Vilayanur S. Ramachandran
| Vilayanur S. Ramachandran | |
|---|---|
Ramachandran at the 2011 Time 100 gala
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| Born |
August 10, 1951 Tamil Nadu, India |
| Residence | San Diego, California |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | University of California, San Diego |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Research in neurology, visual perception, phantom limbs, synesthesia, autism, body integrity identity disorder |
| Notable awards | Ariens-Kappers medal (1999), Padma Bhushan (2007), Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Physicians (2014) |
Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran (born August 10, 1951) is a neuroscientist known primarily for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Graduate Program in Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego.
Ramachandran is the author of several books that have garnered widespread public interest. These include Phantoms in the Brain (1998), "A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness" (2004) and The Tell-Tale Brain (2010). In addition to his books, Ramachandran is known for his engaging style as a public lecturer. He has presented keynote addresses and public lectures in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and India. His work in behavioral neurology has been widely reported by the media and he has appeared in numerous television programs.
Ramachandran has been called "The Marco Polo of neuroscience" by Richard Dawkins and "the modern Paul Broca" by Eric Kandel. In 2011, Time listed him as one of "the most influential people in the world" on the "Time 100" list.
Ramachandran has also encountered criticism from some neuroscientists. Greg Hickok, Professor of Cognitive Sciences at UC Irvine, has expressed the opinion that Ramachandran engages in broad speculations that are not supported by a rigorous analysis of the facts: "The question is whether the science that is communicated is legitimate, i.e., based on a rigorous analysis of facts (such that it can be taken seriously by bench scientists) or whether the ideas are just wild speculations spun together into a nice story." In 2012, neuropsychologist Peter Brugger at the University Hospital of Zürich criticized Ramachandran's book The Tell-Tale Brain as a pop-neuroscience book providing vague answers to big questions.
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