# Ferrier Lecture

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The **Ferrier Lecture** is a [Royal Society](/source/Royal_Society) lectureship given every three years "on a subject related to the advancement of natural knowledge on the structure and function of the nervous system".[1] It was created in 1928 to honour the memory of [Sir David Ferrier](/source/David_Ferrier), a neurologist who was the first British scientist to electronically stimulate the brain for the purpose of scientific study.[1]

In its 90-year history, the Lecture has been given 30 times. It has never been given more than once by the same person. The first female to be awarded the honour was [Prof. Christine Holt](/source/Christine_Holt) in 2017. The first lecture was given in 1929 by [Charles Scott Sherrington](/source/Charles_Scott_Sherrington), and was titled *"Some functional problems attaching to convergence"*.[2] The most recent lecturer was provided by Prof. Christine Holt, who presented a lecture in 2017 titled *"understanding of the key molecular mechanisms involved in nerve growth, guidance and targeting which has revolutionised our knowledge of growing axon tips"*.[3] In 1971, the lecture was given by two individuals ([David Hunter Hubel](/source/David_Hunter_Hubel) and [Torsten Nils Wiesel](/source/Torsten_Nils_Wiesel)) on the same topic, with the title *"The function and architecture of the visual cortex"*.[2]

## List of Lecturers

Year Name Lecture title Notes 1929 Charles Scott Sherrington "Some functional problems attaching to convergence" [4] 1932 C. U. Ariëns Kappers "Some correlations between skull and brain" [5] 1935 Otto Loewi "Problems connected with the principle of humeral transmission of nervous impulses" – 1938 Edgar Douglas Adrian "Some problems of localization in the central nervous system" [6] 1941 Frederic Charles Bartlett "Fatigue following highly skilled work" [7] 1944 Gordon Morgan Holmes "The organization of the visual cortex in man" [8] 1947 Wilder Penfield "Some observations of the cerebral cortex of Man" [9] 1950 John Zachary Young "Growth and plasticity in the nervous system" – 1953 Francis Martin Rouse Walshe "The contribution of clinical observation to cerebral physiology" [10] 1956 Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark "Inquiries into the anatomical basis of olfactory discrimination" [11] 1959 John Carew Eccles "The nature of central inhibitory action" [12] 1962 William Albert Hugh Rushton "Visual adaptation" [13] 1965 Stephen William Kuffler "Physiological properties of vertebrate and invertebrate neurological cells and the movement of substances through the nervous system" [14] 1968 Charles Garrett Phillips "Studies of a primates brain and hand" [15] 1971 David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel "The function and architecture of the visual cortex" [16] 1974 Wilhelm Siegmund Feldberg "Body temperature and fever, changes in our views during the last decade" [17] 1977 Janos Szentagothai "The neuron network of the cerebral cortex, a functional interpretation" [18] 1980 Horace Basil Barlow "Cerebral cortex and the design of the eye" – 1983 Leslie Lars Iversen "Amino acids and peptides: fast and slow chemical signals in the nervous system" – 1986 Giles Brindley "The actions of parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves in human micturition, erection and seminal emission, and their restoration in paraplegic patients by implanted electrical stimulators" – 1989 Lawrence Weiskrantz "Side glances at blindsight, recent approaches to implicit discrimination in human cortical blindness" [19] 1992 Gerald Westheimer "Seeing depth with two eyes, stereopsis" [20] 1995 Semir Zeki "Behind the scene: an exploration of the visual brain" [21] 1998 Jean-Pierre Changeux "The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and synaptic plasticity" [22] 2001 Andrew Lumsden "Patterning the embryonic brain" – 2004 Alan Cowey "Magnetic brain stimulation: what can it tell us about brain function?" [23] 2007 Marc Tessier-Lavigne "Brain development and brain repair: Molecules and mechanisms that control neuronal wiring" – 2010 Colin Blakemore "Plasticity of the brain: the key to human development, cognition and evolution" [24] 2013 John O'Keefe "cognitive neuroscience, especially on the role of the hippocampus, and the mechanisms supporting memory and cognition" [25] 2017 Christine Holt "understanding of the key molecular mechanisms involved in nerve growth, guidance and targeting which has revolutionised our knowledge of growing axon tips" [26] 2019 Ray Dolan "for his work charting the brain activity related to fundamental aspects of human conduct and behaviour" [27] 2021 Daniel Wolpert "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of how the brain controls movement. Using theoretical and experimental approaches he has elucidated the computational principles underlying skilled motor behaviour." [28] 2023 Richard G. Morris "for greatly advancing the understanding of the physiological and psychological processes underlying memory." [29] 2025 Gillian Bates "for her work in understanding the molecular basis of Huntington’s disease and consistently producing highly impactful findings which have moulded the course of this field." [30]

## References

**General**

- ["Previous Ferrier lectures 2004- 1929"](http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1796). The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ["The Ferrier Lecture (1928)"](http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?tip=1&id=1795). [The Royal Society](/source/The_Royal_Society). Retrieved 2 July 2009.

**Specific**

1. ["The Ferrier Lecture (1928)"](http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?tip=1&id=1795). [The Royal Society](/source/The_Royal_Society). Retrieved 2 July 2009.

1. ["Previous Ferrier lectures 2004- 1929"](http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1796). The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 July 2009.

1. ["Wiring up the brain: How axons navigate"](https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2017/03/ferrier-lecture/). *royalsociety.org*

1. Jacobson, Marcus (1993). [*Foundations of neuroscience*](https://books.google.com/books?id=iFXBY299ikgC&q=%22Ferrier+Lecture%22+Charles+Scott+Sherrington). 2nd ed. Springer. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-306-44540-8.

1. "Societies and Academies". *Nature*. **129** (3267): 878–879. 11 June 1932. [Bibcode:1932Natur.129..878.](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932Natur.129..878.). [doi:10.1038/129878a0](https://doi.org/10.1038/129878a0). [ISSN 0028-0836](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836)

1. Moruzzi, Giuseppe (1980). "In memoriam Lord Adrian (1889–1977)". *Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology*. **87**: 1–24. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. [doi:10.1007/BFb0030894](https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0030894). ISBN 3-540-09944-1. [ISSN 0303-4240](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0303-4240). [PMID 6999582](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6999582)

1. ["Sir Fredrick Bartlett (1886–1969). An Intellectual Biography"](http://www.ppsis.cam.ac.uk/bartlett/Intellectual%20Biography.htm). [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. McDonald (2007). ["Gordon Holmes lecture: Gordon Holmes and the neurological heritage"](http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/130/1/288). *Brain*. **130** (1): 288–98. [doi:10.1093/brain/awl335](https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl335). [ISSN 1460-2156](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1460-2156). [PMID 17178743](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17178743)

1. ["RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada : Flavelle Medal Award"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071014125533/http://www.rsc.ca/index.php?lang_id=1&page_id=159). [Royal Society of Canada](/source/Royal_Society_of_Canada). Archived from [the original](http://www.rsc.ca/index.php?lang_id=1&page_id=159) on October 14, 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Guide W-Z"](http://www.bath.ac.uk/ncuacs/guidew-z.htm#FMRWalsh). [University of Bath](/source/University_of_Bath). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Medical News"](http://www.bmj.com/cgi/issue_pdf/admin_pdf/2/5004.pdf). *[British Medical Journal](/source/British_Medical_Journal)*. **2** (5004): 1316. 1 December 1956. [doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5004.1315](https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.5004.1315). [S2CID 4807333](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4807333). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["AAS-Biographical memoirs-Eccles"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080907074853/http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/eccles.htm). [Australian Academy of Science](/source/Australian_Academy_of_Science). Archived from [the original](http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/eccles.htm) on September 7, 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. Rushton, W.A.H. (1962). "The Ferrier Lecture, 1962: Visual Adaptation". *Proceedings of the Royal Society of London*. **162** (986): 20–46. [doi:10.1098/rspb.1965.0024](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1965.0024). [PMID 14296430](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14296430). [S2CID 129301526](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:129301526)

1. Nicholls, John. ["Stephen W. Kuffler August 24, 1913 — October 11, 1980 By John G. Nicholls"](http://www.nap.edu/readingroom.php?book=biomems&page=skuffler.html). [National Academies Press](/source/National_Academies_Press). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. Porter, Robert (November 1996). "Charles Garrett Phillips. 13 October 1916 – 9 September 1994". *Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society*. **42**: 341–362. The Royal Society. [doi:10.1098/rsbm.1996.0021](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1996.0021). [ISSN 1748-8494](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1748-8494). [PMID 11619335](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11619335)

1. Hubel, David (8 December 1981). ["1981 Nobel Lecture"](http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~icbv071/Readings/1981-Hubel-Evolution_of_Ideas_on_the_Primary_Visual_Cortex-1955-1978-A_Biased_Historical_Account.pdf). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Oxford DNB article: Feldberg, Wilhelm Siegmund (subscription needed)"](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51909). 2004. [doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51909](https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/51909). Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. Somogyi, Peter (17 September 1994). ["Obituary: Professor John Szentagothai"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-john-szentagothai-1449193.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Lawrence Weiskrantz"](https://web.archive.org/web/20211108161921/https://www.baylor.edu/reynolds_lecture_series/index.php?id=38921). [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University). Archived from [the original](http://www.baylor.edu/reynolds_lecture_series/index.php?id=38921) on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. Ed. By larry r. Squire (2006). [*The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography*](http://www.sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/history_of_neuroscience/hon_vol_5/c16.pdf). Vol. 5. Larry R. Squire (ed.). [Elsevier](/source/Elsevier). ISBN 978-0-12-370514-3. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Art and Mind Semir Zeki"](http://www.artandmind.org/pages/Patrons/Zeki.htm). Art and Mind. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["News from Jean-Pierre CHANGEUX's laboratory"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071028074357/http://www.pasteur.fr/recherche/unites/neubiomol/news.html). [Institut Pasteur](/source/Institut_Pasteur). Archived from [the original](http://www.pasteur.fr/recherche/unites/neubiomol/news.html) on October 28, 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["News: Distinguished neurosciences expert delivers Ferrier lecture"](http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=3755). [University of Durham](/source/University_of_Durham). 12 November 2004. Retrieved 3 July 2009.

1. ["Royal Society Events Diary"](http://royalsociety.org/Ferrier-lecture-2010/). 15 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.

1. ["Ferrier Lecture"](http://royalsociety.org/awards/ferrier-lecture/). Royal Society. Retrieved 12 September 2013.

1. ["Ferrier Medal and Lecture"](https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/ferrier-lecture/). 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.

1. ["Ferrier Lecture and Medal"](https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/ferrier-lecture/). Royal Society. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

1. ["Ferrier Lecture and Medal"](https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/ferrier-lecture/). Royal Society. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

1. ["The Royal Society announces this year's medal and award winners"](https://royalsociety.org/news/2022/08/medals-and-awards-2022). Royal Society. Retrieved 26 August 2022.

1. ["Nobel Prize-winning scientist wins Royal Society's most prestigious scientific award"](https://royalsociety.org/news/2024/08/medals-and-awards-recipients-2024/). Royal Society. Retrieved 2024-09-19.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ferrier Lecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrier_Lecture) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrier_Lecture?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.