“Discovering the Neuron”

Neurophilosophy, which recently moved over to the well-respected Science Blogs portal, yesterday posted an excellent feature about the discovery of the neuron.

Cajal, 1888

Believe it or not, this image was published by Ramon y Cajal in 1888.  He received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, with Camillo Golgi, in 1906.

See also:

  • Abraham, T. H.  (2003).  From theory to data: Representing neurons in the 1940s.  Biology and Philosophy, 18(3), 415-426.
  • Glickstein, M.  (2006).  Golgi and Cajal: The neuron doctrine and the 100th anniversary of the 1906 Nobel Prize.  Current Biology, 16(5), R-147-R151.
  • Jones, E. G.  (1999).  Golgi, Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine.  Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 8(2), 170-178.
  • Katz-Sidlow, R. J.  (1998).  The Formulation of the Neuron Doctrine: The Island of Cajal.  Archives of Neurology, 55(2), 237-240.
  • Køppe, S.  (1983).  The psychology of the neuron: Freud, Cajal and Golgi.  Scandanavian Journal of Psychology, 24(1), 1-12.
  • López-Muñoz, F., Boya, J., & Alamo, C.  (2006).  Neuron theory, the cornerstone of neuroscience, on the centenary of the Nobel Prize award to Santiago Ramón y Cajal.  Brain Research Bulletin, 70(4-6), 391-405.

About Jeremy Burman

Jeremy Trevelyan Burman is a senior doctoral student in York University’s Department of Psychology, specializing in the history of developmental psychology and its theory (especially that pertaining to Jean Piaget). Prior to returning to academia, he was a producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.