scientific career
was, as he put it, "pure acciclent." But chance can only provide
PA biographical sketch of Busy, which focuses on his interest in art, is
included in the catalog: F. Ratliff, "Georg von Bekesy: His Life, His Work, and
his Friends," in The Georg Con Be'ke'sy Collection, ed. by J. Wirgin (Malmo,
Sweden: AB Allhem for the Nobel Foundation, 1974).
OCR for page 33
GEORG VON BiKiSY
33
opportunity; it remains for the individual to seize upon it and
exploit it. And when he does so time and again, as Bekesy did,
that is the mark of genius.
For example, it was largely a matter of chance that a man
trained in chemistry and physics became interested in the
psychophysiology of hearing and in the role of inhibitory inter-
actions in sensory processes. To begin with, it was Bekesy's
youthful idealism and patriotism that prompted him to leave
Switzerland, following World War I, and to return to Hungary
to help rebuild the country. His doctoral research in physics
at Budapest had been in a branch of optics now known as inter-
ference microscopy, and he tried to find a position in the field
of optics. But times were very hard then and there were no jobs
at all for a physicist with his background and experience.
Bekesy finally decided to find the best-equipped laboratory in
Hungary and work there for nothing, if necessary. The only
laboratory still well equipped after the war was the Hungarian
Post and Telegraph. It had support because the government was
forced by postwar treaties to maintain the telephone and tele-
graph line that crisscrossed the country. Although the labora-
tory had no proper position for a physicist, they did employ
Bekesy and give him a small salary.
Every day brought a new experience. One day telephone
lines would fail, on another there would be radio problems, and
so on. As a result Bekesy was drawn into the problems of the
rapidly developing field of communication engineering—par-
ticularly the electromechanical means of the transfer and pro-
cessing of information.
At that time the international telephone lines were tested
over a loop made by closing the circuit in another city. The
input voltage of a series of pure tones fed into the origin of the
loop at Budapest would be compared with corresponding output
voltage when it arrived back at Budapest. The complete mea-
surement took many minutes—sometimes hours, if there was
OCR for page 34
34
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
much trouble with the lines. Bekesy developed a new method
that would check the lines in about one second. To learn how
to do this, he spent many hours at night in the room where the
cable heads came in, listening to conversations and trying to
match the systems properly. Bekesy paid close attention to
everything he heard over the lines, including the inevitable
"clicks" when phones were connected and disconnected. These
clicks seemed to change as the status of a line changed, so he
started using them as the test signal, and within a few days he
had perfected his new, more efficient method. As Bekesy pointed
out in his Nobel Lecture, the basic idea was similar to a mu-
sician making a quick check of the tuning of his violin by
plucking a string rather than by the more time-consuming
bowing. In effect, Bekesy "plucked" the telephone line instead
of "bowing" it. The key to the whole problem was that the
clicks each contained a wide spectrum of frequencies—thus each
click sent the equivalent of innumerable "pure tones" along
the lines in a single short pulse. This click method provided the
key to Bekesy's future research and led him to the study of the
sense of hearing and the mechanics of the ear. But this came
about more or less by chance, too.
The Hungarian government wanted to make further im-
provements in the international telephone system and asked
the laboratory for advice on how the limited funds available
for research should be spent. Bekesy's opinion was that the
money should be allocated to improving the weakest part of
the system. With the click method it was easy to determine that
the telephone receiver was the worst part of all—including even
the international cables themselves. But this focus on the re-
ceivers immediately raised the further question: Is the receiver
more or less sensitive than the ear? For it would be futile to
improve the receiver if it were already more sensitive than the
ear itself. By making the click comparison it was evident that
the eardrum was a much, much better instrument than the
OCR for page 39
GEORG VON BiK{SY
39
Uber das Fechnersche Gesetz und seine Bedeutung fur die Theorie
der akustischen Beobachtungsfehler und die Theorie des Horens.
Ann. Phys. (Forge 5), 7:329-59.
Sur la theorie de ['audition. L' Annee Psychologique, 31:63-96.
1931
Bemerkungen zur Theorie der gunstigsten Nachhalldauer von Rau-
men. Ann Phys. (Forge 5), 8:851-73.
Ober die Messung der Schwingungsamplitude fester Korper. Ann.
Phys. (Forge 5), 11 :227-32.
1932
Ober die Ausbreitung der Schallwellen in anisotropen dunnen
Platten. Phys. Z., 79:668-71.
Zur Theorie des Horens bei der Schallaufnahme durch Knochen-
leitung. Ann. Phys. (Forge 5), 13: 111-36.
Uber den Einfluss der durch den Kopf und den Gehorgang bewirk-
ten Schallfeldverzerrungen auf die Horschwelle. Ann. Phys.
(Forge 5), 14:51-56.
1933
Cber die Schallfeldverzerrungen in der Nahe von absorbierenden
Flachen und ihre Bedeutung fur die Raumakustik. Z. Tech.
Phys., 14:6-10.
Uber die Horsamkeit der Ein- und Ausschwingvorgange mit Be-
rucksichtigung der Raumakustik. Ann. Phys. (Forge 5), 16:844-
60.
Uber den Knall und die Theorie des Horens. Phys. Z., 34:577-82.
1934
Ober die Horsamkeit kleiner Musikr;aume. Ann. Phys. (Forge 5),
19:665-79.
Uber die nichtlinearen Verzerrungen des Ohres. Ann. Phys. (Forge
5), 20:809-27.
Uber die Horsamkeit von Konzert- und Rundfunksalen. Elektr.
Nachr. Tech., 11: 369-75.
1935
Physikalische Probleme der Horphysiologie. Elektr. Nachr.-Tech.,
12:71-83.
OCR for page 40
40
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Ober akustische Reizung des Vestibularapparates. Pfluger's Archiv
fur die gesamte Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere, 236:
59-76.
Ober akustische Rauhigkeit. Z. Tech. Phys., 16:276-82.
1936
Ober die Herstellung und Messung langsamer sinusformiger Lult-
druckschwankungen. Ann. Phys. (Forge b), 25:413-32.
Ober die Horschwelle und Fuhlgrenze langsamer sinusformiger Luft-
druckschwankungen. Ann. Phys. (Forge 5), 26:554-66.
Fortschritte der Horphysiologie. Z. Tech. Phys., 17:522-28.
Zur Physik des Mittelohres und uber das Horen bei fehlerhaftem
Trommelfell. Akust. Z., 1: 13-23.
1937
Ober die Photoelektrische Fourier-Analyse eines gegebenen Kurven-
zuges. Elektr. Nachr.-Tech., 14:157-61.
Ober subjektive harmonische Teiltone. Akust. Z., 2: 149.
Ober die mechanische Frequenzanalyse einmaliger Schwingungsvor-
gange und die Bestimmung der Frequenzabhangigkeit von Uber-
tragungssystemen und Impedanzen mittels Ausgleichsvorgangen.
Akust. Z., 2:217-24.
1938
Uber die Entstehung der Entfernungsemfindung beim Horen. Akust.
Z., 3:21-31.
Psychologie und Fernsprechtechnik. Forsch. Fortschr., 14:342-44.
1939
Ober die Piezoelektrische Messung der absoluten Horschwelle bei
Knochenleitung. Akust. Z., 4:113-25.
Uber die mechanisch-akustischen Vorgange beim Horen. Acta Oto-
laryngol., 27:281-96, 388-96.
Ober die Vibrationsempfindung. Akust. Z., 4: 316-34.
Ober die Empfindlichkeit des stehenden und sitzenden Menschen
gegen sinusformige Erschutterungen. Akust. Z., 4:360-69.
OCR for page 41
GEORG VON BiKiSY
1940
41
Ober die Starke der Vibrationsempfindung und ihre objektive Mes-
sung. Akust. Z., b: 113-24.
Ober die Sicherheit und Reproduzierbarkeit kunstlerischer Urteile
beim Rundfunk. ~rbeitstagung des deutschen Fachbeirates fur
Sing- und S/?rechkultur in Wien, April.
The neural terminations responding to stimulation of pressure and
vibration. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 26:51~19.
1941
Ober die Messung der Schwingungsamplitude der Gehorknochelchen
mittels einer kapazitiven Sonde. Akust. Z., 6: 1-16.
Ober die Elastizitat der Schneckentrennwand des Ohres. Akust. Z.,
6:265-78.
Ober die Schallausbreitung bei Knochenleitung. Zeitschrift fur
Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde, 47:430~2.
Ober das Horen der eigenen Stimme. Anzeiger der Akademie der
Wissenschaften, Wien (Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche
Klasse), 78:61-70.
1942
Ober die Schwingungen der Schneckentrennwand beim Praparat
und Ohrenmodell. Akust. Z., 7:173-86.
1943
Ober die Resonanzkurve und die Abklingzeit der verschiedenen
Stellen der Schneckentrennwand. Akust. Z., 8:66-76.
Ober die direkte mikroskopische Ausmessung der Resonanzscharfe
und Dampfung der sogenannten Ohrenresonatoren. Forsch.
Fortschr., 19: 364-65.
1944
Ober die mechanische Frequenzanalyse in der Schnecke verschie-
dener Tiere. Akust. Z., 9: 3-11.
Uber die Frequenzauflosung in der menschlichen Schnecke. Acta
Oto-laryngol., 32:60-84.
OCR for page 42
42
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
1947
The variation of phase along the basilar membrane with sinusoidal
vibrations. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 19:452-60.
The sound pressure difference between the round and the oval
windows and the artificial window of labyrinthine fenestration.
Acta Oto-laryngol., 35: 301-15.
A new audiometer. Acta Oto-laryngol., 35:411.
Uber die neuen Audiometer. Archiv der elecktrischen Obertragung,
1:13-16.
The recruitment phenomenon and difference limen in hearing and
vibration sense. Laryngoscope, 57: 765-77.
1948
On the elasticity of the cochlear partition. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 20:
227-78.
With W. A. Rosenblith. The early history of hearing: observations
and theories. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 20:727~8.
Vibrations of the head in a sound field, and its role in hearing by
bone conduction. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 20:749-60.
1949
The structure of the middle ear and the hearing of one's own voice
by bone conduction. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 21:217-32.
The vibration of the cochlear partition in anatomical preparations
and in models of the inner ear. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 21:233-45.
On the resonance curve and the decay period at various points on
the cochlear partition. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 21:245-54.
Ober die Mondillusion. Experientia, 5:326.
The moon illusion and similar auditory phenomena. American
Journal of Psychology, 62: 540-52.
1950
Interchangeable pencil-type micromanipulator. Science, 111: 667-69.
Suggestions for determining the mobility of the stapes by means of
an endotoscope for the middle ear. Laryngoscope, 60:97-110.
OCR for page 43
GEORG VON B[KiSY
1951
43
With W. A. Rosenblith. The mechanical properties of the ear. In:
Handbook of Experimental Psychology, ed. by S. S. Stevens, pp.
1075-1115. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The coarse pattern of the electrical resistance in the cochlea of the
guinea pig (electro-anatomy of the cochlea). l. Acoust. Soc. Am.,
23: 18-28.
Microphonics produced by touching the cochlear partition with a
vibrating electrode. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 23:29-35.
DC potentials and energy balance of the cochlear partition. l.
Acoust. Soc. Am., 23: 576-82.
1952
Resting potentials inside the cochlear partition of the guinea pig.
Nature, 169:241-42.
Micromanipulator with four degrees of freedom. Transactions of
the American Microscopical Society, 71: 306-10.
DC resting potentials inside the cochlear partition. l. Acoust. Soc.
Am., 24:72-76.
Gross localization of the place of origin of the cochlear micropho-
nics. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 24:399 409.
Direct observation of the vibrations of the cochlear partition under
a microscope. Acta Oto-laryngol., 42: 197-201.
1954
Note on the definition of the term: hearing by bone conduction. J.
Acoust. Soc. Am., 26: 106-7.
With E. G. Wever and M. Lawrence. A note on recent developments
in auditory theory. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 40:508-12.
Some electromechanical properties of the organ of Corti. Ann. Otol.
Rhinol. Laryngol., 63:448-68.
1955
Subjective cupulometry. American Medical Association. Arch. Oto-
laryngol., 61: 16-28.
Paradoxical direction of wave travel along the cochlear partition. i.
Acoust. Soc. Am., 27: 137-45.
OCR for page 44
44
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Human skin perception of traveling waves similar to those on the
cochlea. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 27:830-41.
Beitrag zur Frage der Frequenzanalyse in der Schnecke. Archiv fur
Ohren-, Nasen- und Kehlkopfheilkunde, vereinigt mit Zeitschrift
fur Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde, Kongressbericht, 167:
238-55.
1956
Current status of theories of hearing. Science, 123:779-83.
Preparatory and air-driven micromanipulators for electrophysiology.
Review of Scientific Instruments, 27:690-92.
Simplified model to demonstrate the energy flow and formation of
traveling waves similar to those found in the cochlea. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA, 42:930-44.
1957
Sensations on the skin similar to directional hearing, beats, and
harmonics of the ear. I. Acoust. Soc. Am., 29:489-501.
The ear. Scientific American, 197~2~:66-78.
Neural volleys and the similarity between some sensations produced
by tones and skin vibrations. i. Acoust. Soc. Am., 29:1059-69.
1958
Pendulums, traveling waves, and the cochlea: introduction and
script for a motion picture. Laryngoscope, 68:317-27.
Funneling in the nervous system and its role in loudness and sensa-
tion intensity on the skin. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 30:399~12.
1959
Similarities between hearing and skin sensations. Psychological Re-
views, 66:1-22.
Synchronism of neural discharges and their demultiplication in
pitch perception on the skin and in hearing. l. Acoust. Soc. Am.
31 :338-49.
With J. Lempert. Improvement of sound transmission in the fen-
estrated ear by the use of shearing forces. Laryngoscope, 69:876-
83.
Neural funneling along the skin and between the inner and outer
hair cells of the cochlea. .J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 31:1236-49.
OCR for page 45
GEORG VON BiK~SY
1960
45
Experiments in Hearing. Translated and edited by E. G. Wever.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. 745 pp.
Neural inhibitory units of the eye and skin: quantitative description
of contrast phenomena. l. Opt. Soc. Am., 50:1060-70.
Experimental models of the cochlea with and without nerve supply.
In: Neural Mechanisms of the Auditory and Vestibular Systems,
ed. by G. L. Rasmussen and W. F. Windle, pp. 3-20. Springfield:
Charles C Thomas, Publishers.
The influence of inhibition on the sensation pattern of the skin and
the eye. In: Symposium on Cutaneous Sensitivity, ed. by Glenn R.
Hawkes, pp. 50-62. Fort Knox, United States Army Medical Re-
search Laboratory Report no. 424.
1961
Pitch sensation and its relation to the periodicity of the stimulus.
Hearing and skin vibrations. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 33:341-48.
Are surgical experiments on human subjects necessary? Laryngo-
scope, 71:367-76.
Ober die Gleichartigkeit einiger nervosen Prozesse helm Horen und
Vibrationssinn. In: Proceedings of the Third International Con-
gress on Acoustics, pp. 13-20. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Concerning the fundamental component of periodic pulse patterns
and modulated vibrations observed on the cochlear model with
nerve supply. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 33:888-96.
With E. G. Wever, W. E. Rahm, fir., and l. H. T. Rambo. A new
method of perfusion for the fixation of tissues. Laryngoscope,
7 1: 1534-47.
Abweichungen vom Ohmschen Gesetz der Frequenzauflosung helm
Horen. Akustische Beihefte, Acustica, 1 1: 241-44.
1962
The gap between the hearing of external and internal sounds. In:
Biological Receptor Mechanisms, ed. by l. W. L. Beament, pp.
267-688. (Symposium No. 16, Society for Experimental Biology)
London: Cambridge Univ. Press.
OCR for page 46
46
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Comments on the measurement of the relative size of the DC poten-
tials and microphonics in the cochlea. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 34:
124.
Can we feel the nervous discharges of the end organs during vibra-
tory stimulation of the skin? l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 34:850-56.
Concerning the pleasures of observing, and the mechanics of the
inner ear. In: Les Prefix Nobel en 1961, pp. 184-208. Stockholm:
P. A. Norstedt & Soner, AB.
Synchrony between nervous discharges and periodic stimuli in hear-
ing and on the skin. Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol., 71 :678-92.
Lateral inhibition of heat sensation on the skin. l. Appl. Physiol.,
17: 1003-8.
1963
Letter to editor and contributors of the Bekesy commemorative
issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. I.
Acoust. Soc. Am., 35: 120.
Hearing theories and complex sounds. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 35:588-
601.
Three experiments concerned with pitch perception. J. Acoust. Soc.
Am., 35:602-6.
Concluding remarks of the round table discussion on the frequency
analysis of the normal and pathological ear. (Sixth International
Congress of Audiology, Copenhagen) International Audiology,
2:26-29.
Interaction of paired sensory stimuli and conduction in peripheral
nerves. l. Appl. Physiol., 18: 1276-84.
Modification of sensory localization as consequence of oxygen intake
and reduced blood flow. l. Acoust. Soc. Am., 35:1183-87.
1964
Rhythmical variations accompanying gustatory stimulation observed
by means of localization phenomena. J. Gen. Physiol., 47:809-25.
Olfactory analogue to directional hearing. l. Appl. Physiol., 19:
369-73.
Die gegenseitige Hemmung van Sinnesreizen bei kleinen Zeitdiffer-
enzen. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, 17: 209-16.
Sweetness produced electrically on the tongue and its relation to
taste theories. J. Appl. Physiol., 19: 1105-13.
Duplexity theory of taste. Science, 145:834-35.
OCR for page 47
GEORG VON B{K[SY
47
1965
The effect of adaptation on the taste threshold observed with a
semi-automatic gustometer. J. Gen. Physiol., 48:481-88.
Cochlea mechanics. In: Theoretical and Mathematical Biology, ed.
by Talbot H. Waterman and Harold J. Morowitz, pp. 172-97.
Waltham, Mass.: Blaisdell Publishing Company.
Inhibition and the time and spatial patterns of neural activity in
sensory perception. Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol., 74:445-62.
Temperature coefficient of electrical thresholds of taste sensations.
J. Gen. Physiol., 49:27-35.
Loudness recruitment. Transactions of the American Otological
Society, 53:85-92.
1966
Taste theories and the chemical stimulation of single papillae. i.
Appl. Physiol., 21: 1-9.
Pressure and shearing forces as stimuli of labyrinthine epithelium.
Arch. Otolaryngol., 84: 122-30.
lg67
Mach band type lateral inhibition in different sense organs. l. Gen.
Physiol., 50: ~ 19-32.
Some similarities in sensory perception of fish and man. In: Lateral
Line Detectors, ed. by P. Cahn, pp. 417-35. Bloomington: Indi-
ana Univ. Press.
Foreword. Lateral Line Detectors, ed. by P. Cahn, pp. vii-ix. Bloom-
ington: Indiana Univ. Press.
Sensory Inhibition. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 265 pp.
1968
Brightness distribution across the Mach bands measured with flicker
photometry, and the linearity of sensory nervous interaction. l.
Opt. Soc. Am., 58: 1-8.
Problems relating psychological and electrophysiological observa-
tions in sensory perception. Perspectives in Biology and Medi-
cine, 11:179-94.
Location of maxima and minima in sensation patterns influenced
by lateral inhibition. l. Appl. Physiol., 25:200-206.
OCR for page 48
48
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Feedback phenomena between the stringed instrument and the
musician. Rockefeller University Review, 6: 1-9.
Mach- and Hering-type lateral inhibition in vision. Vision Res., 8:
1483-99.
1969
Fin Modell der mechanischen und nervosen Vorgange des Innenoh-
res. Nova Acta Leopoldina, Nummer 184, 33: 103-19.
Similarities of inhibition in the different sense organs. American
Psychologist, 24: 707-19.
Inhibition as an important part of sensory perception. Laryngo-
scope, 79: 1366-86.
The Doctor of Medicine and the Doctor of Philosophy. (Dr. Julius
Lempert Memorial Issue) Arch. Otolaryngol., 90:687-89.
Resonance in the cochlea? Sound, 3:86-91.
The smallest time difference the eyes can detect with sweeping
stimulation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 64: 142~7.
1970
Travelling waves as frequency analysers in the cochlea. Nature,
225: 1207-9.
Apparent image rotation in stereoscopic vision: the unbalance of the
pupils. Percept. Psychophys., 8: 343~7.
Enlarged mechanical model of the cochlea with nerve supply.
In: Foundations of Modern Auditory Theory, ed. by J. V. Tobias,
vol. 1, pp. 307~1. New York: Academic Press, Inc.
Success and failure of teamwork in biology and medicine. Perspec-
tives in Biology and Medicine, 14:69-81.
Improved musical dynamics by variation of apparent size of sound
source. Journal of Music Theory, 14: 141-64.
1971
Localization of visceral pain and other sensations before and after
anesthesia. Percept. Psychophys., 9: 1~.
Auditory backward inhibition in concert halls. Science, 171:529-36.
Two different ways of making progress in physics and medicine.
In: Oral-Facial Sensory Motor Mechanisms, ed. by Ronald
Dubner and Yojiro Kawamura, pp. 1-6. New York: Appleton-
Century-Crofts.
OCR for page 49
GEORG VON BiK[SY
49
1972
The missing fundamental and periodicity detection in hearing.
i. Acoust. Soc. Am., 51:631-37.
Lines that do not increase their width under a magnifying glass.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 69:885-87.
Wish bands measured by a compensation method. Vision Res.,
12: 1485-97.
Compensation method to measure the contrast produced by contours.
J. Opt. Soc. Am., 62: 1247-51.
1973
Sense organs and their sensitivity. Advances in Oto-Rhino-Laryn-
gology, 19:1-30.
1974
Prefatory chapter: some biophysical experiments from 50 years ago.
Annual Review of Physiology, 31: 1-16.
Introduction, Chapter 1. In: Auditory Systems, Handbook of Sensory
Physiology, vol. V/1, ed. by W. D. Keidel and W. D. Ned, pp.
1-8. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer Verlag.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
georg von
