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
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Views of the Brain: Ancient Greece
– Correlation between structure and function
– Hippocrates
• Brain: Involved in sensation; seat of intelligence
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Views of the Brain: The Roman Empire
– Views of Greek physician Galen: Localization of function
• Cerebrum  Sensation
• Cerebellum Motor
• Ventricles ‘Communicating’ fluids
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Views of the Brain: The Renaissance
– Fluid-mechanical theory of brain function
– Philosophical mind-brain problem
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Views of the Brain: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Centuries
– Gray matter and white matter
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Views of the Brain:
Renaissance to the
Nineteenth Century
– Gyri, sulci, and fissures
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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
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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
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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
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Localization of function from brain injury/stroke
Example: Phineus Gage
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Localization of Function in the Brain (Cont’d)
– Paul Broca
• Discrete region of the human cerebrum for speech
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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
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Localization of Function in the Brain (Cont’d)
– Regional specialization in different species
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• Evolution of the Nervous System
– Natural selection
– Nervous systems of different species may share
common mechanisms
– Rationale for “animal models”
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The Origins of Neuroscience
• The Neuron: The Basic
Functional Unit of the
Brain
– Cell theory
– Cells
– Nerve cells
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Neuroscience Today
• Reductionist approach
– Levels of analysis
• Molecular
• Cellular
• Systems
• Behavioral
• Cognitive
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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
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• End of presentation
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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)
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Neuroscience Today
• The Neuroscientist
-Education, Training, Research experience
-Clinical vs. Experimental research
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Neuroscience Today
• Scientific Process
– Observation
– Replication
– Interpretation
– Verification
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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.
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Neuroscience Today
• The Cost of Ignorance: Nervous System Disorders
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