Thomas Willis – 1600s

Franz Joseph Gall - early 1800s

Jean Pierre Flourens

John Hughlings Jackson - Late 1800s

Paul Broca

Carl Wernicke – Late 1800s

Korbinian Brodmann – Germany Early 1900s

Camillo Golgi – Italy, Early 1900s

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Early 1900s Spain

• Cajal: “Father of Modern Neuroscience”
• Propelled the notion that the nervous
system is made up of individual cells
• Contributed the idea that information flows
primarily in one direction: dendrites down to
axonal terminal.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Original Method: Golgi-stained neurons examined under a microscope.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: Cajal's neuron doctrine might be verified on a finer scale by using electron microscopy or single cell recording to view the synaptic connections between neurons in significantly greater detail (Lecture 3 Notes).

-Born in 1758
-Picked up on Willis' brain damage approach over a century later
-Founded the practice of Phrenology(Lecture 1 Notes).

Original method: Skull and skull shape analysis was the original method.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: Brain volume and function could be correlated with behaviour using fMRI, which analyzes brain structure. This would more rigorously refute or validate some of Gall's conclusions (Lecture 3 Notes).

-French Physiologist
-phrenology
-Studied animals: destroyed brains of pigeons and rabbits
Finding: Flourens proved that different parts of the brain were in charge of different tasks. For example, he used animal lesion studies to illustrate the cerebellum's function in motor coordination.(Lecture 1 Notes).
Animal ablation, or lesions, was the first method.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: To examine motor deficiencies without inflicting permanent damage, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - Mayo Clinic, 2023) may be utilized to block activity in particular brain regions momentarily.

discovered particular areas linked to particular functions:
1) Lack of cerebellum results in poor balance and coordination
2) Absence of cerebral cortex results in loss of movement and awareness, but memory and cognition are absent: I assumed it covered several areas
(Lecture 3 Notes)

-Clinical psychologist Jackson was born in 1835. He studied the behaviours of individuals suffering from epilepsy, a brain disorder, and, like Flourens, he believed that a variety of brain regions were involved in some behaviours.(Lecture 1 Notes).

-Disturbed visuospatial processes were noted in right brain lesions -Seizures with epilepsy seemed to be inducing a fixed brain map of the body, which migrated from one area of the body to another suggested a topographical cerebral map of the human body.
Jackson's findings regarding the loss of function
Complete loss of function is uncommon in patients; several brain regions contribute to a single function.
1) Speech loss but residual ability to speak a few syllables
2) Inability to move but ability to still itch.

Original Method: Observing epileptic patients in a clinical setting.(Lecture 1 Notes).

The modern method: Jackson's hierarchy can be precisely mapped out in real time by using electroencephalography (EEG), which can reveal information about electrical brain activity during seizures.(Lecture 3 Notes)

- Born in 1824 - in Paris
Well-known Physician
Neurological case: a man whose sole term was "tan" An autopsy revealed that the patient had a Syphillis lesion in the left inferior frontal lobe.

Speech generation - Broca's aphasia - Broca's region The comprehension of speech is generally unaltered. On the other hand, sufferers struggle greatly to speak.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Original Method: Lesion locations were analyzed post-mortem.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: To further refine Broca's findings, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) could map white matter tracts associated with his area, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) could demonstrate activation during speech production tasks (Lecture 3 Notes).

Born in 1848
German neurologist: Other cases resembling Broca's case surfaced after it gained notoriety. Wernicke treated a stroke patient in 1876 who was able to communicate freely but had trouble understanding what other people were saying or writing.(Lecture 1 Notes).

A lesion was present in the left posterior portion of the patient.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Wernicke's Area-Speech Comprehension - Wernicke's Aphasia: Patients cannot understand what is being said, yet they can speak coherently in short bursts(Lecture 1 Notes).

.Original Method: Researched brain lesions in individuals with impaired language comprehension.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: Wernicke's region of the brain activity could be measured with fMRI while patients completed language comprehension activities, giving insight into brain function in real time (Lecture 3 Notes).

-Born in 1837 and 1838, respectively
-Electrically stimulated parts of the dog brain
-It caused different body parts to move(Lecture 1 Notes).
-Next: Neuroscientists wondering if cellular anatomy differed between these regions.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Electrical stimulation of animals was the original method.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: TMS could replicate and build upon their findings in people by non-invasively stimulating the human motor cortex and observing related motor motions (Lecture 3 Notes).

— Born in 1868 — Studied the cellular structure of the human cortex, identifying separate regions with tissue stains (such as Nissl). — 52 distinct regions were discovered through cellular architecture, or cytoarchitectonics, which is the study of how the cell compositions of various brain regions vary.
Other studies confirmed the functional differences between these regions and the Original Technique: Neuron structure was seen using Golgi staining (Lecture 1 Notes).

The Modern Method: Single Cell Recording: Place Cells images of neural structures in living tissue, providing a more dynamic perspective on the architecture of neurons (Lecture 3 Notes).

Discovery:
-Identified 52 separate areas based on cellular architecture (cytoarchitectonics - how cells differ between brain regions).
-Later studies confirmed functional differences between regions
-These areas are still used in neuroscience today(Lecture 1 Notes).

Original Method: Microscopic examination of postmortem brain tissue.(Lecture 1 Notes).

Modern Method: While fMRI might be used to evaluate functional differences between Brodmann regions, MRI with VBM could provide more accurate anatomical mapping in actual patients (Lecture 3 Notes).