Hagai Bergman
Israeli neurologist (born 1952)
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Through Science (journal)
Early life and education
Bergman was born in 1952, in Tel Aviv, Israel. He pursued his early education in physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he earned a B.Sc. in 1971 and an M.Sc. in 1973. He later transitioned to medicine and physiology, earning his M.D. in 1980 and a Ph.D. in physiology in 1986 from the same institution.
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Career
Bergman's research has significantly advanced our understanding of the basal ganglia's function and their implications in neurological diseases. His work has contributed to the development of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a therapeutic intervention for Parkinson's disease. Bergman's studies have provided insights into the neural mechanisms underlying motor control and the pathological processes leading to movement disorders.
Throughout his career, Bergman has received numerous awards, including the Rothschild Prize in Life Sciences in 2004, the EMET Prize in Life Sciences in 2013, the Rappaport prize in 2013, the International Prize for Translational Neuroscience by the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation in 2019 and the Israel Prize in 2024. His scientific discoveries have been covered by major international news publications including Scientific American, The Times of Israel.
Research contributions
Bergman's research has focused on several key areas:
- The role of the basal ganglia in normal and pathological motor control
- The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders
- The development and optimization of deep brain stimulation (DBS) techniques
His work has led to a deeper understanding of the neural circuits involved in motor control and has had a direct impact on the treatment strategies for Parkinson's disease. Bergman's pioneering studies have paved the way for novel therapeutic approaches, improving the quality of life for patients with movement disorders. While multiple works have contributed to our understanding of the basal ganglia, a key notable contribution may be seen in the paper with Thomas Wichmann and Mahlon DeLong, which was published in 1990 in Science. In it, the team lesioned the subthalamic nucleus in the MPTP primate model of Parkinson's Disease. At the time, lesions to this structure were avoided by neurosurgeons, since it was assumed these would lead to hemiballismus. However, in their experiment, Bergman and colleagues could show that lesioning the subthalamic nucleus led to sudden reversal of multiple cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, such as tremor. Their study ultimately led to the application of deep brain stimulation to the structure by the team of Alim Louis Benabid and Pierre Pollak in Grenoble. Since then, deep brain stimulation has been applied in over 200,000 patients and has led to significant improvements in motor function and quality of life in people living with Parkinson's Disease. Beyond clinical application, the study helped to empirically prove the theoretical predictions made by the Albin-DeLong model of the basal ganglia.