BERNSTEIN, JULIUS

BERNSTEIN, JULIUS (1839–1917), German physiologist and medical educator, who laid the foundations of neurophysiology. Bernstein, the son of aron bernstein , was born in Berlin and began his research career under Du-Bois Reymond in his native city, continued his investigations into electrophysiology at Heidelberg, and was appointed professor of physiology in Halle in 1872. Through his novel application of physical instrumentation, such as differential rheotome and photography, to the study of nerve and muscle function, Bernstein developed the concept of the polarized membrane as the major focus of the excitation process. His view that the impulse is a self-propagating wave of depolarization deriving from permeability changes forms the foundation of modern neurophysiology. Though best known for his Untersuchungen ueber den Erregungsvorgang im Nerven- und Muskelsystem (1871), Bernstein also published books on medical education, toxicology, electrobiology, and the significance of mechanism in biology. (George H. Fried)