Brain, Human

Historical Findings on the Brain

Throughout history, many have attempted to understand and explain the functionality of the human brain. For instance, in ancient Egypt, the heart and not the brain was regarded as the most important organ within the human body. Furthermore, archeological evidence from 2000BCE suggests that trepanation, a form of brain surgery that involved cutting a hole through one's skull, was widely practiced by individuals in prehistoric civilizations. The main purpose of trepanation is not known for certain. However, scientists believe that this practice could have been for religious/mythical rituals or it could have been performed in hopes of relieving one from headaches, epilepsy, and mental illnesses.

In 450 BCE, Alcmaeon, a Greek physician, performed some of the earliest recorded dissections. His work led him to conclude that the brain was the central organ of sensation and thought. In contrast to Alcmaeon's findings was the great philosopher Aristotle. The latter believed that the heart was the center for sensation, thought, and emotion. At the time, Aristotle's position on this matter was well respected by many, and his teachings were extremely influential.

In the early 1800s, German anatomist Franz Gall founded the study of phrenology and became the first person to propose the idea of cerebral localization, a doctrine that emphasized that various mental faculties could be localized to different parts of the human brain. Gall claimed that he could identify and localize 27 faculties in different parts of the human cerebral cortex by simply examining the bumps on one's skull. As dubious as this practice may seem, it was widely accepted at the time because it offered a method to objectively assess one's personality characteristics.

In 1848, a horrible accident involving a railroad worker named Phineas Gage enabled researchers to get a better understanding of the concept of cerebral localization and also of the frontal lobe's role in personality characteristics. Gage was struck with an iron rod, which penetrated his skull and passed through his frontal lobe. Gage survived the incident. However, after recovering, he was no longer the loving and caring person that his friends and relatives remembered. Gage's personality quickly changed to one that expressed much impulsiveness and anger. The incident led to the suggestion that the frontal lobe of the brain played a significant role in the regulation of emotion.

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