A History of the Brain: From Stone Age Surgery to Modern Neuroscience

ISBN-13: 9781848723658 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 390 str.

Andrew P. Wickens

Opis

A History of the Brain tells the full story of neuroscience, from antiquity to the present day. It describes how we have come to understand the biological nature of the brain, beginning in prehistoric times, and progressing to the twentieth century with the development of Modern Neuroscience.

This is the first time a history of the brain has been written in a narrative way, emphasizing how our understanding of the brain and nervous system has developed over time, with the development of the disciplines of anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, psychology and neurosurgery. The book covers:

• beliefs about the brain in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome
• the Medieval period, Renaissance and Enlightenment
• the nineteenth century
• the most important advances in the twentieth century and future directions in neuroscience.

The discoveries leading to the development of modern neuroscience gave rise to one of the most exciting and fascinating stories in the whole of science. Written for readers with no prior knowledge of the brain or history, the book will delight students, and will also be of great interest to researchers and lecturers with an interest in understanding how we have arrived at our present knowledge of the brain.

Spis treści

1. Head or Heart? The Ancient Search For The Soul  2. The Discovery of the Nervous System  3. From Late Antiquity to the Renaissance: The Cell Doctrine  4. Searching for the Ghost in the Machine  5. A New Life Force: Animal Electricity  6. The Rise and Fall of Phrenology  7. The Nerve Cell Laid Bare  8. The Return of the Reflex  9. The Cartography of the Cerebral Cortex  10. The Rise of Psychiatry and Neurology  11. Solving the Mystery of the Nerve Impulse  12. The Discovery of Chemical Neurotransmission  13. Neurosurgery and Clinical Tales  14. Surveying the Last Fifty Years and Looking Ahead

O autorze

Andrew P. Wickens is Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. His main area of expertise is in biological psychology and neuroscience.