The Origins of Neuroscience

1. The Origins of 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)

3. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: Ancient Greece • Correlation between structure and function • Hippocrates • Brain: Involved in sensation; seat of intelligence • Aristotle: Clung to the heart was the centwe of the intellect. • Brain was a radiator that cooled the blood • Tempered the seething heart

4. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/heart

5. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: The Roman Empire • Views of Greek physician Galen • Cerebrum • Cerebellum • Ventricles

6. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: The Renaissance • The brain as a machine

7. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: The Renaissance • Fluid-mechanical theory of brain function • Philosophical mind-brain problem

8. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: The Seventeenth andEighteenth Centuries • Gray matter and white matter

9. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: Renaissance to the Nineteenth Century • Gyri, sulci, and fissures

10. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: The Nineteenth Century • Central subdivision: brain and spinal cord • Peripheral division: network of nerves coursing through the body

12. The Origins of Neuroscience 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

14. The Origins of Neuroscience • Localization of Function in the Brain • Charles Bell • Cerebellum: Origin of the motor fibers • Cerebrum: Destination of sensory fibers • Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens • Experimental ablation method

15. The Origins of Neuroscience • Localization of Function in the Brain • Franz Joseph Gall • Phrenology: Bumps on the surface of skull reflect brain surface and related personality traits

17. The Origins of Neuroscience • Localization of Function in the Brain (Cont’d) • Paul Broca • Discrete region of the human cerebrum for speech

19. The Origins of Neuroscience • Localization of Function in the Brain (Cont’d) • Regional specialization in different species

20. The Origins of Neuroscience • Evolution of the Nervous System • Natural selection • Nervous systems of different species may share common mechanisms • Rationale for “animal models”

21. The Origins of Neuroscience • The Neuron: The Basic Functional Unit of the Brain • Cell theory • Cells • Nerve cells

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

23. Neuroscience Today • The Neuroscientist -Education, Training, Research experience -Clinical vs. Experimental research

24. Neuroscience Today • Scientific Process • Observation • Replication • Interpretation • Verification

25. Neuroscience Today • 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.

26. Neuroscience Today • The Use of Animals in Neuroscience Research (Cont’d) • Role of animal welfare societies • Neuroscientists accept certain moral responsibilities • Ensure that experiments are worthwhile and well planned • Eliminate or minimize pain and distress to the animal • All possible alternatives must be considered first

27. Neuroscience Today • The Use of Animals in Neuroscience Research (Cont’d) • Animal rights • Philosophy • Abolition of animal use • Animal rights activists

28. Neuroscience Today • The Cost of Ignorance: Nervous System Disorders

29. Concluding Remarks • Goal of neuroscience:To learn how the nervous system functions • Brain’s activity reflected in behavior • Computer-assisted imaging techniques • New treatments for nervous system disorders • Non-invasive methods • Experiments in live tissue