History of Biopsychology
Early Philosophers
Last Name | Approximate Year | Main Idea |
Aristotle | 350 BCE | Mind resides in the heart; brain cools the blood. |
Hippocrates | 4th Century BCE | Brain is the seat of consciousness; connected to body functions. |
Plato | 4th Century BCE | Advocated for the brain's role in thought; connected to the body. |
Galen | 2nd Century BCE | Importance of the brain established through observations of injuries. |
Descartes | 1596-1650 | Introduced the mind-body problem; proposed dualism vs. monism. |
Dualism: Mind and body as separate substances. | ||
Monism: Mind and body as manifestations of a single substance. |
Early Neuroscientists
Last Name | Approximate Year | Method + Results from Main Discovery |
Legallois | Early 1800s | Destroyed medulla tissue; found it resulted in cessation of breathing. |
Gall | Early 1800s | Founded phrenology; claimed personality traits could be linked to skull shape. |
Spurzheim | 1800s | Worked with Gall on phrenology; refined understanding of brain functions. |
Harlow | 1848 | Studied Phineas Gage; significant personality changes after brain injury. |
Broca | 1861 | Discovered Broca's area related to speech production; studied language deficits. |
Golgi | Late 1800s | Developed Golgi stain; visualized neurons in the brain. |
Cajal | Early 1900s | Found neurons are separate entities (Neuron Doctrine) using Golgi stain. |
Sherrington | Early 1900s | Coined the term "synapse"; studied reflexes and neural communication. |
Loewi | Early 1900s | Demonstrated chemical communication in neurons (discovered neurotransmitters). |