Minds behind the Brain: A History of the Pioneers and Their Discoveries

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With neuroscience steadily replacing psychology, philosophy, and even religion as a model of self-understanding, it's time we take a look back at the history and meaning of this curious branch of research. Washington University historian Stanley Finger charms and invigorates the reader with Minds Behind the Brain, a look at thousands of years of brain science in the form of biographical sketches. Nineteen great scientists whose brilliant insights, determined work, and resistance to cultural expectations brought this three-pound, lumpy beige ball increasing respect--from the ancient Egyptians discarding it upon death to our own view of it as the seat of consciousness.

Ramon y Cajal, Sperry, Galen, and Descartes are among the researchers Finger chooses to illuminate. Their peers, colleagues, and times are also portrayed vividly; the unavailability of human corpses for dissection until very recently, the still-raging debate on vivisection and animal research, and religious resistance to certain findings have all worked against these men and women. Well-chosen illustrations help humanize these figures, as does the author's careful balance between depictions of research and personal lives. How did Descarte's dog figure in the philosopher's understanding of the soul? Find out in Minds Behind the Brain. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Attractively illustrated with over a hundred halftones and drawings, this volume presents a series of vibrant profiles that trace the evolution of our knowledge about the brain. Beginning almost 5000 years ago, with the ancient Egyptian study of "the marrow of the skull," Stanley Finger takes us on a fascinating journey from the classical world of Hippocrates, to the time of Descartes and the era of Broca and Ramon y Cajal, to modern researchers such as Sperry. Here is a truly remarkable cast of characters. We meet Galen, a man of titanic ego and abrasive disposition, whose teachings dominated medicine for a thousand years; Vesalius, a contemporary of Copernicus, who pushed our understanding of human anatomy to new heights; Otto Loewi, pioneer in neurotransmitters, who gave the Nazis his Nobel prize money and fled Austria for England; and Rita Levi-Montalcini, discoverer of nerve growth factor, who in war-torn Italy was forced to do her research in her bedroom. For each individual, Finger examines the philosophy, the tools, the books, and the ideas that brought new insights. Finger also looks at broader topics--how dependent are researchers on the work of others? What makes the time ripe for discovery? And what role does chance or serendipity play? And he includes many fascinating background figures as well, from Leonardo da Vinci and Emanuel Swedenborg to Karl August Weinhold--who claimed to have reanimated a dead cat by filling its skull with silver and zinc--and Mary Shelley, whose Frankenstein was inspired by such experiments. Wide ranging in scope, imbued with an infectious spirit of adventure, here are vivid portraits of giants in the field of neuroscience--remarkable individuals who found new ways to think about the machinery of the mind.

Customer Reviews:

Fast shipping.......2007-10-13

Item not entirely as described, but it will do. Older book, some highlighting that wasn't described.

excellent overall history.......2003-05-30

this book is not a medical reference or textbook. it is, however, an excellent historical exploration of brain and neuroscience. i loved it! i am not a doctor, but an historian, and my curiosity on the subject was satiated. i can now hold up an impressive end of a conversation regarding all things neurological. this book is for the general public, and all those who want to learn more about civilization, anthropology, biology, science, etc...
highly recommended.

Excellent layout, stilted performance.......2002-09-17

The history of brain study is absolutely fascinating. It is a wonderful thought to give an account of this branch of knowledge through the lives of geniuses who gave birth to various aspects of our modern understanding of how the brain and the nervous system work. Dr. Finger's book is comprehensive, scientifically sound and well-researched, to say the very least. Unfortunately, this noble project is somewhat compromised by a rather stilted narration. There is very little thrill and suspense in the way the author recounts his story, and some of his comments are too simplistic and naive. Given the complex subject and the fact that the reader should be rather knowledgeable anyway to enjoy the book, this looks like patronizing or just ineptness. A pity.

Otherwise, a wealth of information.

Great for what it is........2001-06-16

As the author of a history of psychology book, I bought this book for the information that I'll be able to work into my next revision. Although I confess I haven't read it completely, I've enjoyed the parts I have read and look forward to completing it. Many of the characters in the history of psychology are fascinating, and this is also true of characters in the history of neuroscience, which is what Finger's writing about. He's done an excellent job in bringing his subjects to life. Strongly recommend.

About time someone wrote a narrative history of neuroscience.......2001-03-29

Boy...I wish I had had this book when I was going through neuroscience for my BS and my MS in med school! Too many professors do not realize that you cannot teach science out of context of history and social/cultural impact of the times in which the discoveries were made. So many times science is presented as the technological and mathematical sides of it, without portraying the human side of the story. Science does not exist in a vacuum, and despite what many 'scientists' believe their discoveries are not free from cultural and social bias.

The pictures and photographs add to the interest level and fun of reading this book. I enjoy seeing the older instruments, the drawings done by the original scientists, and photographs of the man with myasthenia gravis who was given anticholinesterase drugs to help with his affliction. This type of information puts a human face on dry science. Ultimately it is the application of what is learned in neuroscience used to relieve the suffering of those with chronic degenerative diseases which I find rewarding, not just the science as an end in itself. In fact, most of the men who made significant additions to neuroscience and understanding of the brain were trying to elucidate how the brain works in order to help those with these types of brain problems.

Finger does an excellent job. It is a long book, but immensely readable. Lots of information that was new to me, along with information that I had gotten glimpses from other sources (usually magazine articles in historical or lay science journals). This book should definitely be on hold in any university library where neuroscience is being taught, and if teaching neuroscience, professors should recommend to students to go and read the relevant chapters for historical background in this book.

Book Description

This book traces the life and scientific career of Dr. John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911), the English physician who pioneered the development of neurology as a medical specialty during the reign of Queen Victoria. Jackson made a number of scientific discoveries in several areas of higher nervous activity and language, and contributed greatly to the study of various types of epilepsy. He isolated the form of epilepsy associated with localized convulsive seizures, known as Jacksonian epilepsy. His research on epilepsy stretched across a broad spectrum and included uncinate attacks, intellectual aurae, and many other manifestations, which are now collectively covered by the term temporal lobe epilepsy. He was also among the first to recognize the pattern of disease of the cerebellum. Jackson's research was not limited to epilepsy, and encompassed studies in aphasia and neuro-ophthalmology. Following the concepts of the philosopher Herbert Spencer, Jackson devised a hierarchy of the nervous system with positive and negative manifestations of neurological activity. His work was based on a detailed, insightful evaluation of the clinical symptoms of diseases of the brain, coupled with meticulous, repeated studies of their phenomena. Jackson's observations of localized brain lesions led to the first cases of neurosurgical ablation of brain tumours. Much of his original work still forms the foundation of our contemporary understanding of the dissolution of language caused by disease. A straightforward, comprehensive account of the life of an eminent physician, John Hughlings Jackson: Father of English Neurology is written as a monument to a man who aroused the deepest respect and affection in his students and colleagues. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, pathologists, neuroscientists, residents and medical students will find this book a source of inspiration, and will relish its rare description of medicine in 19th century England.

Paul Broca: Founder of French Anthropology, Explorer of the Brain

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Paul Broca: Founder of French Anthropology, Explorer of the Brain
Francis Schiller
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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This elegant and comprehensive scientific biography recounts the life of Paul Broca, one of the world's most inventive and prolific scientists, whose work touched not only the fields of surgery, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and the neuropathology of speech, but statistics, hypnosis, blood transfusion, and the grounding of the French school of anthropology, as well. Although Broca is known primarily for providing the working basis for all future cerebral localization (he was the first to identify "Broca's area" --a small patch on the convoluted surface of the brain--as the central organ for speech), this portrait of Broca also describes his fundamental role in the establishment of modern scientific "laboratory" medicine, and his broad capacity and appetite for science as a whole. His enduring curiosity and insistent pursuit of truth led him through an exciting course of study, which often placed him philosophically in the position of utilizing doubt as his strongest investigative impetus. The author, Francis Schiller, --himself a neurologist-- underscores Broca's vast contributions to both practical and moral science with keen insights and scholarly acumen. Historians of science, neuroscientists, and general readers alike will enjoy this enlightening and important biography.

The Hidden Structure: A Scientific Biography of Camillo Golgi

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The Hidden Structure: A Scientific Biography of Camillo Golgi
Paolo Mazzarello
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198524447

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Camillo Golgi (1843-1926) is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern neuroscience. In 1873 he discovered the 'reazione nera' - the black reaction - a histological stain which was to prove to be a revolutionary method for studying the structure of the nervous system. To this day, the Golgi stain is still widely used. For every student of medicine or biology, Golgi's name is synonymous with one of the basic structures in the cell: Golgi Apparatus, a cellular structure involved in protein glycosylation and transport. Golgi discovered the apparatus in 1898, and as a result of which, he is probably the most widely cited biologist in the scientific literature. But this is only one of Golgi's many contributions to scientific research. Amongst other things, he devised a system for the classification of neurons on the basis of axonal distribution, and identified a type of cell in the cerebellum. He identified and described the malarial cycle in the human. His discoveries were both basic, and rich with therapeutic implications. His remarkable achievements earned him a Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1906. It is enough to open any book of biology or medicine to realize that Golgi is one of the giants of 19th Century scientific endeavour. Despite this, Golgi remains a relatively unknown figure in the history of neuroscience and cell biology. This long-awaited biography, in a new translation from the Italian, is a fascinating analysis of Golgi's experiments, ideas, and personal life. It will be welcomed by anyone who has ever wondered about this brilliant Italian scientist and his seminal contributions to the fields of neuroscience, cytology and cell biology, pathology, and biochemistry today.

That Moaning Saxophone: The Six Brown Brothers and the Dawning of a Musical Craze

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Read it!! Understand Jazz and Be Inspired
The sad story of the decline and death of vaudeville

That Moaning Saxophone: The Six Brown Brothers and the Dawning of a Musical Craze
Bruce Vermazen
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195165926

Book Description

Today, the saxophone is an emblem of "cool" and the instrument most closely associated with jazz. Yet not long ago it was derided as the "Siren of Satan," and it was largely ignored in the United States for well over half a century after its invention. When it was first widely heard, it was often viewed as a novelty noisemaker, not a real musical instrument. In only a few short years, however, saxophones appeared in music shops across America and became one of the most important instrumental voices. How did the saxophone get from comic to cool? Bandleader Tom Brown claimed that it was his saxophone sextet, the Six Brown Brothers, who inaugurated the craze. While this boast was perhaps more myth than reality, the group was indisputably one of the most famous musical acts on stage in the early twentieth century. Starting in traveling circuses, small-time vaudeville, and minstrel shows, the group trekked across the United States and Europe, bringing this new sound to the American public. Through their live performances and groundbreaking recordings--the first discs of a saxophone ensemble in general circulation--the Six Brown Brothers played a crucial role in making this new instrument familiar to and loved by a wide audience. In That Moaning Saxophone, author and cornet player Bruce Vermazen sifts fact from legend in this craze and tells the remarkable story of these six musical brothers--William, Tom, Alec, Percy, Vern, and Fred. Vermazen traces the brothers' path through minstrelsy, the circus, burlesque, vaudeville, and Broadway musical comedy. Cleverly weaving together biographical details and the context of the burgeoning entertainment business, the author draws fascinating portraits of the pre-jazz world of American popular music, the theatrical climate of the period, and the long, slow death of vaudeville. Delving into the career of one of the key popularizers of the saxophone, That Moaning Saxophone not only illuminates the history of this novel instrument, but also offers a witty and vivid portrayal of these forgotten musical worlds.

Customer Reviews:

Read it!! Understand Jazz and Be Inspired.......2005-08-03

I am currently studying the history of jazz in grad school at Dartmouth, and nothing proved to be more informative or inspired than Vermazen's book. Read it. It is a key resource for best understanding this American cultural entity. Not only is it beautifully written, but "That Moaning Saxophone" inspires one to read, cook, drive, and relax to the sound of the sax and jazz. Looking forward to Maestro Vermazen's next insightful piece, and impatiently awaiting it's coverage on NPR, Kevin Ramos-Glew

The sad story of the decline and death of vaudeville.......2004-09-26

> Why should anyone want to read a book about a once popular vaudeville act that almost no one today remembers? My question exactly when I saw a copy of Bruce Vermazen's "That Moaning Saxophone: the Six Brown Brothers and the Dawning of a Musical Craze" (Oxford, 2004). I gave it a try and found it fascinating reading.

Of course, I am most interested in the history of American music. And while the actual story of a certain Saxophone sextet act is not in itself totally engrossing, their story is the story of all vaudeville acts that had their glory days and finally were squeezed out of existence by something called the motion picture. Indeed, the final chapters almost brought a tear to the eye as the Brown Brothers (well, not exactly the original six by any means but the act that went under that name) found the market for their incredible talents become more and more restricted as they had to share billing with films because so many of the old vaudeville houses had converted to movie theaters.The summary of the book on this website provides you with many details covered by the author, so let that suffice.

The 214 pages of text are followed by many more of notes, discography, and two indexes. A must read for anyone interested in the never really Good Old Days of live performers who could not survive the march of science in its most commercial aspects.

Cecile and Oskar Vogt: The Visionaries of Modern Neuroscience

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Cecile and Oskar Vogt: The Visionaries of Modern Neuroscience
I. Klaatzo , and Igor Klatzo
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The last decades of the past century have brought relentless progress in molecular genetics, opening dramatic opportunities for modifying human life by gene therapy or by cloning new human beings endowed with programmed characteristics. In this frenzy of new discoveries the names of Cécile and Oskar Vogt, who one hundred years ago envisaged these developments and laid the foundation for modern, genetically oriented neuroscience, have been practically forgotten. This makes most timely the treatise by Igor Klatzo, who, shortly after World War II, spent several years with the Vogts at their Brain Research Institute in the Black Forest, Germany, and then continued his brain research as the Chief of the Laboratory of Neuropathology and Neuroanatomical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The greatness of the Vogts is based both on their penetrating vision of the future for brain research and on the sterling quality of their character, which sustained a "test of fire" during the Nazi years in Germany. Klatzo brings, in addition to the recognition of the Vogts' greatness in pioneering modern brain research, a lively picture of their personalities, which includes their struggles against the rigid rules of society, and against political suppression, the latter associated with the risk of their lives.

Chemical Languages of the Nervous System: History of Scientists and Substances

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Chemical Languages of the Nervous System: History of Scientists and Substances
Josef Donnerer
Manufacturer: Karger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3805580045

The History of Neuroscience In Autobiography, Volume 5 (History of Neuroscience in Autobiography)

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The History of Neuroscience In Autobiography, Volume 5 (History of Neuroscience in Autobiography)

Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations into Brain Function

ASIN: 0123705142

Book Description

This fifth book of autobiographical essays by distinguished senior neuroscientists includes contributions by Samuel H. Barondes, Joseph E. Bogen, Alan Cowey, David R. Curtis, Ennio De Renzi, John S. Edwards, Mitchell Glickstein, Carlton C. Hunt, Lynn T. Landmesser, Rodolfo Llinas, Alan Peters, Martin Raff, Wilfred Rall, Mark R. Rosenzweig, Arnold Bernard Scheibel, and Gerald Westheimer.

This collection of fascinating essays should inform and inspire students and working scientists alike. The general reader interested in science may also find the essays absorbing, as they are essentially human stories about commitment and the pursuit of knowledge.

The history of neuroscience in autobiography volume 1

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The history of neuroscience in autobiography volume 1

Manufacturer: Society for Neuroscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0916110516

James Parkinson: His Life and Times (History of Neuroscience)

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James Parkinson: His Life and Times (History of Neuroscience)
A. D. Morris
Manufacturer: Birkhauser
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Binding: Hardcover

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