Hans Helmut Kornhuber

Hans Helmut Kornhuber (24 February 1928 – 30 October 2009) was a German neurologist and neurophysiologist.

From 1949 on Kornhuber studied medicine at the universities of Munich, Göttingen, Freiburg, Basle and Heidelberg.

In 1955 he was promoted to doctor of medicine in Heidelberg.

In 1955 he married Ursula Heesch, they had five children.

He absolved his clinical education at the Neurological University Hospital at the University of Freiburg, where he was habilitated in 1963.

He spent one and a half research years at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Kornhuber saw the achievement of a scientific break through in 1965 with the discovery of the Bereitschaftspotential (or readiness potential), together with his doctoral student Lüder Deecke.

In 1965 Kornhuber (together with Lüder Deecke) discovered the Bereitschaftspotential, a brain potential in the EEG which precedes all our willed movements and actions.

The publication, even though originally in German, became a citation classic.

He spent early interest in epistemology and brain function.

He worked on the sensory systems/perception, conducting many experiments at Baltimore with Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle and his team on skin receptors, and also measuring the channel capacity of sensory systems (and consciousness).

He conducted his own research into new therapies with particular emphasis on multiple sclerosis, stroke, dementia, movement disorders, etc. He also made contributions for psychiatry, e.g. the glutamate theory.

He contributed to Otorhinolaryngology (hand book articles such as Physiology and Clinic of the Vestibular System).

Kornhuber also discovered the eye muscle field in the cerebellum.

In 1967 he was appointed the chair of Neurology at the newly founded University of Ulm and there built the Neurological Hospital of the University of Ulm (until 1984 situated in Dietenbronn).

In 1967 Kornhuber received the Hans-Berger-Award of the German EEG society (DGKN) for his discovery of the cerebral foundations of will and purposeful actions (willingness to act).

The Bárány Society honored him with the Hallpike-Nylén-Award for his pioneering research on the vestibular system.

He was awarded honorary membership by foreign oto-neurological societies.

Universities awarded him as honorary professor and honorary doctor (University of Brussels).

The Belgian neurophysiological society awarded Kornhuber an honorary membership.

The Federal Republic of Germany honoured him for his efforts concerning the rehabilitation of patients with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the German Society of Psychiatry honoured him for his research in the field of schizophrenia by awarding him the Kurt-Schneider prize.

Scientific articles

Books

In 1996 Kornhuber has been professor emeritus.

One of his sons is the Psychiatrist and Psychotherapeut Johannes Kornhuber.