Chapter 1 Neuroscience: Past, Present, and Future

Introduction Various aspects of human nature Curiosity, pain, pleasure, movement, reasoning, learning, memory, emotion, and madness Neuroscience Study of the brain The Society for Neuroscience

Prehistoric ancestors Brain vital to life Skull surgeries Evidence: Trepanation Skulls show signs of healing Views of ancient Egypt Heart: Seat of soul and memory (not the head)

Views of the Brain: Ancient Greece Correlation between structure and function Hippocrates Brain: Involved in sensation; seat of intelligence

Hippocrates (460-379 B.C.E.) – first ascribed to the brain the role of the organ of sensation.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) – felt the heart was the center of intellect and believed the brain was more a “radiator” to cool the body.

Galen (130-200 A.D.) – Greek physician who tried to deduce function of the brain from structure of the cerebrum and cerebellum. He put forth a model for brain function that was the start of the fluid-mehcanical theory.

Views of the Brain: The Roman Empire Views of Greek physician Galen Cerebrum Cerebellum Ventricles

Views of the Brain: The Renaissance The brain as a machine Fluid-mechanical theory of brain function Philosophical mind-brain problem

Andreas Vesalius – publishes On the Workings of the Human Body in 1543

Another example of one of his drawings.

Rene’ Descartes – (1596-1650) one of the most important Western philosophers and scientists who promoted the idea of the brain function occurring via the fluid-mechanical theory

Benjamin Franklin publishes Experiments and Observations on Electricity in 1751. His notions on electricity paved the way for a new theory of neural function.

These two researchers were responsible for determining the interaction Luigi Galvani Emil du Bois-Reymond These two researchers were responsible for determining the interaction between electricity and the brain.

Francois Magendie Charles Bell These two conducted experiments that answered the question on whether the movement in a nerve was bidirectional or unidirectional.

Views of the Brain: The Nineteenth Century Nerve as wires, understanding of electrical phenomena, nervous system can generate electricity Bell and Magendie: Dorsal and ventral roots carry information in opposite directions

Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) was the founder of phrenology.

Gall described the concept of phrenology. Franz Joseph Gall Paul Broca Gall described the concept of phrenology. Broca first identified a region of the cerebrum being associated with function.

Charles Darwin – his theory of natural selection helped to explain the growth and development of the brain.

Evolution of the Nervous System Natural selection Nervous systems of different species may share common mechanisms Rationale for “animal models”

Theodor Schwann proposed the cell theory… Theodor Schwann proposed the cell theory…. ALL TISSUES ARE COMPOSED OF CELLS

Otto Deiters (1865) – identified the major parts of the neuron and predicted the communication and interactionbetween the axon and dendrites.

Neuroscience Today Reductionist approach Levels of analysis Molecular Cellular Systems Behavioral Cognitive

Levels of Analysis can be applied to Neuroscience

The Use of Animals in Neuroscience Research Animals: Renewable natural resources The more basic the process under investigation, the more distant the evolutionary relationship with humans Examples (from simple to more complex) - nematodes, insects, snails, squid, rodents, monkeys, etc. Animal rights Philosophy Abolition of animal use Animal rights activists

The Neuroscientist -Education, Training, Research experience -Clinical vs. Experimental research

The Cost of Ignorance: Nervous System Disorders