Elliot Valenstein

Valenstein, Elliot 12/9/1923 - 1/12/2023 Ann Arbor Elliot S. Valenstein died on January 12, 2023. Born December 9, 1923 in Manhattan, he remembered the George Washington Bridge being built and the ice man hauling a frosty block up four flights of stairs into his parents' apartment, an iron tong braced on his shoulder. Emerging from a matinee showing of the much talked about new Orson Welles' film, Citizen Kane, Elliot learned that Pearl Harbor had been bombed while he was in the theater. Two days later, he turned eighteen and shortly thereafter enlisted in the Army, spending WWII in the jungles of Burma (Myanmar) and western China. With the war over, he returned to his Inwood neighborhood and met his future wife Thelma, to whom he would be married for 73 years. He graduated from City College of New York, completed a PhD program in experimental psychology at the University of Kansas, and enjoyed a distinguished career as a neuroscientist, using brain stimulation in animals and other techniques to enhance our understanding of motivation, emotion, and behavior. Dr. Valenstein was Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Michigan. He was the author of more than 160 scientific articles and ten books, several of which have been translated into different languages. These books include BRAIN CONTROL, an account of man's attempts to control his own brain; GREAT AND DESPERATE CURES, the award-winning history of psychosurgery; BLAMING THE BRAIN, a critical examination of chemical theories for mental illness; and the highly-praised history of the discovery of neurotransmitters, THE WAR OF THE SOUPS AND THE SPARKS. His book JAI HIND: THE AMAZING LIFE OF SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE is based on experiences he had serving in China, Burma, and India during World War II. His last book, BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN. PSYCHOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE , AND POLITICS IN THE SOVIET UNION, describes his work in science laboratories in the Soviet Union in 1961. Elliot's wife Thelma predeceased him by 2 years. He is survived by two sons (Paul and Carl), two daughters-in-law (Marcia and Susan), 4 grandchildren (Clara, Helen, Max, Laura), 4 great grandchildren, and numerous doctoral students and postgraduate fellows, many of whom have gone on to have their own distinguished careers. Donations can be made to the University of Michigan Valenstein Colloquium Fund at https://donate.umich.edu/wAMvQ