Patrick David Wall
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Patrick David Wall (25 April 1925 – 8 August 2001) was a British neuroscientist described as 'the world's leading expert on
pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
' and best known for the gate control theory of pain.


Early life and education

Wall was born in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
on 25 April 1925 to Thomas Wall, the director of education for
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, and his wife Ruth Cresswell. He was educated at
St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , he ...
and the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, studying medicine at
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, where he became interested in pain. He published his first two papers, in the prominent science journals ''
Brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
'' and ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
'', at the age of 21. While at Oxford he had also helped found the British Medical Students' Journal, partially to help campaign for the introduction of the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS). He graduated in 1948, by which time he had published three papers in prominent science journals.


Career and research

After graduating, he spent a short time treating holocaust survivors and refugees in mainland Europe, and then moved to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where he took up a position as an instructor at the
Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...
investigating the use of
lobotomies A lobotomy, or leucotomy, is a form of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy) that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The surgery causes most of the connections to ...
as a method of controlling depression. Wall remained as an instructor until 1950, when he was offered a position as an assistant professor at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. He moved again in 1953 to serve as an instructor at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and again in 1957 to work as an associate professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. He was promoted to full professor in 1960, and while at the Institute met
Ronald Melzack Ronald Melzack (July 19, 1929 – December 22, 2019) was a Canadian psychologist and professor of psychology at McGill University. In 1965, he and Patrick David Wall revolutionized pain research by introducing the gate control theory of pain. ...
, who was to become a long-time collaborator. At Melzack's urging they wrote a paper on the Gate control theory of pain and published it in ''Brain'' in 1962; according to Wall it was read by around three people. After expanding and rewriting the article they republished it as ''Pain Mechanisms: a new theory'' in ''Science'' in 1965 where it drew wider attention, with mostly negative comments. The paper was looked at in a new light after Wall collaborated with Bill Sweet to produce the Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator, developed along the lines of the theory. The effective working of the device validated Wall and Melzack's paper, and Wall gained acclaim as a leading neuroscientist. In 1965 he published TRIO - The Revolting Intellectuals' Organisation, a thriller novel. In 1973 he acted as the scientific study officer for the launch of the
International Association for the Study of Pain The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is an international learned society promoting research, education, and policies for the understanding, prevention, and treatment of pain. IASP was founded in 1973 under the leadership of ...
, and subsequently acted as the first editor of its medical journal, ''
Pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
''.


Return to UK

In 1967 he returned to Britain due to threats from the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
that refusal to disclose the political affiliations of his research group could jeopardise his funding, and took up a position as Professor of Anatomy at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, under JZ Young. While there he was given the nickname of "Mr Pat". Thanks to his reputation as a neuroscientist the laboratories at UCL attracted a large number of students and researchers, and his lectures were well received by both students and fellow lecturers. In 1972 he travelled to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and subsequently held a chair at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, where he taught for several months a year. In 1982 he published ''The Challenge of Pain'' with Melzack followed by a second collaboration a year later with '' The Textbook of Pain'', which is currently in its sixth edition. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Physicians in 1984 and the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1989; by this point he had been repeatedly short-listed for a
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
. His left-wing views and the enemies that came with them were an apparent reason for his overdue election as a Fellow of the Royal Society, along with the society's reluctance to elect medical officials. He was awarded the Sherrington Medal of the
Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...
in 1988, and in 1992 he was also elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Anaesthesiologists. He retired the same year and continued experimental research at
St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of King's College London. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in London, ...
. In 1999 he was awarded the
Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...
'in recognition of his fundamental contributions to our knowledge of the somatosensory system and, in particular, pain mechanisms'.


Personal life

Wall was married three times; first to Betty Tucker on 10 August 1950, an artist and poet whom he divorced in 1973, second to Vera Ronnen on 26 August 1976, an artist from Jerusalem whom he also divorced and finally to Mary McLellan on 6 May 1999. Wall was a chain-smoker, and enjoyed bird-watching outside of his work, although he preferred not to talk about his personal life. An exception to this was politics; Wall was fervently left-wing, and had set up various student and other organisations to support various causes. In 1996 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after collapsing while on holiday in
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
. After treatment he went into remission, which held for five years; the cancer returned in 2001, and after a kidney operation on 2 August he discharged himself on 8 August so he could die at home. While suffering from cancer he had published the book ''Pain: The Science of Suffering''. His body was left for medical dissection.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wall, Patrick David 1925 births 2001 deaths Royal Medal winners British neuroscientists Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at St Paul's School, London Harvard University faculty Yale School of Medicine faculty University of Chicago faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty 20th-century British medical doctors