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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Bianca Rodriguez
Introduction
Medicine began as a practice rooted in religion, spirituality, and cultural beliefs. (Hajar, 2012.) People believed that if you were sick, it was a punishment for your sins rather than an ailment in your body or mind. Medicine was formatted around the idea of treating the soul rather than the body. When Neuroscience began, it was no different than the commonly upheld beliefs about sickness in the soul. (Hajar, 2012.)
Early Beliefs and Misconceptions
Neuroscience was not the first to become prominent within Medieval Medicine. Previous ancestors were not instantly aware that the brain was in charge of the various functions of the body, therefore, neuroscience remains one of the fairly newer fields of medicine. (Rooney, 2019.)
IN THE HEART, BRAIN OR LIVER?
Early on, the internal organs were associated with one’s thoughts and emotions. For example, in early on Mesopotamia the heart was viewed to be where intellect came from. Moreover, the liver was home to thoughts, emotions while the womb was the place for compassion. (Men weren’t considered to have passion at that point. (Rooney, 2019). Other places (Babylonia and India) also viewed the heart as “king.” (Rooney,2019, pg. 10.) The philosopher Democritus divided human functions now known to originate in the brain to three different organs. He attributed emotions to the heart. (A concept later enveloped in Egyptian religion and culture, leading to the common association of the heart with love.) (Groner, 2013.) Democritus also associated the lusts and appetites a person to the liver. However, he did make process in assigning some functions to the brain: consciousness and thought. (Williams, 2017). The well-known philosopher Aristotle also unfocused on the heart as the source of human function. Aristotle believed the heart was in charge movement, bodily activity, and sensation. (Goodhart, 2017).
Aristotle’s Main Points
· Not all Animals have a brain, therefore the brain must not be very important
· The Brain is only a cooling chamber
· The heart is responsible for the blood supply which is needed for sensationalized feelings, whereas the brain has no supply
· The brain is not essential for life
· The brain is not sensitive touch
“The Brain is not responsible for any sensations at all”- Aristotle (Goodhart, 2017, pg., 4)
Credit Given to the Brain
IMPORTANT AKNOWLEDGMENTS OF THE BRAIN
1. Plato developed the idea of a three-part soul, and designated the brain a place of reason and intellect, declaring that is the “divinest part of us, and lords it over the rest.” (428-347bc) (as sited in Rooney, 2019, pg. 11)
2. Hippocrates treated and studied epilepsy, writing in On the Sacred Disease, that the brain is the source of pleasure, grief and feelings. (425 BC) (Rooney, 2019)
Note: These Acknowledgments are important to note, as these were both well-respected philosophers of the time, whose contributions brought awareness to the brain.
BEGINNINGS OF BRAIN DISSECTIONS AND RESEARCH
Ancient Greek Philosopher Alcmaeon is known as the first person to have carried out bodily dissections with the intention of knowledge. (Rooney, 2019.) After his dissection, he wrote several observations on his study of the brain and optic nerve. Alcmaeon claimed that the brain was where sensations were processed(rather than the heart), and that the brain was location of cognitive thought. (Rooney, 2019.) Following Alcmaeon, Herophilus and Erasistratus performed the first detailed dissection of the human brain in Egypt. It is said that such procedures were done on human prisoners, a practice allowed at the time that in unfortunate ways, did help propel medicine forward. Herophilus is credited for his discovery of the nerves, and being able to properly tell the difference between nerves,
blood vessels and tendons. (Rooney, 2019.) Herophilus also found that damage to the nerves was reason for paralysis. Both anatomists collectively found that the brain was in charge of thought and sensation, even being able to distinguish between the cerebrum and cerebellum. Furthermore, Herophilus and Erasistratus named the membranes that surround the brain (mengies) and spaces filled with cerebrospinal fluid(ventricles.) (Rooney 2019.) Herophilus stated that the command center of intellect was in the fourth ventricle.
A Breakthrough
GALEN
Second Century Ad Physician Galen is considered to be the father of modern medicine and various techniques. Galen believed that the brain was the most important organ in the body, crediting it for control and functions within the body. (Rooney, 2019.) To back up his thinking, Galen would study gladiators who came to him with varying injuries. Galen was fundamental in discoveries related to another part of neuroscience- the spinal column. Galen found that severing the spinal cord in certain areas could paralyze certain parts of the body and restrict both feeling and movement. (Rooney, 2019.) Galen also noted the changes in respiration, speech, and function, that occurred when certain muscles or nerves were damaged. (Rooney, 2019.) To prove his fellow romans that the brain was a control center, Galen dissected a pig to demonstrate that the brain in in control through nerves. (Rooney, 2019.) Galen had severed the laraynx of a big, making him unable to speak. Galen was then able to demonstrate how this was due to a nerve connected to the larynx. This demonstration was monumental in a variety of ways, but in relation to neuroscience, it demonstrated that the brain is in control of movement and behavior.
Conclusion
As you can see, the beginnings of neuroscience are not rooted as much in the brain as one would think. Medicine began with a basis in superstition or religion, and this leaves us
with a lasting impact. (For example, the heart meaning love.) However, with the help of philosophers like Galen, humanity began to realize what organ was really in charge.
WORK CITED
Hajar R. (2012). The Air of History (Part II) Medicine in the Middle Ages. Heart views: the
official journal of the Gulf Heart Association, 13(4), 158–162.
https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-705X.105744
Rooney, A. (2019). Neuroscience: Unlocking the mysteries of the brain and consciousness.
London: Arcturus.
Groner, D. (2013, April 09). Why's a Heart Represent Love, Anyway? Retrieved July 23, 2020,
Williams, M. (2016, July 27). Who Was Democritus? Retrieved July 23, 2020, from
Goodhart A The relationship between heart and ‘inner self’ from Aristotle to current clinical practice Medical Humanities 2014; 40:61-66.
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