Gabriel Anton (28 July 1858 – 3 January 1933) was an Austrian

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. He is primarily remembered for his studies of psychiatric conditions arising from damage to the

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...

and the

basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an extern ...

Academic career

He was a native of

Saaz Saaz may refer to: *Saaz, the former German name of Žatec, a town in the Czech Republic **Saaz hops, a hop variety used in production of pilsener style beer **DSV Saaz, a former football club in Žatec * ''Saaz'' (film), a 1998 Indian film * Saaz ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, and in 1882 received his medical doctorate at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 1887 he traveled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in order to work with

Theodor Meynert Theodor Hermann Meynert (15 June 1833 – 31 May 1892) was a German-Austrian psychiatrist, neuropathologist and anatomist born in Dresden. Meynert believed that disturbances in brain development could be a predisposition for psychiatric illness an ...

(1833–1892), who was to become an important influence to Anton's medical career. In 1891 he moved to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, where he served as an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the university clinic. Later (1894), he relocated to the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

as a full professor of psychiatry, and in 1905 succeeded

Karl Wernicke Carl (or Karl) Wernicke (; ; 15 May 1848 – 15 June 1905) was a German physician, anatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He is known for his influential research into the pathological effects of specific forms of encephalopathy and also ...

(1848–1905) at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

Contributions

Anton is remembered for his pioneer contributions in the field of

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

. In collaboration with

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s Friedrich Gustav von Bramann (1854–1913) and

Viktor Schmieden Viktor Schmieden (19 January 1874 – 11 October 1945) was a German surgeon born in Berlin. In 1897 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Bonn, and subsequently worked in hospitals in Göttingen, Berlin and Bonn. Later he was ...

(1874–1945), he proposed new procedures for treatment of

hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased intracranial pressure, pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor ...

. These included the "Balkenstich method" and the " suboccipital puncture". Along with neurologist

Joseph Babinski Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski ( pl, Józef Julian Franciszek Feliks Babiński; 17 November 1857 – 29 October 1932) was a French- Polish professor of neurology. He is best known for his 1896 description of the Babinski sign, a pathologi ...

(1857–1932), the

Anton–Babinski syndrome Anton syndrome, also known as Anton's blindness and visual anosognosia, is a rare symptom of brain damage occurring in the occipital lobe. Those who have it are cortically blind, but affirm, often quite adamantly and in the face of clear evidenc ...

is named. Anton provided a detailed description and explanation of visual

anosognosia Anosognosia is a condition in which a person with a disability is cognitively unaware of having it due to an underlying physical or psychological (e.g., PTSD, Stockholm syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia) condition. Anosognosia c ...

and asomatoagnosia associated with the disorder.NCBI:
Considerations on the work of the neuropsychiatrist Gabriel Anton (1858–1933) Asomatoagnosia is a rare phenomenon where a patient is in denial of a body part. With

Paul Ferdinand Schilder Paul Ferdinand Schilder (February 15, 1886, Vienna – December 7, 1940, New York City) was an Austrian psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and medical researcher. Neurological research work (in both neurophysiology and neuropathology), coupled with a ...

(1886–1940), he performed investigations of movements in patients with

chorea Chorea (or choreia, occasionally) is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias. The term ''chorea'' is derived from the grc, χορεία ("dance"; see choreia), as the quick movement ...

and

athetosis Athetosis is a symptom characterized by slow, involuntary, convoluted, writhing movements of the fingers, hands, toes, and feet and in some cases, arms, legs, neck and tongue. Movements typical of athetosis are sometimes called ''athetoid'' moveme ...

. In his research of chorea, he identified scars in the lenticular nuclei.

Decorations and awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

, 2nd class * Red Cross Medal, 3rd class * Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

(1911) * Professor emeritus (1926)

Selected publications

* ''Störungen im Oberflächenwachstum des menschlichen Grosshirns''. Zeitschrift für Heilkunde, Prague, 1888. * ''Hydrocephalus und Gehirndruck''. Medizinische Jahrbücher, Vienna, 1889. - Hydrocephalus and "brain pressure". * ''Über angeborene Erkrankungen des Centralnervensystems'', Vienna, 1890 - On congenital diseases of the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

. * ''Über die Selbstwahrnehmung der Herderkrankungen durch den Kranken bei Rindenblindheit und Rindentaubheit''. In: Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten. Bd. 32. 1899, S. 86 - On the self-perception of focal lesions in patients with

cortical blindness Cortical blindness is the total or partial loss of vision in a normal-appearing eye caused by damage to the brain's occipital cortex. Cortical blindness can be acquired or congenital, and may also be transient in certain instances. Acquired cortic ...

and

cortical deafness Cortical deafness is a rare form of sensorineural hearing loss caused by damage to the primary auditory cortex. Cortical deafness is an auditory disorder where the patient is unable to hear sounds but has no apparent damage to the anatomy of the ea ...

. * ''Über den Ausdruck der Gemütsbewegung beim gesunden und kranken Menschen''. Psych Wschr, 1900; 2: 165–169. (Anton–Babinski syndrome) * ''Vier Vorträge über Entwicklungsstörungen beim Kinde''.

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, 1908. - Four lectures on

developmental disorder Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Di ...

s in children. * ''Über krankhafte moralische Abartung im Kindesalter und über den Heilwert der Affekte''. with Fritz Gustav Bramann (1854–1913). Halle 1910. * ''Behandlung der angeborenen und erworbenen Gehirnkrankheiten mit Hilfe des Balkenstiches''. with Fritz Gustav Bramann. Berlin 1913. - Treatment of congenital and acquired diseases of the brain with the help of the Balkenstich.

References

''Gabriel Anton''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an article on Gabriel Anton from the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Anton, Gabriel 1858 births 1933 deaths People from Žatec Austrian neuroscientists German Bohemian people University of Graz alumni Academics of the University of Graz Charles University faculty University of Vienna alumni Academics of the University of Innsbruck Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class