Sherrington investigated and explained the proprioceptive system.

Head submitted to the division of his own left radial and external cutaneous nerves. His subsequent study of the loss and restoration of sensation thus brought about, led to a reclassification of the sensory pathways. Head was for many years editor of the journal Brain.

Tashiro showed that the production of the nervous impulse depends on the metabolic activity of the nerve fiber.

Gotch (No. 1420.1), Adrian, and Keith Lucas made important discoveries concerning the “all-or-nothing” responses of individual nerve fibers. Their work is summarized in the above monograph. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

Reprint, with modifications and additions, of seven papers published in the journal Brain between 1905 and 1918. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

In 1944 Erlanger and Gasser shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries regarding the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibers."

Kato made valuable investigations on nerve conduction. A second volume, Further studies, appeared in 1926.

The observations of Adrian and Zotterman on the response of single sensory end-organs to a natural stimulus led them to formulate their conception of “adaptation” of receptors to stimuli.

In 1932 Adrian shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Charles Scott Sherrington "for their discoveries about the function of neurons." See also Nos. 1307, 1528, and 1303.

Young’s discovery of the giant nerve fibers of the squid (squid giant axon) Loglio forbesi made possible the study of the electrical phenomena of the nervous impulse in the interior as well as on the surface of a nerve fiber. It led to the work of Hodgkin and Huxley (No. 1310.1).

Hodgkin and Huxley were the first to succeed in inserting electrodes into a living giant nerve fiber and to measure directly the action potential within it.

In 1963 Hodgkin and Huxley shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir John Eccles “for their discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in the excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane.”

Eccles shared the Nobel Prize with A. L. Hodgkin and A. F. Huxley in 1963. See No. 1310.1.

The only complete edition of Willis's works in English, translated by the poet Samuel Pordage. It contains the translations of all his works except his Affectionum quae dicuntur hystericae (1671). The collection includes the First Edition in English of Willis's De anima brutorum. The volume is divided into six separately paginated sections, each with its own title-leaf. Included are English versions of Willis's three great works on the brain--Cerebri anatome, Pathologiae cerebri and De anima brutorum--as well as his clinical and pharmaceutical treatises. In Treatise III, pp. 128-158 Willis’s described the intercostal and spinal nerves. He described the ganglion chain as the “intercostal nerve” and thought it came from the head.

In addition to his invaluable work in the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system, Willis was the first to distinguish true diabetes mellitus, and showed that the polyuria was not due to any disease of the kidneys. He anticipated the recognition of hormones in the circulation of his suggestion that the phenomena of puberty were due to a ferment distributed through the body from the genitals. He discovered the superficial lymphatics of the lungs, distinguished acute tuberculosis from the chronic fibroid type and gave the first clinical and pathological account of emphysema.  The modern treatment of asthma really begins with Willis, who considered it to be of nervous origin. ("Of the convulsive cough and asthma," Treatise VIII, pp. 92-96; No. 3165). Willis was probably the first to report an epidemic of cerebrospinal fever" ("A description of an epidemical feaver, Treatise VIII, pp. 46-54; No. 4673). Transcription of the complete text from Early English Books Online at this link.

A romantic history attaches to this fine collection of plates, drawn by Eustachius himself and completed in 1552. They remained unprinted and forgotten in the Vatican Library until discovered in the early 18th century, and were then presented by Pope Clement XI to his physician, Giovanni Maria Lancisi. The latter published them in 1714 together with his own notes. These copperplates are more accurate than the work of Vesalius. Singer was of the opinion had they appeared in 1552 Eustachius would have ranked with Vesalius as one of the founders of modern anatomy. He discovered the Eustachian tube, the thoracic duct, the adrenals and the abducens nerve, and gave the first accurate description of the uterus. He also described the cochlea, the muscles of the throat and the origin of the optic nerves. Plate XVIII is a drawing of the sympathetic nervous system. Eustachius was the first to describe the ganglion chain, but made the mistake of tracing the origin of the cervical portion to the brain-stem. With respect to dentistry, Eustachi's illustrations of the teeth, related to his Libellus de dentibus (1563-64) were first published in this work.

By cutting the intercostal nerves in the neck, du Petit found that disturbances occurred in the eyes and face of the same side; this disproved earlier views of the cerebral origin of the intercostal nerves.

The foramen between the greater and lesser sacs of the peritoneum (described on pages 352-65), is named after Winslow. His Exposition is distinguished as being the first book on descriptive anatomy to discard physiological details and hypothetical explanations foreign to the subject. He did much to condense and systematize the anatomical knowledge of his time.

-Sect. VI deals with the nerves. Winslow designated the ganglion chain “the grand sympathetic nerve”, and the smaller branches “the lesser sympathetic”, terms which remain today. The work includes a reprint of the text of Stensen, Discours sur I’anatomie du cerveau, Paris, 1669. English translation by G. Douglas, 2 vols., 1733-34. That includes the first English translation of Stensen's work.

Bichat was the creator of descriptive anatomy. He introduced the terms “animal” and “vegetative” system. This was his last work, unfinished at his death. Vol. 4 was prepared by Bichat's student and cousin, Mathieu-François Buisson, and vol. 5 by Philibert-Joseph Roux. Vol. 3, pp. 319-68 includes Bichat's Nerfs de la vie organique. Digital facsimiles of all 5 vols are available from the Hathi Trust at this link.

Includes description of “Lobstein’s ganglion”, an accessory ganglion of the sympathetic nerve above the diaphragm. English translation, 1831.

These writers showed the sympathetic nervous system to consist largely of small, medullated fibers originating from the sympathetic and spinal ganglia.

Beck showed that in man the thoracic sympathetic chain receives communications from the last cervical, thoracic, and upper 1 or 2 lumbar ganglia.

Bernard discovered the existence of vasomotor nerves.

By applying a galvanic current to the superior part of the divided sympathetic nerve and causing vascular contraction and a fall in temperature, Brown-Séquard inferred that section of the sympathetic paralysed and dilated the blood-vessels (pp. 489-90). See also Nos. 1325-26.

Campbell saw in the sympathetic a nervous system related to secretion and nutrition and having intimate connexion with the sensory nerves. He coined the ter “excito-secretory” to designate his theory; although this term has fallen into desuetude, the same idea was more recently advanced to explain the action of certain glands of internal secretion.

“Horner’s syndrome”, due to lesion of the cervical sympathetic. The same syndrome was evoked in animals by Pourfour du Petit in 1727 (see No. 1313). It is a proof that the sympathetic governs the pupillary, vasomotor, sudomotor, and pilomotor functions. It was also described by Claude Bernard, Leçons sur la physiologie et la patbologie du système nerveux, 1858, 2, 473-74, and, less impressively, by E. S. Hare, Lond. med. Gaz., 1838-39, 1, 16-18.

Gaskell established the origin of the preganglionic neurons (white rami).

Langley and Dickinson studied the effect of nicotine on nerve fibers, and were able by this means to make a thorough investigation of the distribution of nerve fibers.

This book sums up the life work of Gaskell, who laid the histological foundation of the modern study of the autonomic nervous system. No more published.

Langley divided the autonomic nervous system into (1) the orthosympathetic, and (2) the parasympathetic; he defined it as an efferent system.

Study of the cells of origin of the white rami.

The first intimation of the chemical mediation of nerve impulses was given in Elliott’s suggestion that when a sympathetic nerve impulse arrives at a smooth-muscle cell it liberates adrenaline, which acts as a chemical stimulator.

Howell suggested that nerve impulses act indirectly by increasing the amount of diffusible potassium compounds in the heart tissue.

Discovery of the remarkable hypotensive effect of acetylcholine.

These workers drew attention to the similarity between the effects of nerve stimulation and certain drugs, especially muscarine, on the heart.

Demonstration of the inhibitory action of acetylcholine on the heart.

In 1936 Dale shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Otto Loewi (No. 1343) "for their studies in the chemical mediation of nervous impulses." See also Nos. 1345 and 1353.

Isolation of acetylcholine in ergot.

Showed that tissues are more sensitive to acetylcholine after treatment with eserine (physostigmine).

Loewi’s important experiments firmly established the theory of chemical intermediaries in nervous reactions.

In 1936 Loewi shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dale "for discoveries related to chemical neurotransmission."

Established the presence of cholinesterase and that in vitro eserine inhibited this esterase.

Isolation of acetylcholine from ox and horse spleen.

Cannon and Bacq suggested the name “sympathin” for a substance which they considered to be liberated into the blood stream following nerve stimulation and which acted in the same manner as sympathetic impulses. See also No. 1350.

Production of acetylcholine on stimulation of the chorda tympani nerve.

Adrenaline and sympathin were suggested to be unidentical substances, and Cannon and Rosenblueth proposed the terms “sympathin E” and “sympathin I”.

Kibjakow showed that some substance in a muscle perfusate is able to contract muscle during stimulation of nerve.

These workers produced evidence that a chemical agent (acetylcholine) appears in the transfer of nerve impulses from neuron to neuron in sympathetic ganglia.

The authors hypothesized the existence of two sympathins, one excitatory and the other inhibitory, now known as epinephrine and norepinephrine. See Nos. 1144 & 1350.

Noradrenaline shown to be the predominant transmitter of the effects of sympathetic nerve impulses.

In 1970 Euler shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Katz and Axelrod "for their discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation."

In 1970 Katz shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ulf von Euler and J. Axelrod "for their discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation."

See also Katz, The release of neural transmitter substances, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1969.

The first separate work on the spinal cord. Blasius “illustrated the separate origin of the anterior and posterior roots, the dorsal root ganglia and the differentiation between the gray and white matter of the spinal cord” (McHenry). Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Bohn's approach was mechanistic in that he grave predominately physical interpretations of vital processes. He experimented on the decapitated frog, declaring the reflex phenomena to be entirely material and mechanical, the general view of the time being that “vital spirits” were present in the nerve-fluid. Bohn showed that the nerves do not contain a “nerve juice”. (See p. 460 of the book.) Bohn also described the function of the heart in iatromechanical terms.

Theory of contralateral innervation.

Unzer was probably the first to employ the work “reflex” in connection with sensory–motor reactions. T. Laycock translated his book into English for the Sydenham Society in 1851.

Includes description of “Burdach’s column”, the posterior column of the spinal cord. This work is also “an unrivalled source of historical information on macroscopical neuroanatomy” (Meyer).

“Hall showed that reflex activity could be distinguished from other types of movement, that it produced what today we call ‘muscle tone,’ that it included sneezing coughing, and vomiting, and that it could be influenced by disease. The discovery of these characteristics, and the general formulation of the reflex concept, remain Hall’s outstanding contributions… [Hall and Johannes Müller] were able to rely entirely upon their experimental findings, and, unlike their predecessors, could discount the intervention of the soul and so exclude the metaphysical miasma that had clouded much of the previous work on the subject of reflex activity” (Clarke and O’Malley, 1996, p. 347). 

Clarke made important researches on the spinal cord. He described the nucleus dorsalis. He introduced the method of mounting sections with Canada balsam.

Includes description of “Golls column” or “tract”, the posterior column of the spinal cord.

Sechenov discovered the cerebral inhibition of spinal reflexes. He was Professor of Physiology at St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the “father of Russian physiology”.

The “Lovén reflex”, vasodilatation of an organ when its afferent nerve is stimulated.

Goltz made important observations on the decerebrate frog. He showed it to possess no volitional powers except after stimulation, no memory and no intelligence. His experiments on frogs deprived of their spinal cords showed them to have intelligence but lessened powers of co-ordination and adaptation.

“Lissauer’s tract”, the marginal tract in the spinal cord.

Demonstration that the knee-jerk can be reinforced by sensory stimulation.

Nansen, better known for his Arctic explorations, was the first to point out that the posterior root fibers divide on entering the spinal cord into ascending and descending branches. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this liink.

This is generally considered the first clear statement that nerve cells in the brain might be independent units rather than forming an anastomotic network—as Gerlach, Golgi, and most others believed—although there are earlier hints of this from a variety of sources.  His’s conclusion was based on embryological observations in the spinal cord, suggesting that axons arise from nerve cell bodies (one per nerve cell), followed later by dendrites, and that any fusion of processes, if they occur at all, must be a secondary event. (Larry W. Swanson).

Independently of His, Forel formulated the neuron theory.

A statement of the neuron theory, to which Waldeyer gave the name.

Goltz was able to keep dogs alive for eight months after he had performed subtotal decerebration. He found them incapable of purposive movements but able to walk with adequate co-ordination. Frontal decortication caused restlessness; from his experiments Goltz concluded that the site of integration of pseudo-affective mechanisms is subcortical.

Goltz and Ewald succeeded in impregnating a bitch after its spinal cord had been severed.

Flatau’s law—“the greater the length of the fibers in the spinal cord the closer they are situated to the periphery”.

“Monakow’s bundle”, the rubrospinal tract.

Classic studies on “spinal man”. Republished in book form, 1918.

Riddoch described in detail the results of complete transection of the spinal cord in man. With Head (see No. 1376) he made one of the most painstaking investigations of this subject.

Varolio described a new method of dissection which enabled him to observe and describe the pons for the first time. By this new method Varolio was able to make some contributions to the knowledge of the course and termination of the cranial nerves and to trace the course of the optic nerve approximately to its true termination. His name is perpetuated in the “pons varolii”.

In this revision of his father’s anatomical treatise, Thomas Bartholin included the first depiction of the fissure of Sylvius, the lateral cerebral fissure, and the only part of the surface of the cerebral hemispheres to be given a name between 1641 and end of the 18th century when Reil described the "island of Reil" (1796; No. 1387). Sylvius (Franciscus de Le Boë) made his neurological observations in 1637 but did not publish them officially until issuing his Disputationes medicarum pars prima (Amsterdam, 1663). Sylvius collaborated with Bartholin on the above work, publishing in it ten illustrations of the brain after his own drawings.

The most complete and accurate account of the nervous system which had hitherto appeared, and the work that coined the term, “neurology". In its preparation Willis was helped by his students Richard Lower and Thomas Millington, and its illustrations are by the architect, Sir Christopher Wren, making this one of the earliest scientific collaborations in England. Willis’s classification of the cerebral nerves held the field until the time of Soemmerring. The book includes (Cap. I and plates 1, 2) the description of the “circle of Willis”, and of the eleventh cranial nerve (“nerve of Willis”). Willis recognized the sympathetic system and accepted the brain as the organ of thought. English translation by S. Pordage, 1681. The anatomy of the brain and nerves. Tercententary edition, ed. by W. Feindel, 2 vols, Montreal, 1965, reprints this translation with a complete annotated bibliography of the work. Wepfer (No. 2703) and others preceded Willis in giving a detailed and complete description of the “circle of Willis”.

In this remarkably prescient argument for, and critique of, anatomical research into brain function Stensen opposed Descartes (No. 574) arguing that it was idle to speculate about cerebral function when so little was known about the anatomical structure of the brain. Stensen proved anatomically that the pineal gland was not the seat of the soul. Latin translation, Leiden, 1671. Reprinted in Winslow (No. 394), and translated in that work. Modern English translation, Copenhagen, 1950. Digital facsimile of the 1669 edition from BnF Gallica at this link.

Vieussens, professor at Montpellier, was the first to describe the centrum ovale correctly. The publication of the above work threw new light on the subject of the configuration and structure of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. With numerous large folding copperplates, it is considered the best illustrated work on the nervous system published in the 17th century. Second issue, identical except dated 1685. Both issues have the words, “editio nova” on the title page. Digital facsimile of the 1584 issue from Google Books at this link.

The first book on the brain in the English language, including the first account of the circular venous sinus which Ridley names, and the first English account of a pineal tumor.  In it Ridley gives the first account of the circular venous sinus which he names. He also gives the first English account of a pineal tumour" (Russell).  The copperplates were engraved by van der Gucht from drawings by William Cowper.

Includes a description and illustration of the Pacchionian bodies of the arachnoid tissue under the dura, producing by pressure slight depressions (“Pacchionian depressions”). See also Pacchioni’s De durae meningis fabrica et usu disquisitio anatomica (Rome: D.A. Herculis, 1701). Digital facsimile of the 1701 work from Google Books at this link.

First account of the chemical composition of the brain. Hensing discovered the presence of phosphorus. Annotated English translation with biography and historical analysis, by D.B. Tower. New York, Raven Press, [1983].

Whytt, famous Edinburgh neurophysiologist, was the first to prove that the response of the pupils to light is a reflex action (“Whytt’s reflex”). He described this reflex at length and mentioned that its afferent pathways lie in the optic nerve and the efferent pathways in the third pair.

Cotugno published a classic description of sciatica, which is useful even today. He recognized two types – arthritic and nervous; the latter has been called “Cotugno’s disease”, and his book is confined to that type. It includes the first clear description of the association of edema with proteinuria.

Valsalva in 1692 briefly mentioned the cerebrospinal fluid, but “Cotugno was the first to describe the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and to suggest tht it was in continuity with the ventricular and cerebral subarachnoid fluids. However, his concept of the cerebral and spinal fluid, which is the beginning of its modern physiology, remained in obscurity until rediscovery by Magendie some 60 years later” (Clarke & O’Malley). For more information regarding this book and a translation of the section dealing with the cerebrospinal fluid, see the article by H. R. Viets in Bull. Inst. Hist. Med., 1935, 3, 701-38. English translation, London, 1775.

The first detailed account of the anatomy of the cerebellum, which introduced the terms, “tonsil”, “pyramid”, “lingula”, and “uvula”. Reprinted in his Encefalotomia a sia nuova diimostrazione anatomica di tutte le parti contenuto nel cranio umano .... 3 vols., Torino, 1780.

“One of the first achievements of modern brain physiology” (Neuburger). Saucerotte carried out surgical experiments on dogs which convinced him that the anterior part of the cerebrum innervated the lower limbs and the posterior the upper limbs.

The first accurate enumeration of the 12 cranial nerves, superseding that of Willis (No. 1378). Soemmerring is notable for his accuracy in anatomical illustration. This was his thesis. The same publisher issued an edition for commercial circulation the same year, deleting “Dissertatio inauguralis anatomica” from the title.

Gennari was the first to demonstrate the laminar structure of the cerebral cortex when he discovered the line of Gennari, a macroscopically white band in the cerebral cortex of the occipital lobe.
This he observed on 2 February 1776 in the course of examining frozen sections of unstained human brain while in medical school. He referred to it as lineola albidior. Gennari's discovery was the first evidence that the cerebral cortex is not uniform in structure.

Monro discovered the communication between the lateral ventricles of the human brain with each other and with the third ventricle, the “foramen of Monro”. Alexander secundus was the greatest of the three Monros.

Prochaska introduced the idea of a “sensorium commune” in the central nervous system, a consistent and comprehensive theory of reflex action. English translation, London, Sydenham Society, 1851.

Fourcroy, French physician and chemist, made important researches on the chemistry of the brain. He noted albumen (protein) as a principal constituent.

Description of the “island of Reil”. This was the first part of the surface of the cerebral hemispheres to be given a name since 1641 (No. 1377.3). See also Reil’s follow-up paper in Arch. Physiol. (Halle), 1809, 9, 136-46; Reil was the editor of this journal, the first periodical devoted to physiology.

Includes description of “Rolando’s substance”, “tubercle”, and “funiculus”. Rolando described ablation experiments for brain localization similar to Flourens (No. 1391). They were largely unknown until Magendie published a French translation of them in his J. Phys. exper. path., 1823, 3, 95-113, which was reprinted by Flourens in No. 1493. Rolando was correct in allocating motor activity to the cerebral hemispheres; however his views on cerebellar function were replaced by those advanced by Flourens.
Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Introduced the theory of localization of cerebral function, although in a somewhat fantastic form. This pioneer attempt to map out the cerebral cortex according to function gave rise to the pseudo-science of phrenology. The work also contains some important additions to the knowledge of cerebral anatomy. Gall and Spurzheim ended their collaboration after the first 146pp. of Vol. 2. The remainder was written by Gall alone. The first edition was issued in two formats: (1) text and atlas all in folio and (2) text in quarto and atlas in folio. The second edition was revised by Gall, and published without the plates, but with a collection of replies to his critics as Sur les fonctions du cerveau et sur celles de chacune de ses parties. 6 vols., 8vo, Paris, l’Auteur, 1822-25. English translation of second edition, 6 vols., Boston, 1835.

First complete chemical analysis of the nervous system.

Le Gallois described the action of the vagus nerve on respiration. He showed that bilateral section of the vagus can produce fatal bronchopneumonia. The above work includes (p. 37) his location of the respiratory center in the medulla , and not in the spinal cord, as had been previously believed. “For the first time, an area of brain substance within a major subdivision of the brain and having a specific function had been defined accurately by experiment” (Clarke & Jacyna).

Le Gallois is also remembered for his reviving, after Borelli, the neurogenic theory of the heart’s action; namely that the motor power of the heart comes from the spinal cord via branches of the sympathetic nerves. Le Gallois also developed a primitive isolated heart-lung preparation in rabbits and was the first to suggest the possibility of a heart-lung machine: “If the place of the heart could be supplied by injection, and if, for the regular continuance of this injection, there could be furnished a quantity of arterial blood, whether natural or artifcially formed . . . then life might be indefnitely maintained” (quoted in Fye, “Julien Jean César Legallois,” Clinical Cardiology 18 (1995): 599-600. . Digital facsimile of the 1812 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. English translation by N. C. and J. G. Nancrede (Philadelphia, 1813) as Experiments on the principle of life, and particularly on the principle of the motions of the heart, and on the seat of this principle: including the report made to the first class of the Institute, upon the experiments relative to the motions of the heart. Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive at this link.

Mayo discovered and described the functions of the Vth and VIIth cranial nerves on pp. 107-120 of Number I, and did much towards the clarification of the idea of reflex action. Reprinted, Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press, 1975.

Flourens removed the cerebrum and cerebellum in pigeons, showing maintenance of reflexes with loss of cerebration in the former case and disturbance of equilibrium in the latter case. Thus he demonstrated that the cerebrum is the organ of thought and the cerebellum the organ controlling the co-ordination of body movements and of will-power. See Nos. 1388 & 1493. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

First clear description of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Rolando was the first to investigate the functions of the cerebellum. His name is perpetuated in the “fissure of Rolando”, so named by F. Leuret, Anatomic comparée, 1839-57, whose attention had been drawn to it previously by Rolando.

Bouillaud identified the anterior lobes as the speech center. Refuting Gall, he showed that the brain controls equilibration, station, and progression. Title of second paper varies. His earlier Traité clinique et physiologique de l’encéphalite ou inflammation du cerveau. Paris, 1825, includes some pathological and clinical studies on loss of articulate speech associated with lesions of the anterior lobes, and gives reasons for the localization of this function in the brain. See No. 4618.

Description of the “flask-shaped ganglionic bodies” known as “Purkinje cells”. Reprinted in his Opera Omnia, 1939, 3, 47-9. Also published in Oken’s Isis, 1838, pp. 582-84.

The first comprehensive systematic investigation of the mammalian brain. Leuret wrote vol. 1 without Gratiolet, who later became his collaborator, publishing vol. 2 and the atlas after Leuret’s death.

Baillarger demonstrated that the cortex is made up of layers and that fibers connect the cortex with the internal white matter. English translation in von Bonin, Some papers on the cerebral cortex, Springfield: Charles C Thomas, 1960.

“Foramen of Magendie” described.

Digital facsimile from wellcomecollection.org at this link. See also his paper in Ann. Sci. nat., 1853, 20, 321-33 (Zool.).