The Birth of Modern Neuroscience in Turin


Book Description

"In the early 18th century, Piedmontese intellectuals and scientists were keen on dialoguing with colleagues and academic institutions across the Alps. They had a truly cosmopolitan approach to research and its dissemination. Physicians were particularly active, and ideas started to circulate. Turin and Piedmont found themselves within a network connecting the most important European capitals, but also their scientific societies and the universities. This stimulating environment was further enriched by the growth of the civil society: new academies were funded and scientific works were published. These became the pillars of a renewed 'cosmopolitan spirit'. During the second half of the century, exchanges among academic institution and societies, but also friendships and personal contacts (sometimes even occasional) favoured the 'process of Europeanisation' (and of 'deprovincialization') of Piedmontese culture and its medicine. This process was defined and described by Vincenzo Ferrone, an historian of the Enlightenment. As a result, Turin joined the league of other European capitals, such as Paris, Berlin and Saint Petersburg (Ferrone, 1988). This became especially evident under Victor Amadeus II, were rationalisation programmes against myths and false beliefs flourished"--




The Birth of Modern Neuroscience in Turin


Book Description

"In the early 18th century, Piedmontese intellectuals and scientists were keen on dialoguing with colleagues and academic institutions across the Alps. They had a truly cosmopolitan approach to research and its dissemination. Physicians were particularly active, and ideas started to circulate. Turin and Piedmont found themselves within a network connecting the most important European capitals, but also their scientific societies and the universities. This stimulating environment was further enriched by the growth of the civil society: new academies were funded and scientific works were published. These became the pillars of a renewed 'cosmopolitan spirit'. During the second half of the century, exchanges among academic institution and societies, but also friendships and personal contacts (sometimes even occasional) favoured the 'process of Europeanisation' (and of 'deprovincialization') of Piedmontese culture and its medicine. This process was defined and described by Vincenzo Ferrone, an historian of the Enlightenment. As a result, Turin joined the league of other European capitals, such as Paris, Berlin and Saint Petersburg (Ferrone, 1988). This became especially evident under Victor Amadeus II, were rationalisation programmes against myths and false beliefs flourished"--




Brain Renaissance


Book Description

Brain Renaissance: From Vesalius to Modern Neuroscience is published on the 500th anniversary of the birth and the 450th anniversary of the death of Vesalius. The authors translated those Latin chapters of the Fabrica dedicated to the brain, a milestone in the history of neuroscience. Many chapters are accompanied by a commentary tracking the discoveries that paved the way to our modern understanding of the brain - from the pineal gland that regulates sleep, the fornix and mammillary bodies for memory, the colliculi for auditory and visual perception, and the cerebellum for motor control, to the corpus callosum for interhemispheric cross-talk, the neural correlates of senses, and the methods for dissections. The chapters constitute a primer for those interested in the brain and history of neuroscience. The translation, written with modern anatomical terminology in mind, provides direct access to Vesalius' original work on the brain. Those interested in reading the words of the Renaissance master will find the book an invaluable addition to their Vesalian collection. Brain Renaissance pays a tribute to the work of the pioneers of neuroscience and to the lives of those with brain disorders, through whose suffering most discoveries are made. It's an unforgettable journey inspired by the work of the great anatomist, whose words still resonate today.




The Neurosciences: Paths of Discovery, I


Book Description

To commemorate properly the 70th birthday of a man who, by his very nature, is too busy to pause for any kind of ceremonial event unless it has a concomitant functional output was a difficult problem for the Staff and Associates of the Neurosciences Research Program. Frank (F. O. S. ) has always dreaded the prospect that sometime it might be appropriate for his colleagues to present him a Fest schrift. In fact, "Fest me no Schriften" became his battle cry, expressing his feeling that the idea of testimonials clustered into a book was anathema. So the "break through" idea for the planners was to organize a symposium around the theme of discovery in neuroscience that would be valuable scientifically and, in its demon stration of interdisciplinary interaction, would support that emphasis in Frank's career. After much planning a program was developed, beginning with a birthday party the evening before, followed by the two-day symposium, and closing with the first F. O. Schmitt Lecture in Neuroscience. We hope that publication of the scientific proceedings in this volume will be of interest not only to the neuroscience community, but also to a broad general readership interested in discovery, under standing, and the creative processes in scientific work. An organizing committee, chaired by Fred Worden, collected advice and guidance leading to the selection of speakers whose scientific careers have played an important part in the recent history of modern neuroscience.




Creating Modern Neuroscience


Book Description

For modern scientists, history often starts with last week's journals and is regarded as largely a quaint interest compared with the advances of today. However, this book makes the case that, measured by major advances, the greatest decade in the history of brain studies was mid-twentieth century, especially the 1950s. The first to focus on worldwide contributions in this period, the book ranges through dozens of astonishing discoveries at all levels of the brain, from DNA (Watson and Crick), through growth factors (Hamburger and Levi-Montalcini), excitability (Hodgkin and Huxley), synapses (Katz and Eccles), dopamine and Parkinson's (Carlsson), visual processing (Hartline and Kuffler), the cortical column (Mountcastle), reticular activating system (Morruzzi and Magoun) and REM sleep (Aserinsky), to stress (Selye), learning (Hebb) and memory (HM and Milner). The clinical fields are also covered, from Cushing and Penfield, psychosurgery and brain energy metabolism (Kety), to most of the major psychoactive drugs in use today (beginning with Delay and Deniker), and much more. The material has been the basis for a highly successful advanced undergraduate and graduate course at Yale, with the classic papers organized and accessible on the web. There is interest for a wide range of readers, academic, and lay because there is a focus on the creative process itself, on understanding how the combination of unique personalities, innovative hypotheses, and new methods led to the advances. Insight is given into this process through describing the struggles between male and female, student and mentor, academic and private sector, and the roles of chance and persistence. The book thus provides a new multidisciplinary understanding of the revolution that created the modern field of neuroscience and set the bar for judging current and future advances.




Golgi


Book Description

The life of Camillo Golgi was an extraordinary intellectual adventure in three major fields of biology and medicine, namely neuroscience, emerging cell biology, and the new science of medical microbiology. in 1873, Golgi published the description of a revolutionary histological technique which allowed one, for the first time, to visualize a single nerve cell with all its ramifications, and which could be followed and analyzed even at a great distance from the cell bodies. The so-called "black reaction" (later named the "Golgi method") provided the spark to a truly scientific revolution which allowed the morphology and the basic architecture of the cerebral tissue to be evidenced in all its complexity, thus contributing to the foundation of modern neuroscience. It has been written that, in the same way Galileo Galilei was able to find new stars observing any sky region with his telescope. Golgi was able to find new nervous structures and nerve cells by applying his black reaction to any brain region. Finally, the details of the most complex structure in the known universe, the brain, could be characterized. Golgi's black reaction is just one of his many successes and contributions to society. As this book illustrates, he has also strongly contributed to the development of cell biology with the "internal reticular apparatus" (later called the "Golgi apparatus") and to medical microbiology with his studies on malaria. Engrossing and authoritative, Golgi: A Biography of the Founder of Modern Neuroscience, is a detailed account of one of the most prominent European researchers of his time.




A History of the Brain


Book Description

A History of the Brain tells the full story of neuroscience, from antiquity to the present day. It describes how we have come to understand the biological nature of the brain, beginning in prehistoric times, and progressing to the twentieth century with the development of Modern Neuroscience. This is the first time a history of the brain has been written in a narrative way, emphasizing how our understanding of the brain and nervous system has developed over time, with the development of the disciplines of anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, psychology and neurosurgery. The book covers: beliefs about the brain in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome the Medieval period, Renaissance and Enlightenment the nineteenth century the most important advances in the twentieth century and future directions in neuroscience. The discoveries leading to the development of modern neuroscience gave rise to one of the most exciting and fascinating stories in the whole of science. Written for readers with no prior knowledge of the brain or history, the book will delight students, and will also be of great interest to researchers and lecturers with an interest in understanding how we have arrived at our present knowledge of the brain.




History of Neurology


Book Description

Handbook of Clinical Neurology: Volume 95 is the first of over 90 volumes of the handbook to be entirely devoted to the history of neurology. The book is a collection of historical materials from different neurology professionals. The book is divided into 6 sections and composed of 55 chapters organized around different aspects of the history of neurology. The first section presents the beginnings of neurology: ancient trepanation, its birth in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt; the emergence of neurology in the biblical text and the Talmud; neurology in the Greco-Roman world and the period following Galen; neurological conditions in the European Middle Ages; and the development of neurology in the 17th and 18th centuries. The second section narrates the birth of localization theory; the beginning of neurology and histological applications, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, surgical neurology and other anatomo-clinical methods. The third section covers further development of the discipline, including methods of neurological illustration and hospitals in neurology and neurosurgery. This section also narrates the history of child neurology, neurodisability and neuroendocrinology. It also features the application of molecular biology on clinical neurology. The fourth section describes the dysfunctions of the nervous system and their history. The fifth and last section covers the regional landmarks of neurology and the different treatments and recovery. The text is informative and useful for neuroscience or neurology professional, researchers, clinical practitioners, mental health experts, psychiatrists, and academic students and scholars in neurology. * A comprehensive accounting of historical developments and modern day advancements in the field of neurology * State-of-the-art information on topics including brain damage and dysfunctions of the nervous system * New treatments and recovery methods from redundancy to vicariation and neural transplantation, amongst others




The History of the Brain and Mind Sciences


Book Description

How did epidemics, zoos, German exiles, methamphetamine, disgruntled technicians, modern bureaucracy, museums, and whipping cream shape the emergence of modern neuroscience?




Cécile and Oskar Vogt: The Visionaries of Modern Neuroscience


Book Description

Human greatness has many connotations. Since the requirements for membership in this category are vague and poorly defined, admittance to the Mount Olympus is frequently erratic and subjective, especially in view of a wide "penumbra zone"* of border cases. Nevertheless, rising above a twilight zone of debatable cases, there are individuals whose right for mem bership is unquestionable. In science, one of the unequivocal criteria for "greatness" relates to how far one's scientific achievement affects the opening of new horizons, and points to directions for future development and progress. Unveiling new visions can derive only from creative people who conceive original ideas and con cepts, and who are daring enough to promote them against the indifference or opposition of the establishment. Maintaining the integrity and the faith to one's own ideals may require extraordinary strength of character, - up to courting persecution or even death, - as happened in the middle ages, and more recently, in the first half of this century with regard to Cecile and Os kar Vogt, whose lives and accomplishments are described in this book. Thus the greatness of the Vogts is based both on their penetrating vision of the future for brain research and on the sterling quality of their character, which sustained a "test of fire" during the Nazi years in Germany.