6) Neural networks consist of excitatory and inhibitory neurons connected by synapses (Sherrington – 1906) Based on his observations in the spinal cord, Sherrington theorized that the brain consists of complex networks of excitatory and inhibitory cells he was the first to term 'neurons', with connection points he was the first to term 'synapses'. His …
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4) Functions can be localized in the brain (Bouillaud – 1825, Broca – 1861, Fritsch & Hitzig – 1870) Bouillaud and Broca discovered patients with frontal cortex lesions who had speech problems. Fritsch & Hitzig discovered primary motor cortex; a specialized chunk of cortex specifically for motor control. Broca believed that all brain functions would …
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3) Functions are distributed in the brain (Flourens – 1824, Lashley – 1929) Flourens found that it did not matter where he lesioned inside cortex; what mattered was how much he lesioned. This suggested that functions were equally distributed (the law of equipotentiality) and widely distributed (the law of mass action) across cortex. Lashley updated …
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This post is part of a series chronicling history's top brain computation insights (see the first of the series for a detailed description). 2) Brain signals are electrical (Galvani – 1791, Rolando – 1809) Galvani (whose name inspired the word 'galvanize') discovered that electrically shocking frog nerves made their muscles move. Rolando used this same …
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