Turaga Desiraju (1935–1992; Machilipatnam,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

) was an Indian neurophysiologist and a professor at

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences is a medical institution in Bangalore, India. NIMHANS is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country. It is an Institute of National Importance operates ...

(NIMHANS). He was associated with

AIIMS Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Minis ...

before joining NIMHANS and founded the Department of Neurophysiology at NIMHANS in 1975. He was known for his neurophysiological studies on sleep and wakefulness and his extensive studies on the activities of cerebral cortex helped to widen the understanding of conscious behaviour. Desiraju's studies on the neuron-physiology of

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and theories of consciousness were the corner stones of Project Consciousness, an experimental project promoted by NIMHANS which incorporated Yoga practices. He was the editor of ''Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology'' and was an elected fellow of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the l ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1980.

Selected bibliography

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