Freda Newcombe facts for kids

Freda Gladys Newcombe (1925–2001) was an important British scientist. She was a neuropsychologist, which means she studied how the brain affects our thoughts and actions. Freda helped create a field called cognitive neuropsychology. This area of study looks at how brain injuries can change the way people think, remember, and speak.

Freda was a fellow at Linacre College, Oxford, for many years. She also led the International Neuropsychological Society in 1985. Her work helped us understand the brain much better.

Freda's Education and Early Work

Freda Newcombe studied Psychology at the University of Manchester. She earned her first degree in 1946. After that, she trained to become a clinical psychologist in London.

Later, Freda moved to Greece and worked with an international welfare group. She helped people there for several years. In 1961, she came back to the United Kingdom.

Studying Brain Injuries

In 1963, Freda joined the University of Oxford. She worked with Professor William Ritchie Russell. Their job was to study British soldiers who had brain injuries. These injuries were caused by shrapnel during World War II.

Freda's research on these soldiers became her PhD project. She earned her PhD in 1966. Her studies showed how specific brain injuries could lead to certain thinking problems.

Discoveries and Research

Freda's research on the ex-servicemen was very important. In 1969, she wrote a book called Missile Wounds of the Brain. This book explained how different brain injuries affected people's thinking skills.

She always cared about the soldiers she studied. She continued to research how their brain injuries affected them as they got older. Freda was interested in both large groups of data and detailed studies of single cases.

Understanding Deep Dyslexia

One of her most famous cases was a man known as GR. He had a surprising problem with reading. When he saw the word 'canary', he might say 'parrot'. He would say a word with a similar meaning, but it sounded very different.

This type of reading problem is called deep dyslexia. It gave scientists a lot of information about how we read. Freda worked closely with John C. Marshall on this topic for many years.

Funding and Later Work

The Medical Research Council supported Freda's research until she retired in 1990. After retiring, she used money from her legal work to set up a special unit. This unit, called the Russell-Cairns Head Injury Unit, was at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford.

Personal Life

Freda Newcombe married David Ellis in 1971. Sadly, David passed away in 1981. In 1994, she married Sir Bryan Cartledge. He was the head of Linacre College at the time. Freda officially retired from her work in 1996.