Electric current applied via a thin probe to the exposed cerebral cortex of a dog during an 1870 experiment fundamentally altered neurological understanding. By documenting involuntary muscular contractions in response to specific stimulation, Eduard Hitzig demonstrated that distinct regions of the brain control movement, providing the first localized evidence of the cerebrum’s motor strip functionality.
Early Medical Training
Born in Berlin in 1838, Hitzig pursued medical studies at the University of Berlin and the University of Würzburg. His academic development occurred under the guidance of Emil Du Bois-Reymond, Rudolf Virchow, Moritz Heinrich Romberg, and Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal. After obtaining his doctorate in 1862, he served as a physician within the Prussian Army, where he observed that small electrical currents applied to fractured skulls of wounded soldiers induced involuntary muscular reactions.
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In 1870, Hitzig collaborated with anatomist Gustav Fritsch to conduct systematic research on brain excitability. Due to institutional restrictions at the University of Berlin, the pair utilized Fritsch’s residence to perform experiments on unanesthetized dogs. Their findings were documented in the essay Ueber die elektrische Erregbarkeit des Grosshirns, which detailed the discovery of the motor strip. This research influenced subsequent localized brain testing conducted by neurologists such as David Ferrier.
Academic Appointments and Later Life
Hitzig’s career included significant tenures at the University of Zurich, where he served as a professor of psychiatry and director of the Burghölzli asylum starting in 1875. In 1885, he accepted a professorship at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1903. A member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, as well as the Corps Neoborussia-Berlin zu Bochum and Corps Nassovia Würzburg, Hitzig died in St. Blasien in 1907. He is buried at the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1838, Berlin
- Died: 1907, St. Blasien
- Education: University of Würzburg
- Key Publication: Ueber die elektrische Erregbarkeit des Grosshirns (1870)
- Professional Field: Neurology and Psychiatry
- Notable Employer: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
- Burial Site: Dorotheenstadt Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What was Hitzig’s primary discovery?
He discovered that electrical stimulation of specific regions of the cerebrum causes involuntary muscular movement, identifying the brain's motor strip.
Where did Hitzig perform his brain experiments?
He performed his landmark 1870 experiments at the home of anatomist Gustav Fritsch, as the University of Berlin prohibited such laboratory research.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Zurich and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
- Fields: psychiatry and neurology
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