ABSTRACT
Seymour Solomon Kety is best remembered for inventing a method for measuring cerebral blood flow, which helped lay the foundations for the development of functional brain scanning techniques and providing the first definitive evidence for the genetic basis of schizophrenia. Kety began to wonder if there was a way of measuring cerebral blood flow (CBF), which could be used in humans without surgical invasion. He was well aware that if such a method could be discovered, then it would also be useful in exploring the functions of the brain, along with the diagnosis of neurological or mental disorders. Kety used his new technique to measure blood flow in anaesthesia and sleep, along with various medical conditions such as hypertension, epilepsy and senile dementia. Kety also looked at the borderline symptoms of schizophrenia that were deemed to be much less severe forms of the illness.
