History Of Neuroscience In Brief

The history of neuroscience began many, many years ago. In the 400s before the beginning of time, the Crotonian of Alkmaion was dissecting an animal when he found its optic nerve. This discovery led him to develop a theory of how thoughts and emotions inhabit the brain. In response to this relatively modern theory, Aristotle refrained from the old belief that human intellectual processes took place in the heart. Aristotle (and many of his contemporaries) believed that the brain was only responsible for cooling the blood overheated by the heart.

Later, Hippocrates developed a humorous theory. He suggested that people’s physical health and illness were based on the balance of the four fluids in the body. According to Hippocrates, an imbalance in the amounts of these fluids led to illness or changes in personality. The Greek physician and philosopher Claudios Galenos did not support this humoral theory: he argued that the brain was responsible for the processing of emotions and memory.

Between 1630 and 1650, Rene Descartes developed a mechanistic theory. He also wrote about the dichotomy of mind and body, according to which the brain was responsible for behavior. In addition to this, he believed that the pineal gland was the link between these two dimensions. This is how he became a pioneer in this brain-brain dispute that still plagues neuroscientists today.

Neuroscience in the 19th century

Localism

In 1808, Gall published an article on phrenology. He claimed that the brain had its own areas for each process of the mind. This theory of localism caused scientists to focus more and more on the brain in the study of mental processes. One of the results of the study was that Brodmann described 52 areas of the brain and related mental processes.

Scientists also believed that the development of certain skills and abilities was associated with an increase in the size of the corresponding brain area. From this began the notion of the brain as a dynamic organ that was able to adapt its physical structure to the demands of the environment while still saving enough space for key skills.

All of these theories led to the belief that a person’s intellectual and moral abilities could be identified directly from the size and shape of the skull (naturally, scientists at the time did not have the current brain imaging technology).

Connectivism

In 1861, Pierre Paul Broca lectured at an event of the Paris Anthropological Society on a patient who had suffered a head injury. The patient had lost his ability to speak, but was still able to understand what other people were talking about. For the scientific community, this was the first evidence of a relationship between the brain and language. This particular area of ​​the brain was later named the Broca area.

In 1874, Carl Wernicke made a similar discovery. Some of his patients were able to speak but did not understand the speech. This led to a new perspective called connectivism . This theory argued that only the most rudimentary functions are restricted to specific brain regions, whereas more complex functions resulted from interactions between different brain regions.

In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus wrote the first publications from memory. In his essays, he described the evaluation methods that are still used today. Shortly thereafter, in 1891, the term “neuron” was coined thanks to the work of Santiago Ramón de Cajal.

History of neuroscience in the 20th century

The world wars of the early 20th century influenced the development of neuroscience. World War I left behind many dead but also many wounded.

Thousands of patients had neurological damage that multiplied the need for neurological rehabilitation. More research was needed on the brain and neurological problems. During World War II, neuroscience became established as a branch of science. At that time, prominent neuroscience scientists, including Alexander Romanovich Luria, developed significant neuropsychological therapies.

In 1962, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched a neuroscience research program called the Neuroscience Research Program . The goal of the program was to bring together experts in behavioral sciences and neurology from universities around the world. They held weekly meetings, conferences, and debates that led to special training programs.

This collaboration gave rise to the Society for Neuroscience, founded in Washington in 1969. It remains the world’s largest neuroscience community; it has about 37,000 members. It is a global focal point for advances in neuroscience, with an annual meeting that regularly brings together more than 30,000 participants.

Thanks to the efforts of these organizations and the successful collaboration of various disciplines, in 1990 the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council published a report entitled “The Decade of the Brain: Responses through Scientific Research” . The report brought together fourteen categories of little-studied neurological disorders and served as an impetus for the heyday of neuroscience research.

The 21st century and the future history of neuroscience

In 2002, researchers launched the Blue Brain project, hoping to create a simulation of mammalian brains at the molecular level to study their structure. Countries from all over the world participated in this exciting project.

In 2013, Barack Obama announced the launch of a new project called BRAIN. This project is similar to the Human Genome Project, a project that studies human genetic heritage. The goal is to develop a detailed and dynamic map of the human brain. The United States tentatively invested $110 million in it. This is a great new project for the United States and at the same time a tool that they hope will lead brain research in the future.

But Europe has a small advantage in this area compared to the United States. At the same time that Obama unveiled the BRAIN project, an initiative was launched in Europe for a project called HUMAN BRAIN. The intention is to invest more than a billion euros in this project. The goal is to significantly advance our understanding of the human brain over the next ten years.

The history of neuroscience is fascinating. Scientists have made incredible leaps over the years, and our understanding of the human brain is more advanced than ever. But the increased interest and investment in human brain research means that there are still many amazing discoveries to come.