Torsten N. Wiesel
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Torsten N. Wiesel
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1981
Born: 3 June 1924, Uppsala, Sweden
Affiliation at the time of the award: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Prize motivation: “for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system”
Prize share: 1/4
Work
Our vision works by the light around us being captured by a large number of light-sensitive cells located in the retinas at the back of our eyes. The light is converted into signals that are sent to the brain and there converted into visual impressions. Torsten Wiesel and David Hubel clarified how this process works during the 1960s: In the cerebral cortex signals are analyzed in sequence by cells with the specific tasks of interpreting contrasts, patterns, and movements. They also showed that this ability develops in children during the initial period after birth.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
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