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Abstract
The history of neuroscience is the memory of the discipline and this memory depends on the study of the present traces of the past; the things left behind: artifacts, equipment, written documents, data books, photographs, memoirs, etc. History, in all of its definitions, is an integral part of neuroscience and I have used examples from the literature and my personal experience to illustrate the importance of the different aspects of history in neuroscience. Each time we talk about the brain, do an experiment, or write a research article, we are involved in history. Each published experiment becomes a historical document; it relies on past research (the "Introduction" section), procedures developed in the past ("Methods" section) and as soon as new data are published, they become history and become embedded into the history of the discipline ("Discussion" section). In order to be transparent and able to be replicated, each experiment requires its own historical archive. Studying history means researching books, documents and objects in libraries, archives, and museums. It means looking at data books, letters and memos, talking to scientists, and reading biographies and autobiographies. History can be made relevant by integrating historical documents into classes and by using historical websites. Finally, conducting historical research can be interesting, entertaining, and can lead to travel to out-of-the-way and exotic places and meeting interesting people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard E. Brown
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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Lorusso L, Piccolino M, Motta S, Gasparello A, Barbara JG, Bossi-Régnier L, Shepherd GM, Swanson L, Magistretti P, Everitt B, Molnár Z, Brown RE. Neuroscience without borders: Preserving the history of neuroscience. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2099-2109. [PMID: 30099790 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 50 years, neuroscience has enjoyed a spectacular development, with many discoveries greatly expanding our knowledge of brain function. Despite this progress, there has been a disregard for preserving the history of these discoveries. In many European countries, historic objects, instruments, and archives are neglected, while libraries and museums specifically focusing on neuroscience have been closed or drastically cut back. To reverse this trend, the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) has organized a number of projects, including (a) the History of Neuroscience online projects, (b) the European Brain Museum Project (EBM), (c) the History online library, (d) the FENS meeting History Corner, (e) history lectures in historic venues, and (f) a series of history seminars in various European venues. These projects aim to stimulate research in, and increase awareness of, the history of European neuroscience. Our seminars have attracted large audiences of students, researchers, and the general public, who have supported our initiatives for the preservation of the history of neuroscience for future generations and for the promotion of interest in the history of neuroscience. It is therefore urgent to develop new methods for preserving our history, not only in Europe but also in the rest of the world, and to increase greatly teaching and research in this important aspect of our scientific and cultural legacy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marco Piccolino
- Centre of Neuroscience, Università degli Studi di Ferrata, Ferrata, Italy
| | - Saba Motta
- Scientific Library, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico "Carlo Besta", Milano, Italy
| | - Anna Gasparello
- Scientific Library, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico "Carlo Besta", Milano, Italy
| | - Jean-Gaël Barbara
- Laboratoire de Science, INSERM, CNRS Neurosciences Paris Seine, Sorbonne University, UPM, Univ Paris 06, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS-IBPS), Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Philosophie et Histoire des Sciences (SPHERE), Paris, France
| | - Laura Bossi-Régnier
- Laboratoire de Science, Philosophie et Histoire des Sciences (SPHERE), UMR7219, Paris Diderot University, Paris, France
| | - Gordon M Shepherd
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Larry Swanson
- Biological Science, Neurology, and Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | | | - Barry Everitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zoltán Molnár
- Departiment of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Richard E Brown
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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