History of the Brain

Cerebellum and the brain stem The cerebellum controls essential body functions such as balance, posture and coordination, allowing humans to move properly and maintain their structure.

Limbic system The limbic system contains glands which help relay emotions. Many hormonal responses that the body generates are initiated in this area. The limbic system includes the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus.

Cerebral cortex Frontal lobe creative thought, problem solving, intellect, judgment, behavior, attention, abstract thinking, physical reactions, muscle movements, coordinated movements, smell and personality. Cerebral cortex Parietal lobe used to relay information from the sense of touch, including pain or pressure which is affecting different portions of the body. Occipital lobe The occipital lobe is divided into several functional visual areas. Each visual area contains a full map of the visual worldstimulus. Temporal lobe controls visual and auditory memories. It includes areas that help manage some speech and hearing capabilities, behavioral elements, and language.

Ancient Egyptian 17th century BC The hieroglyph for brain, occurring eight times in this papyrus, describes the symptoms, diagnosis, and prognosis of two patients, wounded in the head, who had compound fractures of the skull. Brain in hieroglyphs

Egyptian 3rd century BC Herophilus not only distinguished the cerebrum and the cerebellum, but provided the first clear description of the ventricles. Erasistratus used practical application by experimenting on the living brain.

Roman empire 2nd centuary The Greek anatomist Galen dissected the brains of sheep, monkeys, dogs, swine, among other non-human mammals. He concluded that, as the cerebellum was denser than the brain, it must control the muscles, while as the cerebrum was soft, it must be where the senses were processed. 

Renaissance 15th century Human cadaver dissection first came about during renaissance, although they were able describe in great detail, the structure of the brainstem, the cerebellum, the ventricles, and the cerebral hemispheres. They were unable to identify the function of the structures since they were not able to use alive patients in their studies. One of Leonardo da Vinci's sketches of the human skull

18th century Modern studies about the function of the brain came about during the 18th century, when the role of electricity in nerves was first observed in dissected frogs by Luigi Galvani. Studies of the brain became more sophisticated after the invention of the microscope and the development of a staining procedure by Camillo Golgi during the late 1890s that used a silver chromate salt to reveal the intricate structures of single neurons. In parallel with this research, work with brain- damaged patients by Paul Broca suggested that certain regions of the brain were responsible for certain functions

Modern era Broca's hypothesis was supported by observations of epileptic patients conducted by John Hughlings Jackson, who correctly deduced the organization of motor cortex by watching the progression of seizures through the body.  Carl Wernicke further developed the theory of the specialization of specific brain structures in language comprehension and production. Research in the modern era is assisted by the creation of CT and MRI scans in the 1970’s. Using these machines we are able to learn more about the function of different parts of the brain while patients were alive and relatively healthy.

Phineas gage His contractors, who regarded him as the most efficient and capable foreman in their employ previous to his injury, considered the change in his mind so marked that they could not give him his place again. He is fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity (which was not previously his custom), manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint of advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinaciously obstinent, yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operation, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible.

Computed Tomography (CT) . An x-ray assembly rotates around the patient's body the scanner produces images in thin slices which a computer reconstructs into sharp, three-dimensional (3D) images of the scanned body part.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Strong magnetic waves cause the alignment of protons. When the magnetic waves are switched off, the protons revert back to their original status giving out radio waves in the process which is recorded.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRi) The MRI and fMRI differ from each other in a way that the MRI views the anatomical structure while the fMRI views the metabolic function. An MRI studies the water molecule’s hydrogen nuclei whereas an fMRI calculates the levels of oxygen.