Jack Pettigrew
Encyclopedia
John Douglas Pettigrew (born 1943) is Emeritus Professor of Physiology
and Director of the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre
at the University of Queensland
in Australia
.
Professor Pettigrew's research interest is in comparative neuroscience
. He has studied a variety of different birds and mammals with modern neural tracing techniques to unravel principles of brain organization. He was the chief proponent of the Flying primates theory
, which was based on the similarity between the brains of megabats and primates. Special emphasis is placed on the visual, auditory and somatosensory systems.
Professor Pettigrew was the first person to clarify the neurobiological basis of stereopsis
when he described neurones sensitive to binocular disparity
. His recent studies indicate a role for non-visual pathways in the phenomenon of developmental plasticity during the postnatal "critical period". He discovered that owls have independently evolved a system of binocular neurones like those found in mammals. Recent work uses binocular rivalry as an assay for interhemispheric switching, whose rhythm is altered in bipolar disorder
. His scientific work was recognized by several honours and awards, including becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
(FAAS).
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and Director of the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre
Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre
The Vision Touch and Hearing Research Centre was the first Commonwealth Special Research Centre to be awarded to the University of Queensland. Located on the St. Lucia campus of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, the VTHRC was headed by Prof...
at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Professor Pettigrew's research interest is in comparative neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
. He has studied a variety of different birds and mammals with modern neural tracing techniques to unravel principles of brain organization. He was the chief proponent of the Flying primates theory
Flying primates theory
The flying primates theory conjectures that megabats, a sub-group of Chiroptera , form an evolutionary sister group of Primates. This theory started with Carl Linnaeus, and was again advanced by J.D Smith in 1980...
, which was based on the similarity between the brains of megabats and primates. Special emphasis is placed on the visual, auditory and somatosensory systems.
Professor Pettigrew was the first person to clarify the neurobiological basis of stereopsis
Stereopsis
Stereopsis refers to impression of depth that is perceived when a scene is viewed with both eyes by someone with normal binocular vision. Binocular viewing of a scene creates two slightly different images of the scene in the two eyes due the the eyes' different positions on the head...
when he described neurones sensitive to binocular disparity
Binocular disparity
Binocular disparity refers to the difference in image location of an object seen by the left and right eyes, resulting from the eyes' horizontal separation. The brain uses binocular disparity to extract depth information from the two-dimensional retinal images in stereopsis...
. His recent studies indicate a role for non-visual pathways in the phenomenon of developmental plasticity during the postnatal "critical period". He discovered that owls have independently evolved a system of binocular neurones like those found in mammals. Recent work uses binocular rivalry as an assay for interhemispheric switching, whose rhythm is altered in bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
. His scientific work was recognized by several honours and awards, including becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
(FAAS).