A (Short) History of the Human Brain

A (Brief) History of the Human Brain

John Borghi, PhD

Science InformationistRockefeller University

@JohnBorghi

• Ancient Brains

• Broken Brains:

• Electric Brains

• Stained Brains

• More Broken Brains

• Connected Brains

Front(Anterior)

Back(Posterior)

Top(Superior)

Bottom(Inferior)

Frontal Lobe

Parietal Lobe

Temporal Lobe

Occipital Lobe

The Edwin Smith Papyrus

ca. 1500 BCE

The Edwin Smith Papyrus

(Translation)

Case 6:

Instructions concerning a gaping wound in his head, penetrating to the bone, smashing his skull, and rending open the brain of his skull.

Examination: If thou examinest a man having a gaping wound in his head, penetrating to the bone, smashing his skull, and rending open the brain of his skull, thou shouldst palpate his wound. Shouldst thou find that smash which is in his skull like those corrugations which form in molten copper, and something therein throbbing and fluttering under thy fingers, like the weak place of an infant's crown before it becomes whole-when it has happened there is no throbbing and fluttering under thy fingers until the brain of his (the patient's) skull is rent open- and he discharges blood from both his nostrils, and he suffers with stiffness in his neck...

Diagnosis: Thou shouldst say concerning him: "An ailment not to be treated."

Treatment: Thou shouldst anoint that wound with grease. Thou shalt not bind it; thou shalt not apply two strips upon it: until thou knowest that he has reached a decisive point.

Gloss: As for: "Smashing his skull, (and) rending open the brain of his skull," it means the smash is large, opening to the interior of his skull, to the membrane enveloping his brain, so that it breaks open his fluid in the interior of his head....

Fourth Century BCE

Plato:Based on the teaching of Socrates, the soul has three distinct parts. Each part affects our behavior in different ways.

Hippocrates: Based on observations made by Alcmaeon and others, the brain is the center of intelligence.

The heart is the center of intelligence.

Fourth Century BCE

Aristotle:

Galen: Different parts of the soul can be localized to different parts of the body. The rational aspect of the soul is located in the brain.

Second Century CE

Head

Liver

Heart

Plato Galen

The Immortal Soul

The Irascible Soul

The Appetitive Soul

Animal Spirit

Vital Spirit

Natural Spirit ·

·

·

Second Century CE

Fourth Century CE

Nemesius:Different functions can be localized to the different ventricles of the brain.

Fourth Century CE

Neuroscience in the Dark Ages

Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi 854–925

Hunayn ibn Ishaq809–873

Neuroscience in the Renaissance

René Descartes1596-1650

Leonardo da Vinci1452-1519

Andreas Vesalius1514-1564

Neuroscience in the Renaissance

Cartesian Dualism / Substance Dualism The mental does not have extension in space, and the material cannot think.

Thomas Willis1621-1675

Neuroscience in the Renaissance

Phrenology- 1810 ~ 1840

Franz Joseph Gall1758-1828

Johann Spurzheim1776-1832

Phrenology- 1810 ~ 1840

Napoleon Bonaparte1769-1821

Jean Pierre Flourens1794-1867

Examining Brain Injuries

Paul Broca1824-1880

Paul Broca1824-1880

Examining Brain Injuries

The brain of Victor Leborgne

Carl Wernicke1848-1905

Examining Brain Injuries

Phineas Gage1823-1860

Examining Brain Injuries

Phineas Gage1823-1860

Examining Brain Injuries

Digression: Moniz, Freeman, and the prefrontal lobotomy

Egas Moniz1874-1955

Rosemary Kennedy1918-2008

Luigi Galvani1737-1798

Electrical Brains

Gustav Fritsch1838-1927

Eduard Hitzig1838-1907

Electrical Brains

Electrical Brains

The Motor Strip

David Ferrier1848-1928

Electrical Brains

Electrical Brains

Wilder Penfield1891-1976

Wilder Penfield1891-1976

Electrical Brains

Hans Berger1874-1941

Electrical Brains

The Giant Squid Axon

Electrical Brains

Golgi Stain

A method for visualizing brain cells using silver nitrate and potassium dichromate

Stained Brains

Cam

illo

Gol

giSa

ntia

go R

amón

y C

ajal

It may seem strange that, since I have always been opposed to the neuron

theory – although acknowledging that its starting-point is to be found in

my own work – I have chosen this question of the neuron as the subject of

my lecture, and that it comes at a time when this doctrine is generally

recognized to be going out of favour.

The 1906 Nobel Lecture: Golgi vs. Cajal

In accordance with the tradition followed by the illustrious orators

honoured before me with the Nobel Prize, I am going to talk to you about

the principal results of my scientific work in the realm of the histology

and physiology of the nervous system.

Camillo Golgi

Santiago Ramón y Cajal 

Stained Brains

Karl Lashley1890-1958

Roger Sperry1913-1994

More Broken Brains

Henry Molaison aka Subject H.M.1926-2008

More Broken Brains

Magnetic Brains

Paul Lauterbur (1929-2007)-Develped first MRI in Stony Brook NY.

Peter Mansfield (1933-Present)-Conducted first MRI on human tissue.

Seigi Ogawa (1934-Present)-Developed methods for measuring BOLD signal to study brain activity.

Magnetic Brains

Magnetic Brains

Con

trol

Gro

upM

DD

Gro

up

-21 -11 9 14

-2 4 8 12 16 +4 +8+12-0.5

0.5

1.5

-2 4 8 12 16 +4 +8+12-0.5

0.5

1.5

Faces > Scenes

Faces Scenes

Time (s)

Time (s)

p < 0.001

Magnetic Brains

Anatomical Connections Connectogram

Magnetic Brains

Functional Connectivity