Any understanding of Peter, and his motivation to figure out how the human brain develops and can go awry in disease, requires delving into his childhood and the lives of his parents. Peter was particularly inspired by his mother, who was guided by the “need to be good” and spoke out against Nazism while most people remained silent. Peter’s mother, Else Lamparter, was born in 1904 in Ohringen, a medieval village in the rolling hills of southwest Germany. As an only child, she was doted on by her parents and her “Uncle” Uhle. Her family ran an expediting business transporting luggage and goods from the local rail station. As a child, Peter visited his grandparents in the summers and helped his soft-spoken grandfather with the horses and carts as they travelled through the hilly cobbled streets of Ohringen. The Lamparter family had large, lively social gatherings with family and friends, which were documented in the many family photographs.