Brain Electricity: The Interwoven History of Electricity and Neuroscience

Robert W. Baloh is well known as a leader in the field of neurotology. After completing his Neurological training at UCLA in 1972, he joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine with a joint appointment in Neurology and Head and Neck Surgery in 1973. Baloh became Professor in 1982, Distinguished Professor in 2002 and Emeritus professor in 2021. Author of 14 books, over 350 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and over 100 book chapters, he is a pioneer in the study of the vestibular system: the inner ear/brain system which helps people to maintain their sense of balance and spatial awareness. He has trained more than 40 fellows who are now leaders in the field of vestibular research. Baloh also has a longstanding interest in the history of neurology and has written extensively on the subject. Among his many honors, Baloh received the Hallpike/Nylen Prize at the Bárány Society Meeting in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1992 and had an international Dizziness and Balance Symposium in his honor at the 2014 American Academy of Neurology meeting in Philadelphia. His book Clinical Neurophysiology of the Vestibular System written with Vicente Honrubia, is currently in the fourth edition and is the standard in the field. His other books include Dizziness, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus: The Essentials of Neurotology (1984), Neurotology (1994), Dizziness: Why Do You Feel Dizzy and What Will Help You Feel Better (with Greg Whitman, 2016), and Vertigo: Five Physician Scientists and the Quest for a Cure (2017). Recently, he became interested in the boundary between neurology and psychology with the publication of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria (with Robert Bartholomew, 2020) and Medically Unexplained Symptoms: A Brain-Centered Approach (2021). Most recently he published a book about exercise and brain health in 2022.