Peter Matthews (physiologist) explained

Peter Bryan Conrad Matthews (23 December 1928 – 2 March 2020) was a British physiologist who made particular contributions to the study of muscle spindles.^[1] He was elected as fellow of the Royal Society in 1973.^[2] He was the Professor of Sensorimotor Physiology at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Christ Church.

While in Oxford he worked on proprioception.^[3]

Biography

He was born in Cambridge to the physiologist Sir Bryan Harold Cabot Matthews and Rachel Eckhard. After schooling at King's College School, Cambridge he moved to Marlborough College in 1942.^[4] He then studied Natural Sciences at King's College, Cambridge, before moving to Oxford for studies in clinical medicine.

He married Margaret Blears, an autonomic physiologist. Margaret (Matthews) became a Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall; they had two children, including Hugh Matthews, a Reader in Sensory Physiology at the University of Cambridge.

In 1956 he was appointed University Demonstrator in the Department of Physiology, Oxford, Dr Lee’s Reader in Anatomy in 1958 and Official Student (Fellow) at Christ Church, then becoming a University Lecturer in 1961. He subsequently became a Professor of Sensorimotor Physiology in Oxford,^[5] known particularly for his work on muscle spindles.

Selected works

Monographs

• Book: Matthews . Peter . Mammalian muscle receptors and their central actions . 1972. Edward Arnold . London. 9780713141917.

Journal articles

• Matthews . P. B. C. . The differentiation of two types of fusimotor fibre by their effects on the dynamic response of muscle spindle primary endings . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology and Cognate Medical Sciences . 10 October 1962 . 47 . 4 . 324–333 . 10.1113/expphysiol.1962.sp001616. 13933877 .

Notes and References

1. Proske . Uwe . The discovery of two types of fusimotor fibre by Peter Matthews . Experimental Physiology . 1 January 2008 . 93 . 1 . 50–52 . 10.1113/expphysiol.2007.039099. 18165432 . 206366296 .
2. Web site: Peter Matthews Royal Society . royalsociety.org . 7 March 2020 . en-gb.
3. Book: Glickstein . Mitchell . Squire . Larry R. . The history of neuroscience in autobiography. Volume 5 . 2006 . Elsevier Academic Press . 9780080461915 . 339–340 . Mitchell Glickstein.
4. Banks . Bob . Obituary: Peter Bryan Conrad Matthews 1928 – 2020 . Physiology News. May 2020 . 118 . 49 . Spring 2020 . 10.36866/pn.118.49. 234696885 . free .
5. Web site: Peter B C Matthews FRS . www.dpag.ox.ac.uk . Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) . en.