1Brenda Atkinson Milner is a neuropsychologist who dedicated her studies to neuropsychology, a combination of neurology and psychology. If you were ever enrolled in a Biology 30 class, you would have learned about the medial temporal lobe, which Dr. Milner had discovered. She discovered that the medial temporal lobe plays an essential role in forming long-term memories. She also famously completed a study on the effects of temporal lobe damage in humans. Her work and observations have contributed greatly to the scientific understanding of brain function as well as the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.
She graduated from Cambridge University and received her Ph.D. from McGill University. After graduating, Dr. Milner continued her research at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where she conducted many of the famous studies that we know of today. She began researching how blindness leads people to use touch to form their understanding of the external world. She also dedicated her work to discover the effects of brain surgeries on behaviour.
Dr. Milner also discovered the intellectual effects of brain injuries, which came from her observation of patients with frontal lobe damage. She found the brain damage has caused major changes in the patient’s ability to learn, language function, and problem-solving skills. Both the left frontal and temporal lobe damage has led to cause challenges with language interpretation, although the injuries did not impact intelligence levels. As a pioneer of neuropsychology, Dr. Milner was awarded various honors for her work. Some of these awards include the Wilder Penfield Prize for Biomedical Research, National Academy of Sciences Award in Neurosciences, Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and Medal for Exceptional Academic Achievement at McGill University.
She continues to attract many students from around the world who are continuing their study of neuropsychology in Canada. Commonly called the “founder of neuropsychology,” the work of Dr. Milner continues to inspire and serve as the backbone of many researchers’ studies today. She is a prominent figure and leader in the field of STEM, with many young scientists aspiring to follow in her footsteps in the field of neuropsychology.
References:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/brenda-milner
https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/milner-brenda-atkinson-1918
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Milner