When most people hear the word neuroscience, people immediately assume that it is one of the most difficult fields of study. After all, it is the study of the brain and even its leading experts will always be quick to say that we have only scratched the surface of its complexity.
You would be right to feel intimidated by that complexity! On the other hand, it is important to at least expand one’s perspective of the field. This will help you place all the latest neuroscience information in proper context and understand their benefits.
A good start would be to know the basic history of neuroscience. What did experts know before? What has changed? What does this mean for the future?
Hopefully, the following timeline can be a little primer to help answer these questions.
Contrary to what some might think, the fields of medicine in ancient times had at least acknowledged that the brain played some significant part as an organ in the body. Everyone from the Egyptians, to Hippocrates and all the way to Da Vinci and Renaissance scholars came to acknowledge that the brain was an organ serving as ‘the seat of intelligence.’
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean they knew of things like neurons or synapses. There was no means to really understand the brain that far. However, concepts such as the brain controlling the movement of muscles and receiving sensations were already in wide circulation among anatomists of these periods.
It was roughly during this period where scientists first theorised that different parts of the brain corresponded with respective parts of the body (such as the cerebellum for movement, the brain stem for breathing and heartbeat etc). Furthermore, this was the age where terms like synapses and neurons were more formally coined.
It is worth noting that this period also saw a lot of interplay between the fields of brain anatomy and psychology. Sigmund Freud himself made his own attempts to understand the brain science of his time even though he eventually abandoned it as insufficient for his own work.
This period was further characterised by advances in microscope technology that came soon after the industrial revolution and advances in electric lighting. By the mid-20th century, neuroscience was gradually distinguishing itself as its own field. The brain took a more centralized focus of study, as opposed to just being a part of the nervous system. (And incidentally, this is where scientists first thought that the brain could not regenerate or alter itself past a certain age.)
Just as with the microscope, the field of neuroscience that we know today was revolutionised with the development of brain scanning and mapping technology. Of course, even without the invention of MRIs, many neuroscientists and psychiatrists in the mid-20th century have already begun digging deeper into the specific processes of the brain (such as executive function, auditory processing, memory storage etc).
And from that period until only recently, it was still thought that the brain was ‘fixed’ past the age of maturity. That all has changed after more studies and more accurate scans have identified significant changes (whether its change experienced by trauma victims, or changes in those who underwent a physical exercise program).
Neuroscience is certainly undergoing a really incredible period of new discovery thanks to advances in medical technology. It is not an understatement to say that it has allowed a depth and precision of understanding the brain in ways that was unprecedented in previous periods.
So in short, the history of neuroscience is one where great advances in technology have led to incredible, revolutionary discoveries about the human brain in relation to the body. There might be even more to come, but what’s already established is quite exciting!
If you need any advice or support, then know that we at the Australian Tomatis Method are still here to help you. Please reach out if you need to, either by email at info@tomatis.com.au or by phone to Francoise at 0414 444 915.
Official Representative of Tomatis Developpement SA in Australia, Asia and South Pacific, Director of the Australian Tomatis® Method, Registered Psychologist, Certified Tomatis® Consultant Senior, Tomatis® International Trainer and Speaker, Co-author of the Listening Journey Series, 40 Years of Experience, Neurodiversity Speaker
