The first Kavli Prize for neuroscience was awarded to three scientists who have revealed some of the details of how the brain and spinal cord develop and operate. The winners, Sten Grillner (left) of Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Thomas Jessell (center) of Columbia University and Pasko Rakic (right) of Yale University School of Medicine, learned May 28 by telephone that they would share the honor and $1 million in prize money.

Formally the scientists were cited “for discoveries on the development and functional logic of neuronal circuits.”

Rakic and his team injected rhesus monkey fetuses with radioactivity in order to trace the path of individual neurons as the cells were born, migrated and finally integrated into the circuits of the brain. “I’m grateful for the prize,” Rakic said in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday, but noted that he had not worked out brain development on his own. “I’m sharing it with my colleagues and with my students with whom I argue and discuss.”

Grillner’s work on spinal cords taken from lamprey eels shows how neural circuits control movement and behavior.

Jessell studies the molecules that guide development of the spinal cord and coordinate movements. Recently, his work has included using stem cells to repair spinal cords injuries.

“I find myself nestled between these two giants,” Jessell said of the relationship of his work to his co-winners. “Even though we’ve worked in different parts of the world, there’s a continuity to what we’ve done.”

- Tina Hesman Saey

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