Timothy John Crow, OBE FMedSci[1] (7 June 1938 – 10 November 2024) was a British psychiatrist and researcher.[2] Much of his research was related to finding the causes of schizophrenia. He also had an interest in neurology and evolutionary theory. He was the Honorary Director of the Prince of Wales International Centre for Research into Schizophrenia and Depression. He qualified at the Royal London Hospital in 1964 and obtained a PhD at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1970. He was a fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Psychiatrists and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Crow was, for twenty years, Head of the Division of Psychiatry of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Research Centre at Northwick Park Hospital and then a member of the External Scientific Staff of the MRC in Oxford.
Tim Crow | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 June 1938 London, England |
| Died | 10 November 2024 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, researcher |
| Academic background | |
| Education | London University University of Aberdeen |
Research
editNeurobiology of reinforcement and motivation
editCrow worked in the Department of Physiology at University of Aberdeen in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where he conducted pharmacological and behavioural studies of reinforcement and self-stimulation in rats [3] for his Medical Research Council funded PhD: "Experiments on the central actions of the amphetamines with particular reference to the functions of catecholamine-containing neurones". He published a number of articles[4] [5] dissecting the role of the various catecholamines in reinforcement and motivation, and in 1973 was the first person to publish an article arguing for a key role for the neurotransmitter dopamine in 'incentive motivation'.[6] Crow's role as the first scientist to conceptually link dopamine to incentive motivation has been acknowledged by Berridge [7] and by Robbins and Everitt.[8]
Psychosis and schizophrenia
editCrow's long term research interests were in the nature and causation of the major psychoses. These illnesses are characterised by the presence of delusions, hallucinations, and disorders of thinking[9] that generally start in early and middle adult life.[10] Encompassing schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis, these disorders are common, being diagnosed in around 2% of the population in the course of a lifetime, but with wide cultural variation.[11]
In the first CT scan study in 1976 Crow and colleagues at Northwick Park Hospital demonstrated that there are, on average, structural differences (e.g. a degree of enlargement of the cerebral ventricles) in individuals who have suffered from schizophrenia compared to healthy people.[12] Much subsequent work with MRI scans[13] and in post-mortem brain studies[14] has confirmed this and suggests that the differences are in the cerebral cortex and are particularly related to the subtle asymmetries that are characteristic of the human cortex.[15] Crow has also demonstrated that people with schizophrenia show less left-sided dominance for some components of language.[16]
In the 1980s, Crow published an article[17], focusing on the classification of the symptoms of the disease rather than focusing on patients, that became a breakthrough in the field of research on schizophrenia.[18] He also introduced the idea of two syndromes of schizophrenia one based on positive symptoms and the other on negative symptoms[19], which contributed to an understanding of the cognitive nature of schizophrenia.[20]
Death
editCrow died from complications of Parkinson's disease on 10 November 2024, at the age of 86.[21]
References
edit- ^ "New Year's Honours 2018" (PDF). Gov.uk. Government Digital Service. 29 December 2017. p. 26. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Reader, W and Workman, L (2023). Evolutionary Psychology: the Basics. Cambridge University Press. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-521-80532-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Crow, T J (1969). "Mode of Enhancement of Self Stimulation in Rats by Methamphetamine". Nature. 224: 709–710. doi:10.1038/224709a0.
- ^ Anlezark, G M; Crow, T J; Greenway, A P (1973). "Impaired Learning and Decreased Cortical Norephrine after Bilateral Locus Coeruleus Lesions". Science. 181: 682–684.
- ^ Crow, T J; Arbuthnott, G W (1972). "Function of Catecholamine-containing Neurones in Mammalian Central Nervous System". Nature New Biology. 238: 245–246.
- ^ Crow, T J (1973). "Catecholamine-containing neurones and electrical self-stimulation. 2. A theoretical interpretation and some psychiatric implications". Psychol Med. 3 (1): 66–73. doi:10.1017/s0033291700046353. PMID 4692492.
- ^ Berridge, K C (2007). "The debate over dopamine's role in reward: the case for incentive salience". Psychopharmacology. 191: 391–431. doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0578-x. PMID 17072591.
- ^ Robbins, T W (2007). "A role for mesencephalic dopamine in activation: commentary on Berridge". Psychopharmacology. 191: 433–437. doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0528-7. PMID 16977476.
- ^ Ban, T A (2001). "Evolution of Diagnostic Criteria in Psychoses". Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 3: 257–263.
- ^ Solmi, M; Radua, J; Olivola, M; Croce, E (2022). "Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies". Molecular Psychiatry. 27: 281–295.
- ^ Jongsma, H E; Gayer-Anderson, C; Lasalvia, A (2018). "Treated Incidence of Psychotic Disorders in the Multinational EU-GEI Study". JAMA Psychiatry. 75: 36–46.
- ^ Johnstone, E; Crow, TJ; Frith, CD; Husband, J; Kreel, L. "Cerebral ventricular size and cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia". Lancet. 2(7992): 924–926. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(76)90890-4.
- ^ Iliuta, F P; Manea, M C; Budisteanu, M; Ciobanu, A M; Manea, M (2021). "Magnetic resonance imaging in schizophrenia:luxury or necessity? (Review)". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. 22: 765–770.
- ^ Harrison, P J (2000). "Postmortem Studies in Schizophrenia". Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 2: 349–357.
- ^ Crow, T J (1997). "Schizophrenia as failure of hemispheric dominance for language". Trends in Neurosciences. 20 (8). Elsevier: 339–343. doi:10.1016/s0166-2236(97)01071-0. ISSN 0166-2236. PMID 9246721. S2CID 208787124.
- ^ Angrilli, A; Spironelli, C; Elbert, T; Crow, T J; Marano, G; Stegagno, L (2009). "Schizophrenia as failure of left hemispheric dominance for the phonological component of language". PLoS One. 4: e4507.
- ^ Crow, TJ (1980). "Positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms and the role of dopamine". British Journal of Psychiatry. 137: 383–386.
- ^ McKenna, P.J., P.J.; Oh, T.M. (2008). Schizophrenic Speech. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University press. ISBN 978-0521009058.
- ^ Crow, T.J. (1980). "Molecular pathology of schizophrenia: more than one disease process?". British Medical Journal. 280(6207): 66–68.
- ^ Frith, C D (2015). The cognitive neuropsychology of schizophrenia. Psychology Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9781317608295.
- ^ "Professor Tim Crow obituary: pioneering psychiatric researcher". The Times. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
External links
edit- Professor Tim Crow, on the Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research Website