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NeurophysiologyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Neurophysiology
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Neurophysiology(fromGreek,neuron,"nerve",physis,"nature,origin"and,logia,
"knowledge")isabranchofphysiologyandneurosciencethatisconcernedwiththestudyofthefunctioningofthe
nervoussystem.Theprimarytoolsofbasicneurophysiologicalresearchincludeelectrophysiologicalrecordings,
suchaspatchclamp,voltageclamp,extracellularsingleunitrecordingandrecordingoflocalfieldpotentials,as
wellassomeofthemethodsofcalciumimaging,optogenetics,andmolecularbiology.
Neurophysiologyisrelatedtoelectrophysiology,neurobiology,psychology,neurology,clinicalneurophysiology,
neuroanatomy,cognitivescience,biophysics,mathematicalbiology,andothersciencesconcerningthebrain.[1]

Contents
1
2
3
4

History
Seealso
References
Sources

History
Neurophysiologyhasbeenasubjectofstudysinceasearlyas4,000B.C.
IntheearlyB.C.years,moststudieswereofdifferentnaturalsedativeslikealcoholandpoppyplants.In1700
B.C.,theEdwinSmithsurgicalpapyruswaswritten.Thispapyruswascrucialinunderstandinghowtheancient
Egyptiansunderstoodthenervoussystem.Thispapyruslookedatdifferentcasestudiesaboutinjuriestodifferent
partsofthebody,mostnotablythehead.Beginningaround460B.C.,Hippocratesbegantostudyepilepsy,and
theorizedthatithaditsoriginsinthebrain.Hippocratesalsotheorizedthatthebrainwasinvolvedinsensation,and
thatitwaswhereintelligencewasderivedfrom.Hippocrates,aswellasmostancientGreeks,believedthat
relaxationandastressfreeenvironmentwascrucialinhelpingtreatneurologicaldisorders.In280B.C.,
ErasistratusofChiostheorizedthatthereweredivisionsinthevestibularprocessingthebrain,aswellasdeducing
fromobservationthatsensationwaslocatedthere.
In177Galentheorizedthathumanthoughtoccurredinthebrain,asopposedtotheheartasAristotlehadtheorized.
Theopticchiasm,whichiscrucialtothevisualsystem,wasdiscoveredaround100C.E.byMarinus.Circa1000,
AlZahrawi,livinginIberia,begantowriteaboutdifferentsurgicaltreatmentsforneurologicaldisorders.In1216,
thefirstanatomytextbookinEurope,whichincludedadescriptionofthebrain,waswrittenbyMondinodeLuzzi.
In1402,StMaryofBethlehemHospital(laterknownasBedlaminBritain)wasthefirsthospitalusedexclusively
forthementallyill.
In1504,LeonardodaVincicontinuedhisstudyofthehumanbodywithawaxcastofthehumanventriclesystem.
In1536,NicoloMassadescribedtheeffectsofdifferentdiseases,suchassyphilisonthenervoussystem.Healso
noticedthattheventricularcavitieswerefilledwithcerebrospinalfluid.In1542,thetermphysiologywasusedfor
thefirsttimebyaFrenchphysiciannamedJeanFernel,toexplainbodilyfunctioninrelationtothebrain.In1543,
AndreasVesaliuswroteDehumanicorporisfabrica,whichrevolutionizedthestudyofanatomy.Inthisbook,he
describedthepinealglandandwhathebelievedthefunctionwas,andwasabletodrawthecorpusstriatumwhich
ismadeupofthebasalgangliaandtheinternalcapsule.In1549,JasonPratensispublishedDeCerebriMorbis.
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Thisbookwasdevotedtoneurologicaldiseases,anddiscussedsymptoms,aswellasideasfromGalenandother
Greek,RomanandArabicauthors.Italsolookedintotheanatomyandspecificfunctionsofdifferentareas.In
1550,AndreasVesaliusworkedonacaseofhydrocephalus,orfluidfillingthebrain.Inthesameyear,Bartolomeo
Eustachistudiedtheopticnerve,mainlyfocusingonitsorigininthebrain.In1564,GiulioCesareAranzio
discoveredthehippocampus,namingitsuchduetoitsshaperesemblancetoaseahorse.
In1621,RobertBurtonpublishedTheAnatomyofMelancholy,whichlookedatthelossofimportantcharactersin
one'slifeasleadingtodepression.In1649,RenDescartesstudiedthepinealgland.Hemistakenlybelievedthatit
wasthe"soul"ofthebrain,andbelieveditwaswherethoughtsformed.In1658,JohannJakobWepferstudieda
patientinwhichhebelievedthatabrokenbloodvesselhadcausedapoplexy,orastroke.
In1749,DavidHartleypublishedObservationsonMan,whichfocusedonframe(neurology),duty(moral
psychology)andexpectations(spirituality)andhowtheseintegratedwithinoneanother.Thistextwasalsothefirst
tousetheEnglishtermpsychology.In1752,theSocietyofFriendscreatedanasyluminPhiladelphia,
Pennsylvania.Theasylumintendedtogivenotonlymedicaltreatmenttothosementallyill,butalsoprovidewith
caretakersandcomfortablelivingconditions.In1755,JeanBaptisteLeRoybeganusingelectroconvulsivetherapy
forthementallyill,atreatmentstillusedtodayinspecificcases.In1760,ArneCharlesstudiedhowdifferent
lesionsinthecerebellumcouldaffectmotormovements.In1776,VincenzoMalacarnestudiedthecerebellum
intensely,andpublishedabooksolelybasedonitsfunctionandappearance.
In1784,FlixVicqd'Azyr,discoveredablackcoloredstructureinthemidbrain.[2]In1791SamuelThomasvon
Smmerringalludedtothisstructure,callingitthesubstantianigra.[3]In1808,FranzJosephGallstudiedand
publishedworkonphrenology.Phrenologywasthefaultyscienceoflookingatheadshapetodeterminedifferent
aspectsofpersonalityandbrainfunction.In1811,JulienJeanCsarLegalloisstudiedrespirationinanimal
dissectionandlesionsandfoundthecenterofrespirationinthemedullaoblongata.Inthesameyear,CharlesBell
finishedworkonwhatwouldlaterbecomeknownastheBellMagendielaw,whichcomparedfunctional
differencesbetweendorsalandventralrootsofthespinalcord.In1822,KarlFriedrichBurdachdistinguished
betweenthelateralandmedialgeniculatebodies,aswellasnamedthecingulategyrus.In1824,F.Magendie
studiedandproducedthefirstevidenceofthecerebellumsroleinequilibrationtocompletetheBellMagendie
law.In1838,TheodorSchwannbeganstudyingwhiteandgreymatterinthebrain,anddiscoveredthemyelin
sheath.Thesecells,whichcovertheaxonsoftheneuronsinthebrain,arenamedSchwanncellsafterhim.In1848,
PhineasGage,theclassicalneurophysiologypatient,hadhisbrainpiercedbyanirontampingrodinablasting
accident.Hebecameanexcellentcasestudyintheconnectionbetweentheprefrontalcortexandbehavior,decision
makingandconsequences.In1849,HermannvonHelmholtzstudiedthespeedoffrognerveimpulseswhile
studyingelectricityinthebody.
Whilethesearecertainlynotallthedevelopmentsinneurophysiologybefore1849,thesedevelopmentswere
significanttothestudyofthebrainandbody.

Seealso
Brain
Neuroscience
Neuralcoding
Neurology

References
1."TheClinicalNeurophysiologyPrimer"(https://books.google.com/books?id=k99lQusj53sC&pg=PT27)ByAndrewS.
Blum,SewardB.Rutkove,HumanaPress,2007,ISBN089603996X,9780896039964
2.TubbsRS,LoukasM,ShojaMM,MortazaviMM,CohenGadolAA(July2011)."FlixVicqd'Azyr(17461794):early
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founderofneuroanatomyandroyalFrenchphysician".ChildsNervSyst27(7):10314.doi:10.1007/s003810111424y.
PMID21445631.
3.Swanson,LW.Neuroanatomicalterminology:alexiconofclassicaloriginsandhistoricalfoundations.OxfordUniversity
Press,2014.EnglandISBN9780195340624

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FyeWB(October1995)."JulienJeanCsarLegallois".ClinicalCardiology18(10):599600.
doi:10.1002/clc.4960181015.PMID8785909.
"NEUROSURGERY://ONCALL".CyberMuseumofNeurosurgery.Retrieved30April2012.
Gallistel,C.R."Bell,MagendieandtheProposalstoRestricttheUseofAnimalsinNeurobehavioral
Research"(PDF).Ruccs.rutgers.edu.Retrieved30April2012.
"HistoryofBiology18001849".Retrieved30April2012.
"HistoryofNeuroscience.".UniversityofWashington.Retrieved30April2012.
DuqueParraJE(September2004)."Perspectiveonthevestibularcortexthroughouthistory".The
AnatomicalRecordPartB:TheNewAnatomist280(1):159.doi:10.1002/ar.b.20031.PMID15382110.
"ArticleNumber:EONS:0736:Cerebellum"(PDF).Retrieved30April2012.
"DavidHartley".StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy.Retrieved30April2012.
Frank,LeonardR.(2006)."TheElectroshockQuotationary"(PDF).Retrieved30April2012.
PearceJM(April1997)."JohannJakobWepfer(162095)andcerebralhaemorrhage".JournalofNeurology,
Neurosurgery,andPsychiatry62(4):387.doi:10.1136/jnnp.62.4.387.PMC1074098.PMID9120455.
OriginsofNeuroscience.Retrieved30April2012.
Waln,Robert."AnAccountoftheAsylumfortheInsane,EstablishedbytheSocietyofFriends,near
Frankford,intheVicinityofPhiladelphia.".Retrieved30April2012.
"AnatomyWords".Retrieved30April2012.
"AndreasVesaliusandModernHumanAnatomy".Retrieved30April2012.
AndreasVesaliusofBrussels,15141564.Retrieved30April2012.
PestronkA(March1988)."Thefirstneurologybook.DeCerebriMorbis...(1549)byJasonPratensis".
ArchivesofNeurology45(3):3414.doi:10.1001/archneur.1988.00520270123032.PMID3277602.
"DescartesandthePinealGland".StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy.Retrieved30April2012.
McCaffrey,Patrick."Chapter5.TheCorpusStriatum,Rhinencephalon,ConnectingFibers,and
Diencephalon".CMSD620NeuroanatomyofSpeech,SwallowingandLanguage.TheNeuroscienceonthe
WebSeries.CSU.Retrieved30April2012.
BrinkA(December1979)."Depressionandloss:athemeinRobertBurton's'Anatomyofmelancholy'
(1621)".CanadianJournalofPsychiatry24(8):76772.PMID391384.
"AlZahrawiFatherofSurgery.".Retrieved30April2012.
"AndreasVesalius".Encyclopedia.com.Retrieved30April2012.
JefferyG(October2001)."Architectureoftheopticchiasmandthemechanismsthatsculptits
development".PhysiologicalReviews81(4):1393414.PMID11581492.
"MondinoDe'Luzzi.".Encyclopedia.com.Retrieved30April2012.
"AHistoryoftheBrain".StanfordUniversity.Retrieved30April2012.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neurophysiology&oldid=722391962"
Categories: Neurophysiology
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