Meyer, Alfred (1895-1990)

German-born British neuropathologist. His most significant work was on the anatomical aspects of frontal leucotomy, and the nature of the structural abnormalities in the brain associated with temporal-lobe epilepsy. Meyer was born in Krefeld. His successful early career was threatened by the rise of the Nazis, and he escaped to the UK in 1933, beginning work at the Maudsley Hospital, London. His study of frontal leucotomy led to a classic book on the subject with Elizabeth Beck, published 1954; and he undertook pioneering work on the pathology of epilepsy while professor of neuropathology at the Institute of Psychiatry.