Discoveries in the Human Brain: Neuroscience Prehistory, Brain Structure, and Function

This engaging and engrossing history of the brain and the emergence of modern neuroscience chronicles the many significant people and events that gradually produced today’s understanding of brain anatomy and physiology. The book traces this unfolding story from the first findings of gross neuroanatomy in the ancient world to the functional analysis of the electrophysiology of nerve impulses; from the early discoveries of the existence and operations of the central nervous system to, finally, the development in brain chemistry and pharmacology that have now brought us to neural networks and brain modeling. Along the way it offers numerous historic and rare plates, a rich tapestry of quotations from primary sources, and concise summaries of the pathbreaking research that shaped and determined modern neuroscience.