Early neuroscience and the reverberations today -- A hole in the head: a history of trepanation -- Heart versus brain: Galen and the squealing pig -- The fire that comes from the eye -- The discovery of motor cortex -- Neuroscience and art -- "Psychosurgery" in Renaissance art -- Left and right in science and art with Marc H. Bornstein -- Rembrandt's The anatomy lesson of Dr. Joan Deijman -- Scientists who were "Before their time" -- Claude Bernard and the constancy of the internal environment -- Bartolomeo Panizza and the visual brain with Michael Colombo and Arnaldo Colombo -- Joseph Altman and adult neurogenesis: the dogma of "No new neurons" in the adult mammalian brain -- Donald R. Griffin: echolocation and animal consciousness -- The genealogy of the "Grandmother cell".
Summary:
Neuroscientist Charles Gross has been interested in the history of his field since his days as an undergraduate. A Hole in the Head is the second collection of essays in which he illuminates the study of the brain with fascinating episodes from the past. This volume's tales range from the history of trepanation (drilling a hole in the skull) to neurosurgery as painted by Hieronymus Bosch to the discovery that bats navigate using echolocation. The emphasis is on blind alleys and errors as well as triumphs and discoveries, with ancient practices connected to recent developments and controversies. Trepanation, for example, originated in Paleolithic societies and is now promoted on a variety of Web sites as a means of "enhancing" consciousness.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.