Introduction

1. 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

2. The Origins of Neuroscience • Views of the Brain: Ancient Greece • Correlation between structure and function • Hippocrates • Brain: Involved in sensation; seat of intelligence

3. 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

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

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

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Localization of function from brain injury/stroke Example: Phineus Gage

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

12. 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

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

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

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

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

17. 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

18. End of presentation

19. 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)

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

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

23. 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.

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