A Hole in the Head : More Tales in the History of Neuroscience

Essays on great figures and important issues, advances and blind alleys—from trepanation to the discovery of grandmother cells—in the history of brain sciences. Neuroscientist Charles Gross has been interested in the history of his field since his days as an undergraduate. A Hole in the Head is the second collection of essays in which he illuminates the study of the brain with fascinating episodes from the past. This volume's tales range from the history of trepanation (drilling a hole in the skull) to neurosurgery as painted by Hieronymus Bosch to the discovery that bats navigate using echolocation. The emphasis is on blind alleys and errors as well as triumphs and discoveries, with ancient practices connected to recent developments and controversies. Gross first reaches back into the beginnings of neuroscience, then takes up the interaction of art and neuroscience, exploring, among other things, Rembrandt's “Anatomy Lesson” paintings, and finally, examines discoveries by scientists whose work was scorned in their own time but proven correct in later eras. Neuroscientist Charles Gross has been interested in the history of his field since his days as an undergraduate. A Hole in the Head is the second collection of essays in which he illuminates the study of the brain with fascinating episodes from the past. This volume's tales range from the history of trepanation (drilling a hole in the skull) to neurosurgery as painted by Hieronymus Bosch to the discovery that bats navigate using echolocation. The emphasis is on blind alleys and errors as well as triumphs and discoveries, with ancient practices connected to recent developments and controversies. Trepanation, for example, originated in Paleolithic societies and is now promoted on a variety of Web sites as a means of "enhancing" consciousness. Gross first reaches back into the beginnings of neuroscience, discussing such topics as debates over the role of the brain (as opposed to the heart) in cognition and the relationship of vision to ideas about the "evil eye." He then takes up the interaction of art and neuroscience, exploring, among other things, Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson" paintings—one of which prefigured the poses in a famous photograph of the dead Che Guevara. Finally, Gross examines discoveries by scientists whose work was scorned in their own time but proven correct in later eras, including Claude Bernard's argument for the importance of the constancy of the internal environment and Joseph Altman's pioneering (and ignored) discovery of adult neurogenesis. About the Author Charles G. Gross, a neuroscientist specializing in vision and the functions of the cerebral cortex, is Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. He is the author of Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience (MIT Press, 1998). Contents ......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 I Early Neuroscience and Its Reverberations Today......Page 12 1 A Hole in the Head: A History of Trepanation......Page 14 2 Heart versus Brain: Galen and the Squealing Pig......Page 36 3 The Fire That Comes from the Eye......Page 64 4 The Discovery of Motor Cortex......Page 88 II Neuroscience and Art......Page 128 5 "Psychosurgery" in Renaissance Art ......Page 130 6 Left and Right in Science and Art with Marc H. Bornstein......Page 142 7 Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Joan Deijman......Page 172 III Scientists Who Were "Before Their Time" ......Page 190 8 Claude Bernard and the Constancy of the Internal Environment......Page 194 9 Bartolomeo Panizza and the Visual Brain with Michael Colombo and Arnaldo Colombo......Page 212 10 Joseph Altman and Adult Neurogenesis: The Dogma of "No New Neurons" in the Adult Mammalian Brain ......Page 240 11 Donald R. Griffin: Echolocation and Animal Consciousness......Page 258 12 The Genealogy of the "Grandmother Cell" ......Page 274 References......Page 296 Index......Page 342 The MIT Press Contents 8 Preface 10 I Early Neuroscience and Its Reverberations Today 12 1 A Hole in the Head: A History of Trepanation 14 2 Heart versus Brain: Galen and the Squealing Pig 36 3 The Fire That Comes from the Eye 64 4 The Discovery of Motor Cortex 88 II Neuroscience and Art 128 5 "Psychosurgery" in Renaissance Art 130 6 Left and Right in Science and Art with Marc H. Bornstein 142 7 Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Joan Deijman 172 III Scientists Who Were "Before Their Time" 190 8 Claude Bernard and the Constancy of the Internal Environment 194 9 Bartolomeo Panizza and the Visual Brain with Michael Colombo and Arnaldo Colombo 212 10 Joseph Altman and Adult Neurogenesis: The Dogma of "No New Neurons" in the Adult Mammalian Brain 240 11 Donald R. Griffin: Echolocation and Animal Consciousness 258 12 The Genealogy of the "Grandmother Cell" 274 References 296 Index 342 ISBN-13:,9780262013383