Neurobiology I – Bio 334 Suhita Nadkarni ([email protected]) Raghav Rajan ([email protected])[email protected] Monday – 10:30 – 11:25 am

Bio 334 - Lecture 1 - History of Neuroscience

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Neurobiology I – Bio 334

Suhita Nadkarni ([email protected])Raghav Rajan ([email protected])

Monday – 10:30 – 11:25 amThursday – 2:30 – 3:25pm

01st August 2013

mailto:[email protected]


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What is neurobiology?

• Scientific study of the nervous system (Wikipedia)

• Many different sub-areas and sub-categories

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Why study neurobiology?

Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joy, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs and tears

- Hippocrates (400 BC)

If our brains were simple enough for us to understand them, we’d be so simple that we couldn’t

- Ian Stewart (mathematician)

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History of Neuroscience

• Gives an interesting perspective

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Early neurosurgery - Trephination or Trepannation – as early as 6500 BC

• Skulls discovered in France had holes in them (about 40/120)

• To treat injuries, migraines, epilepsy, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanning

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanning


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Ancient Egyptians did not consider the brain important

• Yet, early references to the brain by them in 1700 B.C.

• Possibly by Imhotep (Mummy fame!), great Egyptian surgeon

• References in the Edwin-Smith surgical papyrus of patients

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/papy.html

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Case 6: A gaping wound in the head, fracture of the skull and opening of the meninges. This case describes the:1.Convolutions of the brain - the author of the papyrus describes these "like those corrugations which form molten copper." This most likely refers to the wrinkled appearance of the brain created by the gyri and sulci of the brain. "Corrugations" of the Brain2.Meninges (coverings of the brain) - described as the membrane enveloping the brain. "Membrane" enveloping the Brain3.Cerebrospinal fluid - described as the fluid in the interior of the head. "Fluid" in the Interior of the Head

Case 6 was "An ailment not to be treated."

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/papy.html01st August 2013




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Ancient Greeks divided in their opinion

• Mind-body dualism• The mind and body are separate

• What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.

– George Berkeley (Irish philosopher)

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Brain or cephalocentric hypothesis started around ~550 B.C.

• Pythagorus, Alcmaeon of Croton• Studied vision• Concluded that the eyes are light

bearing paths to the brain• Eyes have light (phospenes) and

water (dissection)

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http://schatz.sju.edu/neuro/nphistory/nphistory.html



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Hippocrates – theory of humors

• Human beings have a soul and a body• Body made up of 4 substances or humors• Balance of the humors is important for

good health

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http://www.hormones.gr/17/article/article.html




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Hippocrates like Alcmaeon believed the brain to be the seat of intelligence

• Seat of intelligence• Controller of senses, emotion,

movement, etc…. (the works)• Correctly diagnosed epilepsy, etc. as

disorders of the brain• Also recognised that paralysis

occurred on the side opposite to the side with damage

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http://www.princeton.edu/~cggross/Neuroscientist_95-1.pdf




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Aristotle turns the clock back – “learning by heart”

• Heart is the seat of intelligence• Brain, lungs are all for cooling the

heart• REASONS

– Heart develops first– Is present in all organisms– Is connected to all senses

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Galen – puts us back on course

• Very interesting observations• Sensory fibres – softer – for sensory

experience• Motor fibres - firmer – for action• Similarly – cerebrum is soft and so is

sensory• Cerebellum – hard – must control motor

function• Cerebrum – soft, can be moulded –

must therefore store memories

• Three lefts make a right and A few wrongs can also make a right!01st August 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galenhttp://www.cerebromente.org.br/n16/history/mind-history_i.html

http://bertie.ccsu.edu/naturesci/Evolution/Unit10Background/GalenPhysio.html




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Brain and nerves – part of a larger plumbing system controlled by the pineal gland

• Animal spirit (liquid + air)

• Brain a large clot of phlegm

• Described ventricles in great detail

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Cell doctrine – ventricles and intelligence

• Nemesius and St. Augustine (130 – 200 A.D.)

• Anterior ventricle – “common sense”

• Middle ventricle – action

• Posterior ventricle - memory

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http://schatz.sju.edu/neuro/nphistory/nphistory.htmlhttp://www.cerebromente.org.br/n16/history/mind-history_i.html





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Andreas Vesalius, using anatomy discredited the ventricular theory

• Other mammals like the ass have the same organisation

• Ventricles store animal spirits

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http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n16/history/mind-history_i.html




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Descartes – Pineal gland controls all the plumbing

• Small filaments that can be controlled by external stimuli

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Pineal gland controls sleep and waking by controlling the flow of

animal spirits

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A lot of careful anatomy, observations of white matter, gray

matter, etc.

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Luigi Galvani - bioelectricity

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http://electricityrit.blogspot.in/2783/02/frog-legs-galvanis-research-into.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Galvani

http://electricityrit.blogspot.in/2783/02/frog-legs-galvanis-research-into.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Galvani


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Localization of function within the brain - Phrenology

• Frafz Josef Gall• Bumps on the head related to various functions

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http://www.phrenology.com/franzjosephgall.htmlhttp://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2004/phrenology.htm

http://www.phrenology.com/franzjosephgall.html

http://www.phrenology.com/franzjosephgall.html



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Purkinje cells – described by Purkinje

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Purkinjehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purkinje_cell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Purkinje

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Purkinje



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Flourens – uniform function throughout brain

• Through ablations suggested that the whole brain was equivalent

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http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/courses/1010/mangels/neuro/history/history.html



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Broca – localized function returnsWernicke supports idea

• Broca’s aphasia – patient could only say “Tan”

• Wernicke’s aphasia – patient spoke nonsense

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Localization set in stone – Broadmann areas

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http://www.appliedneuroscience.com/Brodmann_Areas.jpghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korbinian_Brodmann

http://www.appliedneuroscience.com/Brodmann_Areas.jpg

http://www.appliedneuroscience.com/Brodmann_Areas.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korbinian_Brodmann


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Golgi and Cajal – the neuron doctrine – Nobel prize in 1906

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Golgihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Ram%C3%B3n_y_Cajal






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Penfield – homunculus – Grandmother cell

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http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/courses/1010/mangels/neuro/history/history.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilder_Penfieldhttp://teddysratlab.blogspot.in/2011/07/curious-things-we-learned-from-epilepsy.html



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilder_Penfield

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilder_Penfield



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And now – Karl Deisseroth – optogenetics Science fiction

becomes reality

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Documents

Neurobiology I – Bio 334 Suhita Nadkarni ([email protected]) Raghav Rajan ([email protected])[email protected] Monday – 10:30 – 11:25 am