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Thomas Willis (1621-1675): First lines in Neuropsychiatry
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 June 2014
Abstract
Thomas Willis [1621-1675] was not the first to describe the circle of vessels at the base of the brain that bears his name, but it was he who first recognised its functional significance in maintaining cerebral perfusion even after one of its feeding vessels was completely closed. Although Willis made many astute, original clinical observations (concerning myasthenia gravis, paracusis, restless legs syndrome and diabetes mellitus) his reputation suffered because he was an inveterate theorist in an age that frowned on hypotheses. Nonetheless he is now recognised as one of the earliest neuropsychiatrists who attempted to understand and explain mental illness, as he encountered it in his daily practice, in terms of brain dysfunction more than 300 years ago.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996