Who Was the Father of Neuroscience?
Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal developed the "Neuron Doctrine" and "Neuron Polarization Theory" in the 20th century, which are the basis of neuroscience today.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal portrait (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
First Spanish Nobel Prize Winning Scientist
Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) was a Spanish scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 for his work on the nervous system. He was the first person of Spanish origin to win a scientific Nobel Prize.
Drawing Direction Nerve Stimoulous. (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
What Is the "Neuron Doctrine?"
Cajal’s ground-breaking discovery that neurons are individual, separate cells and their inter-relationship to propagate nerve impulses, the “Neuron Doctrine,” is the basis of neuroscience.
Pedro Ramon y Cajal drawing (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Establishment of "Neuron Polarization Theory"
Cajal also established the so-called “Neuron Polarization Theory,” which explains the main directions followed by the nerve impulse along the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Drawing Cerebral Cortex (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Archives of Santiago Ramón Y Cajal
The Archives of Santiago Ramón y Cajal and the Spanish Neurohistological School consist of a collection of scientific manuscripts, histological preparations (mainly of the nervous tissue), drawings (scientific and artistic), and paintings (anatomical and artistic).
Drawing Retina (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance of the Archives of Santiago Ramón y Cajal
The Archives are the foundation and cornerstone of many important discoveries and theories that have led to today’s understanding of the human brain both in its anatomical organization composed of individual cells and functional aspects.
Fernando de Castro Drawing Sympathetic Ganglia (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Santiago Ramon Y Cajal’s Pupils
Among the direct pupils of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the most prominent were his own brother Pedro Ramón y Cajal (1854-1950), Pío del Rio-Hortega (1882-1945), and Fernando de Castro (1896-1967).
Rafael Lorente Drawing Dorsal Brainstem (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Existence of Arterial Chemoreceptors
Fernando de Castro (1896-1967), one Cajal's pupils, advanced concepts such as existence of arterial chemoreceptors, which monitor and respond to changes in the partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the arterial blood and central chemoreceptors .
Pío del Río Hortega (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Expansion of Frontiers of Knowledge and Neuronism
Pioneer studies were complemented by those from Cajal’s main disciples, in which the frontiers of knowledge and “Neuronism” were expanded. Such as oligodendroglia and microglia by Pío del Río-Hortega (1882-1945).
Histological Slides (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance of Neuroscience Discoveries and Theories Today
The Archives are essential to the study of the history, discoveries, and theories of the comprehension of the human brain in its double aspect, anatomical composition (cells), and physiological properties (circuits and nerve impulse propagation).
“Cajal’s Legacy - Arrows of Neuroscience” (20th century) by The Cajal Legacy GroupUNESCO Memory of the World
