Physiology of the retina and visual pathway

Historical Significance: A second edition was published in 1970. The first edition is held in only 191 libraries world wide. Giles Brindley was a prominent and pioneering neurophysiologist. He conducted a series of highly publicized experiments that attempted to develop a prosthetic eye. He placed 80 electrodes on the surface of a sightless volunteer's brain that were wired to 80 miniature radio receivers and sewed the entire apparatus under the patient's scalp. When he transmitted signals to the device, the subject reported perceiving points of light, known as phosphenes. Similar trials were conducted elsewhere until mounting skepticism concerning safety and usefulness brought the investigations to an end. Sir Giles Brindley GBE (b 1926) was a man of many interests and talents. In addition to being a noted neurophysiologist, he was musicologist and composer. He also made important contributions to the treatment of erectile dysfunction but is perhaps best known for an unusual scientific presentation at the 1983 Las Vegas meeting of the American Urological Association, where he removed his trousers to show the audience his chemically-induced erection and invited them to inspect it closely. He had injected himself with phenoxybenzamine, an alpha blocker, in his hotel room before the presentation. He spent most of his career at the University of London and London Hospital, authoring more than 100 scientific papers in a variety of subjects. His knighthood was given for his research in bioengineering. Brindley invented a musical instrument in the 1960s, an electronically controlled version of the bassoon. He also composed music for wind instruments, including "Variations on a theme by Schoenberg".