The war of the soups and the sparks : the discovery of neurotransmitters and the dispute over how nerves communicate

__The War of the Soups and the Sparks__ tells the engaging story of the dispute between the pharmacologists who uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate by releasing chemicals and the neurophysiologists who dismissed the proof and remained committed to electrical explanations. At the center of the story are the neuroscientist Otto Loewi and the pharmacologist Henry Dale, who received Nobel Prizes for their work, and the physiologist Walter Cannon, who would have shared the prize if he had not been persuaded to adopt a controversial theory. Expertly researched and recounted, __The War of the Soups and the Sparks__ is the absorbing and enlightening tale of an immensely consequential scientific discovery. Like the cracking of the genetic code and the creation of the atomic bomb, the discovery of how the brain's neurons work is one of the fundamental scientific developments of the twentieth century. The discovery of neurotransmitters revolutionized the way we think about the brain and what it means to be human yet few people know how they were discovered, the scientists involved, or the fierce controversy about whether they even existed. __The War of the Soups and the Sparks__ tells the saga of the dispute between the pharmacologists, who had uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate by releasing chemicals, and the neurophysiologists, experts on the nervous system, who dismissed the evidence and remained committed to electrical explanations. The protagonists of this story are Otto Loewi and Henry Dale, who received Nobel Prizes for their work, and Walter Cannon, who would have shared the prize with them if he had not been persuaded to adopt a controversial theory (how that happened is an important part of this history). Valenstein sets his story of scientific discovery against the backdrop of two world wars and examines the fascinating lives of several scientists whose work was affected by the social and political events of their time. He recounts such stories as Loewi's arrest by Nazi storm troopers and Dale's efforts at helping key scientists escape Germany. __The War of the Soups and the Sparks__ reveals how science and scientists work. Valenstein describes the observations and experiments that led to the discovery of neurotransmitters and sheds light on what determines whether a novel concept will gain acceptance among the scientific community. His work also explains the immense importance of Loewi, Dale, and Cannon's achievements in our understanding of the human brain and the way mental illnesses are conceptualized and treated. Like the cracking of the genetic code and the creation of the atomic bomb, the discovery of how the brain's neurons work is one of the fundamental scientific developments of the twentieth century. The discovery of neurotransmitters revolutionized the way we think about the brain and what it means to be human, yet few people know how they were discovered, the scientists involved, or the fierce controversy about whether they even existed. The War of the Soups and the Sparks tells the saga of the dispute between the pharmacologists, who had uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate by releasing chemicals, and the neurophysiologists, experts on the nervous system, who dismissed the evidence and remained committed to electrical explanations.The protagonists of this story are Otto Loewi and Henry Dale, who received Nobel Prizes for their work, and Walter Cannon, who would have shared the prize with them if he had not been persuaded to adopt a controversial theory (how that happened is an important part of this history). Valenstein sets his story of scientific discovery against the backdrop of two world wars and examines the fascinating lives of several scientists whose work was affected by the social and political events of their time. He recounts such stories as Loewi's arrest by Nazi storm troopers and Dale's efforts at helping key scientists escape Hitler's Germany.The War of the Soups and the Sparks reveals how science and scientists work. Valenstein describes the observations and experiments that led to the discovery of neurotransmitters and sheds light on what determines whether a novel concept will gain acceptance among the scientific community. His work also explains the immense importance of Loewi, Dale, and Cannon's achievements in our under-standing of the human brain and the way mental illnesses are conceptualized and treated. Like the cracking of the genetic code and the creation of the atomic bomb, the discovery of how the brain's neurons work is one of the fundamental scientific developments of the twentieth century. The discovery of neurotransmitters revolutionized the way we think about the brain and what it means to be human yet few people know how they were discovered, the scientists involved, or the fierce controversy about whether they even existed. The War of the Soups and the Sparks tells the saga of the dispute between the pharmacologists, who had uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate. Read more... Abstract: Presents the saga of the dispute between the pharmacologists, who had uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate by releasing chemicals, and the neurophysiologists, experts on the nervous system, who dismissed the evidence and remained committed to electrical explanations. Read more... Content: List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments 1. Setting the Stage: The Neuron Doctrine and the Synapse 2. The Autonomic Nervous System 3. An Idea Ahead of Its Time: The First Hint at the Existence of Chemical Neurotransmitters 4. Henry Dale: Laying the Foundation 5. Otto Loewi: An Inspired Dream and a Speculative Leap 6. The Road to the Nobel Prize 7. Walter Cannon: A Near Miss by America's Most Renowned Physiologist 8. The War of the Soups and the Sparks 9. Loewi, Dale, and Cannon: The Later Years 10. Brain Neurotransmitters: A New Continent to Explore. 11. Epilogue: Some Final ReflectionsNotes Index. Elliot S. Valenstein is emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan and the author of Blaming the Brain: The Truth about Drugs and Mental Health and Great and Desperate Cures. SCI007000,Science/Life Sciences/Biochemistry,SCI089000,Science/Life Sciences/Neuroscience The question of how nerves communicate with one another was the subject of a heated & protracted dispute between pharmacologists & neurophysiologists. This book recalls the debate & how the theory of chemical transmission was eventually confirmed by the discovery of neurotransmitters Elliot S. Valenstein. Originally Published: 2005. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.