A Hole in the Head: More Tales in the History of Neuroscience

by Charles G. Gross

Overview

Essays on great figures and important issues, advances and blind alleys—from trepanation to the discovery of grandmother cells—in the history of brain sciences.

Neuroscientist Charles Gross has been interested in the history of his field since his days as an undergraduate. A Hole in the Head is the second collection of essays in which he illuminates the study of the brain with fascinating episodes from the past. This volume's tales range from the history of trepanation (drilling a hole in the skull) to neurosurgery as painted by Hieronymus Bosch to the discovery that bats navigate using echolocation.

The emphasis is on blind alleys and errors as well as triumphs and discoveries, with ancient practices connected to recent developments and controversies. Gross first reaches back into the beginnings of neuroscience, then takes up the interaction of art and neuroscience, exploring, among other things, Rembrandt's “Anatomy Lesson” paintings, and finally, examines discoveries by scientists whose work was scorned in their own time but proven correct in later eras.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262517331
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	01/13/2012
Series:	The MIT Press
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Charles G. Gross, a neuroscientist specializing in vision and the functions of the cerebral cortex, is Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. He is the author of Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience (MIT Press, 1998).

What People are Saying About This

Lawrence Weiskrantz

"A delight and a treasure-trove. As expected from Charles Gross's earlier historical writings, this is a marvelous temporal travelogue, from the Greeks to contemporary scientists, and with many surprises along the way. All of it is invaluable to the historian of neuroscience, but it also includes closely-argued discussion of some contemporary issues. Of special interest is the section on scientists who were 'before their time,' some of whom are still waiting for their time in the spotlight. A hole-in-one several times over."-- Larry Weiskrantz,
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Oxford

From the Publisher

"A delight and a treasure trove. As expected from Charles Gross's earlier historical writings, this is a marvelous temporal travelogue, from the Greeks to contemporary scientists, and with many surprises along the way. All of it is invaluable to the historian of neuroscience, but it also includes closely argued discussion of some contemporary issues. Of special interest is the section on scientists who were 'before their time,' some of whom are still waiting. A hole-in-one several times over." Larry Weiskrantz , Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Oxford

Endorsement

A delight and a treasure-trove. As expected from Charles Gross's earlier historical writings, this is a marvelous temporal travelogue, from the Greeks to contemporary scientists, and with many surprises along the way. All of it is invaluable to the historian of neuroscience, but it also includes closely-argued discussion of some contemporary issues. Of special interest is the section on scientists who were 'before their time,' some of whom are still waiting for their time in the spotlight. A hole-in-one several times over.

—Lawrence Weiskrantz, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Oxford

Editorial Reviews

Readers not familiar with Gross' other works should read them along with the entertaining, stimulating, and informative chapters in A Hole in the Head.—Helen Bynum, The Journal of the American Medical Association—

From the Publisher

Readers not familiar with Gross' other works should read them along with the entertaining, stimulating, and informative chapters in A Hole in the Head.—Helen Bynum, The Journal of the American Medical Association

Reviews

Readers not familiar with Gross' other works should read them along with the entertaining, stimulating, and informative chapters in A Hole in the Head.

The Journal of the American Medical Association - Helen Bynum