Robert W. Doty

An image showing the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Doty's research contributed to the understanding of hemispheric functions.thumb Robert W. Doty (January 10, 1920 – January 14, 2011) was an American neuroscientist who contributed to the understanding of the separate functions of the cerebral hemispheres, discovered light sensitive luxotonic cells, and helped to found the Society for Neuroscience, serving as its president from 1975 to 1976.

Early life Robert W. Doty was born in New Rochelle, New York on January 10, 1920. He grew up in Illinois and graduated from Austin High School in Chicago in February 1937 with a diploma in history. He met his wife Elizabeth Natalie Jusewich while attending night school, and they married on August 30, 1941.

Doty was drafted into the army during World War II. He graduated from Officer Candidate School on April 2, 1943, and was then transferred into the Transportation Corps. He was relieved of active duty on August 9, 1946, and moved to Chicago with his wife . He worked there until 1955, when he moved to the University of Michigan, and then moved from Michigan to the University of Rochester in 1961, where he would remain for the rest of his career. At Rochester, he founded a Center for Brain Research and later a Center for Visual Science.

Doty's most well known research contributed to the understanding of the separate but coordinated functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. His discovery of cells in the brain with very high sensitivity to the intensity of light, luxotonic cells, now known to be linked to the dilation of the pupils, maintenance of the body's circadian rhythm, His work established the basis for our understanding of cross hemisphere memory encoding and recall.

Other research he conducted includes investigation into the structure and response to stimuli in the striate cortex of macaque monkeys, and a variety of behavioral experiments using electrical stimulation of areas in the brains of cats.