Milestones in the Discovery of the Brain
4000 B.C. to 0 A.D
ca. 4000 B.C. - Euphoriant effect of poppy plant reported in Sumerian records
ca. 4000 B.C. - Clay tablets from Mesopotamia discuss how to use alcohol to dilute medicine
ca. 2700 B.C. - Shen Nung originates acupuncture
ca. 1700 B.C. - Edwin Smith surgical papyrus written. First written record about the nervous system
ca. 1400-1200 B.C. - Ayuvedic system of Hindu medicine develops
ca. 500 B.C. - Alcmaion of Crotona dissects sensory nerves
ca. 500 B.C. - Alcmaion of Crotona describes the optic nerve
ca. 500 B.C. - Empedocles suggests that "visual rays" cause sight
460-379 B.C. - Hippocrates discusses epilepsy as a disturbance of the brain
460-379 B.C. - Hippocrates states that the brain is involved with sensation and is the seat of intelligence
387 B.C. - Plato teaches at Athens. Believes brain is seat of mental process
335 B.C. - Aristotle writes about sleep; believes heart is seat of mental process
335-280 B.C. - Herophilus (the "Father of Anatomy"); believes ventricles are seat of human intelligence
280 B.C. - Erasistratus of Chios notes divisions of the brain
ca. 4000 B.C. - Clay tablets from Mesopotamia discuss how to use alcohol to dilute medicine
ca. 2700 B.C. - Shen Nung originates acupuncture
ca. 1700 B.C. - Edwin Smith surgical papyrus written. First written record about the nervous system
ca. 1400-1200 B.C. - Ayuvedic system of Hindu medicine develops
ca. 500 B.C. - Alcmaion of Crotona dissects sensory nerves
ca. 500 B.C. - Alcmaion of Crotona describes the optic nerve
ca. 500 B.C. - Empedocles suggests that "visual rays" cause sight
460-379 B.C. - Hippocrates discusses epilepsy as a disturbance of the brain
460-379 B.C. - Hippocrates states that the brain is involved with sensation and is the seat of intelligence
387 B.C. - Plato teaches at Athens. Believes brain is seat of mental process
335 B.C. - Aristotle writes about sleep; believes heart is seat of mental process
335-280 B.C. - Herophilus (the "Father of Anatomy"); believes ventricles are seat of human intelligence
280 B.C. - Erasistratus of Chios notes divisions of the brain
0 A.D. to 1500
177 - Galen lecture On the Brain
ca. 100 - Marinus describes the tenth cranial nerve
ca. 100 - Rufus of Ephesus describes and names the optic chiasm
ca. 390 - Nemesius develops the doctrine of the ventricular localization of all mental functions
ca. 900 - Rhazes describes seven cranial nerves and 31 spinal nerves in Kitab al-Hawi Fi Al Tibb
ca. 1000 - Ammar ibn Ali of Mosul extracts cataract from the eye
ca. 1000 - Alhazen compares the eye to a camera-like device
ca. 1000 - Al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis or Albucasis) describes several surgical treatments for neurological disorders
1021 - Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) publishes Book of Optics
1025 - Avicenna writes about vision and the eye in The Canon of Medicine
1088 - Abu Ruh writes The Light of the Eyes describing several eye operations
1260 - Louis IX founds the Hopital des Quinze-Vingts, the first institution for the blind
1316 - Mondino de'Luzzi writes the first European anatomy textbook (Anothomia)
1402 - St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital is used exclusively for the mentally ill
1410 - Institution for the mentally ill established in Valencia, Spain
ca. 100 - Marinus describes the tenth cranial nerve
ca. 100 - Rufus of Ephesus describes and names the optic chiasm
ca. 390 - Nemesius develops the doctrine of the ventricular localization of all mental functions
ca. 900 - Rhazes describes seven cranial nerves and 31 spinal nerves in Kitab al-Hawi Fi Al Tibb
ca. 1000 - Ammar ibn Ali of Mosul extracts cataract from the eye
ca. 1000 - Alhazen compares the eye to a camera-like device
ca. 1000 - Al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis or Albucasis) describes several surgical treatments for neurological disorders
1021 - Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) publishes Book of Optics
1025 - Avicenna writes about vision and the eye in The Canon of Medicine
1088 - Abu Ruh writes The Light of the Eyes describing several eye operations
1260 - Louis IX founds the Hopital des Quinze-Vingts, the first institution for the blind
1316 - Mondino de'Luzzi writes the first European anatomy textbook (Anothomia)
1402 - St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital is used exclusively for the mentally ill
1410 - Institution for the mentally ill established in Valencia, Spain
1500 - 1600
1504 - Leonardo da Vinci produces wax cast of human ventricles
1536 - Nicolo Massa describes the cerebrospinal fluid
1538 - Andreas Vesalius publishes Tabulae Anatomicae
1543 - Andreas Vesalius discusses the pineal gland and draws the corpus striatum
1550 - Bartolomeo Eustachio describes the brain origin of the optic nerves
1562 - Bartolomeo Eustachio publishes The Examination of the Organ of Hearing
1564 - Giulio Cesare Aranzi coins the term hippocampus
1573 - Constanzo Varolio names the pons
1573 - Constanzo Varolio is first to cut brain starting at its base
1573 - Girolamo Mercuriali writes De nervis opticis to describe optic nerve anatomy
1583 - Felix Platter states that the lens only focuses light and that the retina is where images are formed
1586 - A. Piccolomini distinguishes between cortex and white matter
1587 - Guilio Cesare Aranzi describes ventricles and hippocampus. He also demonstrates that the retina has a reversed image
1596 - Sir Walter Raleigh mentions arrow poison in his book Discovery of the Large, Rich and Beautiful Empire of Guiana
1536 - Nicolo Massa describes the cerebrospinal fluid
1538 - Andreas Vesalius publishes Tabulae Anatomicae
1543 - Andreas Vesalius discusses the pineal gland and draws the corpus striatum
1550 - Bartolomeo Eustachio describes the brain origin of the optic nerves
1562 - Bartolomeo Eustachio publishes The Examination of the Organ of Hearing
1564 - Giulio Cesare Aranzi coins the term hippocampus
1573 - Constanzo Varolio names the pons
1573 - Constanzo Varolio is first to cut brain starting at its base
1573 - Girolamo Mercuriali writes De nervis opticis to describe optic nerve anatomy
1583 - Felix Platter states that the lens only focuses light and that the retina is where images are formed
1586 - A. Piccolomini distinguishes between cortex and white matter
1587 - Guilio Cesare Aranzi describes ventricles and hippocampus. He also demonstrates that the retina has a reversed image
1596 - Sir Walter Raleigh mentions arrow poison in his book Discovery of the Large, Rich and Beautiful Empire of Guiana
1600 - 1700
1604 - Johannes Kepler describes inverted retinal image
1641 - Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius describes fissure on the lateral surface of the brain (Sylvian fissure)
1644 - Giovanni Battista Odierna describes the microscopic appearance of the fly eye in L'Occhio della Mosca
1649 - Rene Descartes describes pineal as control center of body and mind
1650 - Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius describes a narrow passage between the third and fourth ventricles (the aqueduct of Sylvius)
1658 - Johann Jakof Wepfer theorizes that a broken brain blood vessel may cause apoplexy (stroke)
1661 - Thomas Willis describes a case of meningitis
1664 - Thomas Willis publishes Cerebri anatome (in Latin)
1664 - Thomas Willis describes the eleventh cranial nerve (accessory nerve)
1668 - l'Abbe Edme Mariotte discovers the blind spot
1670 - William Molins names the trochlear nerve
1673 - Joseph DuVerney uses experimental ablation technique in pigeons
1681 - English edition of Thomas Willis' Cerebri anatome is published
1684 - Raymond Vieussens uses boiling oil to harden the brain
1686 - Thomas Sydenham describes a form of chorea in children and young adults
1695 - Humphrey Ridley describes the restiform body
1697 - Joseph G. Duverney introduces the term "brachial plexus"
1641 - Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius describes fissure on the lateral surface of the brain (Sylvian fissure)
1644 - Giovanni Battista Odierna describes the microscopic appearance of the fly eye in L'Occhio della Mosca
1649 - Rene Descartes describes pineal as control center of body and mind
1650 - Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius describes a narrow passage between the third and fourth ventricles (the aqueduct of Sylvius)
1658 - Johann Jakof Wepfer theorizes that a broken brain blood vessel may cause apoplexy (stroke)
1661 - Thomas Willis describes a case of meningitis
1664 - Thomas Willis publishes Cerebri anatome (in Latin)
1664 - Thomas Willis describes the eleventh cranial nerve (accessory nerve)
1668 - l'Abbe Edme Mariotte discovers the blind spot
1670 - William Molins names the trochlear nerve
1673 - Joseph DuVerney uses experimental ablation technique in pigeons
1681 - English edition of Thomas Willis' Cerebri anatome is published
1684 - Raymond Vieussens uses boiling oil to harden the brain
1686 - Thomas Sydenham describes a form of chorea in children and young adults
1695 - Humphrey Ridley describes the restiform body
1697 - Joseph G. Duverney introduces the term "brachial plexus"
1700 - 1800
1705 - Antonio Pacchioni describes arachnoid granulations
1709 - Domenico Mistichelli describes the pyramidal decussation
1717 - Antony van Leeuwenhoek describes nerve fiber in cross section
1721 - The word "anesthesia" first appears in English
1736 - Jean Astruc coins the term reflex
1740 - Emanuel Swedenborg publishes Oeconomia regni animalis
1749 - David Hartley publishes Observations of Man, the first English work using the word "psychology"
1750 - Jacques Daviel performs the first cataract extraction on a living human eye
1772 - John Walsh conducts experiments on torpedo (electric) fish
1773 - John Fothergill describes trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux, Fothergill's syndrome)
1774 - Franz Anton Mesmer introduces "animal magnetism" (later called hypnosis)
1777 - Philip Meckel proposes that the inner ear is filled with fluid, not air
1778 - Samuel Thomas von Soemmerring presents the modern classification of the twelve cranial nerves
1779 - Antonius Scarpa describes Scarpa's ganglion of the vestibular system
1780 - Etienne Bonnot de Condillac publishes the first figure of "reflex action"
1781 - Felice Fontana describes the microscopic features of axoplasm from an axon
1786 - Felix Vicq d'Azyr discovers the locus coeruleus
1786 - Samuel Thomas Sommering describes the optic chiasm
1786 - Georg Joseph Beer founds the first eye hospital in Vienna
1790 - Johannes Ehrenritter describes the glossopharygeal nerve ganglion
1791 - Luigi Galvani publishes work on electrical stimulation of frog nerves
1791 - Samuel Thomas von Soemmering names the macula lutea of the retina
1792 - Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabbroni suggests that nerve action involves both chemical and physical factors
1796 - Johann Christian Reil describes the insula (island of Reil)
1798 - John Dalton, who was red-green colorblind, provides a scientific description of color blindness
1709 - Domenico Mistichelli describes the pyramidal decussation
1717 - Antony van Leeuwenhoek describes nerve fiber in cross section
1721 - The word "anesthesia" first appears in English
1736 - Jean Astruc coins the term reflex
1740 - Emanuel Swedenborg publishes Oeconomia regni animalis
1749 - David Hartley publishes Observations of Man, the first English work using the word "psychology"
1750 - Jacques Daviel performs the first cataract extraction on a living human eye
1772 - John Walsh conducts experiments on torpedo (electric) fish
1773 - John Fothergill describes trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux, Fothergill's syndrome)
1774 - Franz Anton Mesmer introduces "animal magnetism" (later called hypnosis)
1777 - Philip Meckel proposes that the inner ear is filled with fluid, not air
1778 - Samuel Thomas von Soemmerring presents the modern classification of the twelve cranial nerves
1779 - Antonius Scarpa describes Scarpa's ganglion of the vestibular system
1780 - Etienne Bonnot de Condillac publishes the first figure of "reflex action"
1781 - Felice Fontana describes the microscopic features of axoplasm from an axon
1786 - Felix Vicq d'Azyr discovers the locus coeruleus
1786 - Samuel Thomas Sommering describes the optic chiasm
1786 - Georg Joseph Beer founds the first eye hospital in Vienna
1790 - Johannes Ehrenritter describes the glossopharygeal nerve ganglion
1791 - Luigi Galvani publishes work on electrical stimulation of frog nerves
1791 - Samuel Thomas von Soemmering names the macula lutea of the retina
1792 - Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabbroni suggests that nerve action involves both chemical and physical factors
1796 - Johann Christian Reil describes the insula (island of Reil)
1798 - John Dalton, who was red-green colorblind, provides a scientific description of color blindness
1800 - 1850
1800 - Samuel von Sommering identifies black material in the midbrain and calls it the "substantia nigra"
1801 - Thomas Young describes astigmatism
1808 - Franz Joseph Gall publishes work on phrenology
1809 - Johann Christian Reil uses alcohol to harden the brain
1809 - Luigi Rolando uses galvanic current to stimulate cortex
1811 - Julien Jean Legallois discovers respiratory center in medulla
1811 - Charles Bell discusses functional differences between dorsal and ventral roots of the spinal cord
1813 - Felix Vicq d'Azyr discovers the claustrum
1821 - Charles Bell describes facial paralysis ipsilateral to facial nerve lesion (Bell's palsy)
1822 - Friedrich Burdach names the cingular gyrus
1822 - Friedrich Burdach distinguishes lateral and medial geniculate
1823 - Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens states that cerebellum regulates motor activity
1824 - Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens details ablation to study behavior
1824 - F. Magendie provides first evidence of cerebellum role in equilibration
1825 - Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud presents cases of loss of speech after frontal lesions
1825 - Luigi Rolando describes the sulcus that separates the precentral and postcentral gyri
1836 - Gabriel Gustav Valentin identifies neuron nucleus and nucleolus
1836 - Robert Remak describes myelinated and unmyelinated axons
1837 - Jan Purkyne (Purkinje) describes cerebellar cells; identifies neuron nucleus and processes
1839 - Theordor Schwann proposes the cell theory
1839 - Francois Leuret names the Rolandic sulcus for Luigi Rolando
1840 - Adolph Hannover uses chromic acid to harden nervous tissue
1840 - Adolphe Hannover discovers the ganglion cells of the retina
1842 - Benedikt Stilling is first to study spinal cord in serial sections
1844 - Robert Remak provides first illustration of 6-layered cortex
1845 - Ernst Heinrich Weber and Edward Weber discover that stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits the heart
1847 - Chloroform anesthesia used by James Young Simpson
1848 - Phineas Gage has his brain pierced by an iron rod
1801 - Thomas Young describes astigmatism
1808 - Franz Joseph Gall publishes work on phrenology
1809 - Johann Christian Reil uses alcohol to harden the brain
1809 - Luigi Rolando uses galvanic current to stimulate cortex
1811 - Julien Jean Legallois discovers respiratory center in medulla
1811 - Charles Bell discusses functional differences between dorsal and ventral roots of the spinal cord
1813 - Felix Vicq d'Azyr discovers the claustrum
1821 - Charles Bell describes facial paralysis ipsilateral to facial nerve lesion (Bell's palsy)
1822 - Friedrich Burdach names the cingular gyrus
1822 - Friedrich Burdach distinguishes lateral and medial geniculate
1823 - Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens states that cerebellum regulates motor activity
1824 - Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens details ablation to study behavior
1824 - F. Magendie provides first evidence of cerebellum role in equilibration
1825 - Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud presents cases of loss of speech after frontal lesions
1825 - Luigi Rolando describes the sulcus that separates the precentral and postcentral gyri
1836 - Gabriel Gustav Valentin identifies neuron nucleus and nucleolus
1836 - Robert Remak describes myelinated and unmyelinated axons
1837 - Jan Purkyne (Purkinje) describes cerebellar cells; identifies neuron nucleus and processes
1839 - Theordor Schwann proposes the cell theory
1839 - Francois Leuret names the Rolandic sulcus for Luigi Rolando
1840 - Adolph Hannover uses chromic acid to harden nervous tissue
1840 - Adolphe Hannover discovers the ganglion cells of the retina
1842 - Benedikt Stilling is first to study spinal cord in serial sections
1844 - Robert Remak provides first illustration of 6-layered cortex
1845 - Ernst Heinrich Weber and Edward Weber discover that stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits the heart
1847 - Chloroform anesthesia used by James Young Simpson
1848 - Phineas Gage has his brain pierced by an iron rod
1850 - 1900
1850 - Emil Du Bois-Reymond invents nerve galvanometer
1851 - Jacob Augustus Lockhart Clarke describes the nucleus dorsalis, an area in the intermediate zone of the spinal cord gray matter
1851 - Andrea Verga describes the cavum vergae
1852 - A. Kolliker describes how motor nerves originate from the neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord
1854 - Louis P. Gratiolet describes convolutions of the cerebral cortex
1855 - Bartolomeo Panizza shows the occipital lobe is essential for vision
1855 - Richard Heschl describes the transverse gyri in the temporal lobe (Heschl's gyri)
1856 - Albrecht von Graefe describes homonymous hemianopia
1858 - Joseph von Gerlach stains brain tissue with a carmine solution
1860 - Gustav Theodor Fechner develops "Fechner's law"
1865 - Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters describes the lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiter's nucleus)
1872 - George Huntington describes symptoms of a hereditary chorea
1872 - Sir William Turner describes the interparietal sulcus
1874 - Roberts Bartholow electrically stimulates human cortical tissue
1874 - Carl Wernicke publishes Der Aphasische Symptomencomplex on aphasias
1875 - Sir David Ferrier describes different parts of monkey motor cortex
1875 - Richard Caton is first to record electrical activity from the brain
1878 - Louis-Antoine Ranvier describes regular interruptions in the myelin sheath
1879 - Scottish surgeon William Macewen performs successful surgery to treat a brain abscess
1884 - Franz Nissl describes the granular endoplasmic reticulum ("Nissl Substance")
1888 - William W. Keen, Jr. is first American to remove intracranial meningioma
1888 - Hans Chiari introduces the term "syringomyelia"
1888 - Giovanni Martinotti describes cortical cells later known as "Martinotti cells"
1895 - Heinrick Quincke performs lumbar puncture to study cerebrospinal fluid
1896 - Camillo Golgi discovers the Golgi apparatus
1896 - Joseph Babinski describes the Babinski Sign
1896 - Emil Kraeplein describes dementia praecox
1897 - Ivan Petrovich Pavlov publishes work on physiology of digestion
1897 - Karl Ferdinand Braun invents the oscilloscope
1851 - Jacob Augustus Lockhart Clarke describes the nucleus dorsalis, an area in the intermediate zone of the spinal cord gray matter
1851 - Andrea Verga describes the cavum vergae
1852 - A. Kolliker describes how motor nerves originate from the neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord
1854 - Louis P. Gratiolet describes convolutions of the cerebral cortex
1855 - Bartolomeo Panizza shows the occipital lobe is essential for vision
1855 - Richard Heschl describes the transverse gyri in the temporal lobe (Heschl's gyri)
1856 - Albrecht von Graefe describes homonymous hemianopia
1858 - Joseph von Gerlach stains brain tissue with a carmine solution
1860 - Gustav Theodor Fechner develops "Fechner's law"
1865 - Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters describes the lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiter's nucleus)
1872 - George Huntington describes symptoms of a hereditary chorea
1872 - Sir William Turner describes the interparietal sulcus
1874 - Roberts Bartholow electrically stimulates human cortical tissue
1874 - Carl Wernicke publishes Der Aphasische Symptomencomplex on aphasias
1875 - Sir David Ferrier describes different parts of monkey motor cortex
1875 - Richard Caton is first to record electrical activity from the brain
1878 - Louis-Antoine Ranvier describes regular interruptions in the myelin sheath
1879 - Scottish surgeon William Macewen performs successful surgery to treat a brain abscess
1884 - Franz Nissl describes the granular endoplasmic reticulum ("Nissl Substance")
1888 - William W. Keen, Jr. is first American to remove intracranial meningioma
1888 - Hans Chiari introduces the term "syringomyelia"
1888 - Giovanni Martinotti describes cortical cells later known as "Martinotti cells"
1895 - Heinrick Quincke performs lumbar puncture to study cerebrospinal fluid
1896 - Camillo Golgi discovers the Golgi apparatus
1896 - Joseph Babinski describes the Babinski Sign
1896 - Emil Kraeplein describes dementia praecox
1897 - Ivan Petrovich Pavlov publishes work on physiology of digestion
1897 - Karl Ferdinand Braun invents the oscilloscope
1900 - 1950
1900 - Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams
1900 - Charles Scott Sherrington states that cerebellum is head ganglion of the proprioceptive system
1900 - M. Lewandowsky coins the term "blood-brain barrier" (Bluthirnschranke) [ref: Aschner and Kerper, Mol. Biol. and Tox. of Metals, 2000]
1902 - Julius Bernstein proposes membrane theory for cells
1902 - Physiologist Ida Hyde is the first woman elected to the American Physiological Society
1902 - Oskar Vogt and Cecile Vogt coin the term "neurophysiology"
1909 - Korbinian Brodmann describes 52 discrete cortical areas
1913 - Santiago Ramon y Cajal develops gold chloride-mercury stain to show astrocytes
1913 - Edwin Ellen Goldmann finds blood brain barrier impermeable to large molecules
1914 - Robert Barany-Nobel Prize-Vestibular apparatus
1919 - Cecile Vogt describes over 200 cortical areas
1921 - Hermann Rorschach develops the inkblot test
1921 - John Augustus Larsen and Leonard Keeler develop the polygraph
1921 - del Rio Hortega describes microglia
1922 - Army Medical Library established (was the Library of the Surgeon General's Office)
1924 - Charles Scott Sherrington discovers the stretch reflex
1928 - Edgar Douglas Adrian publishes The Basis of Sensation
1929 - Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser publish work on the correlation of nerve fiber size and function
1929 - Walter B. Cannon coins the term homeostasis
1930 - John Carew Eccles shows central inhibition of flexor reflexes
1931 - Ulf Svante von Euler and J.H. Gaddum discover substance P
1932 - Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska invent the electron microscope
1932 - Jan Friedrich Tonnies develops multichannel ink-writing EEG machine
1932 - Edgar Douglas Adrian and Charles S. Sherrington share Nobel Prize for work on the function of neurons
1937 - John Zachary Young suggests that the squid giant axon can be used to understand nerve cells
1942 - Judith Graham develops a KCl-filled glass electrode for recording muscle fiber resting membrane potential
1942 - Stephen Kuffler develops the single nerve-muscle fiber preparation
1943 - John Raymond Brobeck describes hypothalamic hyperphasia
1900 - Charles Scott Sherrington states that cerebellum is head ganglion of the proprioceptive system
1900 - M. Lewandowsky coins the term "blood-brain barrier" (Bluthirnschranke) [ref: Aschner and Kerper, Mol. Biol. and Tox. of Metals, 2000]
1902 - Julius Bernstein proposes membrane theory for cells
1902 - Physiologist Ida Hyde is the first woman elected to the American Physiological Society
1902 - Oskar Vogt and Cecile Vogt coin the term "neurophysiology"
1909 - Korbinian Brodmann describes 52 discrete cortical areas
1913 - Santiago Ramon y Cajal develops gold chloride-mercury stain to show astrocytes
1913 - Edwin Ellen Goldmann finds blood brain barrier impermeable to large molecules
1914 - Robert Barany-Nobel Prize-Vestibular apparatus
1919 - Cecile Vogt describes over 200 cortical areas
1921 - Hermann Rorschach develops the inkblot test
1921 - John Augustus Larsen and Leonard Keeler develop the polygraph
1921 - del Rio Hortega describes microglia
1922 - Army Medical Library established (was the Library of the Surgeon General's Office)
1924 - Charles Scott Sherrington discovers the stretch reflex
1928 - Edgar Douglas Adrian publishes The Basis of Sensation
1929 - Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser publish work on the correlation of nerve fiber size and function
1929 - Walter B. Cannon coins the term homeostasis
1930 - John Carew Eccles shows central inhibition of flexor reflexes
1931 - Ulf Svante von Euler and J.H. Gaddum discover substance P
1932 - Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska invent the electron microscope
1932 - Jan Friedrich Tonnies develops multichannel ink-writing EEG machine
1932 - Edgar Douglas Adrian and Charles S. Sherrington share Nobel Prize for work on the function of neurons
1937 - John Zachary Young suggests that the squid giant axon can be used to understand nerve cells
1942 - Judith Graham develops a KCl-filled glass electrode for recording muscle fiber resting membrane potential
1942 - Stephen Kuffler develops the single nerve-muscle fiber preparation
1943 - John Raymond Brobeck describes hypothalamic hyperphasia
1950-Present
1950 - Karl Lashley publishes In Search of the Engram
1950 - Eugene Roberts and J. Awapara independently identify GABA in the brain
1950 - The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke established (it has gone through several name changes)
1950 - French chemist Paul Charpentier synthesizes chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic drug
1951 - MAO-inhibitors introduced to treat psychotics
1951 - B.F. Skinner describes shaping in a paper titled How to Teach Animals
1953 - Brenda Milner discusses patient HM who suffers from memory loss of hippocampal surgery
1953 - Eugene Aserinski and Nathaniel Kleitman describe rapid eye movements (REM) during sleep
1953 - H. Kluver and E. Barrera introduce Luxol fast blue MBS stain
1954 - James Olds describes rewarding effects of hypothalamic stimulation
1957 - W. Penfield and T. Rasmussen devise motor and sensory homunculus
1957 - The American Medical Association recognizes alcoholism as a disease
1960 - Oleh Hornykiewicz shows that brain dopamine is lower than normal in Parkinson's disease patients
1961 - Levadopa successfully treats Parkinsonism
1962 - Eldon Foltz performs the first cingulotomy to treat chronic pain
1963 - John Carew Eccles, Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Andrew Fielding Huxley share Nobel Prize for work on the mechanisms of the neuron cell membrane
1968 - Alexander Romanovich Luria publishes The Mind of a Mnemonist; A Little Book About a Vast Memory
1970 - Julius Axelrod, Bernard Katz and Ulf Svante von Euler share Nobel Prize for work on neurotransmitters
1972 - Godfrey N. Hounsfield develops x-ray computed tomography
1973 - Candace Pert and Solomon Snyder demonstrate opioid receptors in brain
1973 - Sinemet is introduced as a treatment for Parkinson's disease
1973 - Konrad Z. Lorenz, Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch share Nobel Prize for work on ethology
1973 - Timothy Bliss and Terje Lomo describe long-term potentiation
1974 - National Institute on Drug Abuse established
1974 - International Association for the Study of Pain founded
1974 - John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz discover enkephalin
1974 - M.E.Phelps, E.J.Hoffman and M.M.Ter Pogossian develop first PET scanner
1974 - First NMR image (a mouse) is taken
1975 - John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz publish work on enkephalins
1976 - Choh Hao Li and David Chung publish work on beta-endorphin
1990 - U.S. President George Bush declares the decade starting in 1990 the "Decade of the Brain"
1991 - Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann share the Nobel Prize for their work on the function of single ion channels
1993 - The gene responsible for Huntington's disease is identified
1950 - Eugene Roberts and J. Awapara independently identify GABA in the brain
1950 - The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke established (it has gone through several name changes)
1950 - French chemist Paul Charpentier synthesizes chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic drug
1951 - MAO-inhibitors introduced to treat psychotics
1951 - B.F. Skinner describes shaping in a paper titled How to Teach Animals
1953 - Brenda Milner discusses patient HM who suffers from memory loss of hippocampal surgery
1953 - Eugene Aserinski and Nathaniel Kleitman describe rapid eye movements (REM) during sleep
1953 - H. Kluver and E. Barrera introduce Luxol fast blue MBS stain
1954 - James Olds describes rewarding effects of hypothalamic stimulation
1957 - W. Penfield and T. Rasmussen devise motor and sensory homunculus
1957 - The American Medical Association recognizes alcoholism as a disease
1960 - Oleh Hornykiewicz shows that brain dopamine is lower than normal in Parkinson's disease patients
1961 - Levadopa successfully treats Parkinsonism
1962 - Eldon Foltz performs the first cingulotomy to treat chronic pain
1963 - John Carew Eccles, Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Andrew Fielding Huxley share Nobel Prize for work on the mechanisms of the neuron cell membrane
1968 - Alexander Romanovich Luria publishes The Mind of a Mnemonist; A Little Book About a Vast Memory
1970 - Julius Axelrod, Bernard Katz and Ulf Svante von Euler share Nobel Prize for work on neurotransmitters
1972 - Godfrey N. Hounsfield develops x-ray computed tomography
1973 - Candace Pert and Solomon Snyder demonstrate opioid receptors in brain
1973 - Sinemet is introduced as a treatment for Parkinson's disease
1973 - Konrad Z. Lorenz, Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch share Nobel Prize for work on ethology
1973 - Timothy Bliss and Terje Lomo describe long-term potentiation
1974 - National Institute on Drug Abuse established
1974 - International Association for the Study of Pain founded
1974 - John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz discover enkephalin
1974 - M.E.Phelps, E.J.Hoffman and M.M.Ter Pogossian develop first PET scanner
1974 - First NMR image (a mouse) is taken
1975 - John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz publish work on enkephalins
1976 - Choh Hao Li and David Chung publish work on beta-endorphin
1990 - U.S. President George Bush declares the decade starting in 1990 the "Decade of the Brain"
1991 - Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann share the Nobel Prize for their work on the function of single ion channels
1993 - The gene responsible for Huntington's disease is identified