The Story of the Brain in 10½ Cells

Richard Wingate

• Publisher: Wellcome Collection
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9781782835769
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Ciencias en general

LONGLISTED FOR THE BSHS BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE HUGHES PRIZE 2025

There are more than 100 billion brain cells in our heads, and every single one represents a fragment of thought and feeling. Each cell possesses a mysterious beauty, with branching, intricate patterns like shattered glass. Richard Wingate has been scrutinising them for decades, yet he is still gripped by the myriad of forms when he looks down the microscope.

With absorbing lyricism and clarity, Wingate shows how each type of cell possesses its own personality and history, illustrating a milestone of scientific discovery and illuminating the stories of pioneering scientists like Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Francis Crick, and capturing their own fascinating shapes and patterns.

Discover the ethereal world of the brain with this elegant little book - and find out how we all think and feel.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgement
• Preface
• My first cell
• Cell 1: Purkinje’s cell and the method of silhouettes
• Cell 2: The pig barn and the retinal ganglion cell
• Cell 3: The astrocyte and neural glue
• Cell 4: The sensory cell, Cajal’s mistake and Freud’s throwback
• Cell 5: The leech neuron and the nerve net
• Cell 6: A universal brain cell
• Cell 7: Betz’s brain cell and the mapping of the cortex
• Cell 8: The reticulothalamic cell and the seat of consciousness
• Cell 9: The Scheibel cell and the heterarchy
• Cell 10: The motor neuron, a final common pathway and Sherrington’s ghost
• Cell 10½: The giant axon and the little yellow spot
• Epilogue: The storytelling brain
• References
• About the Publisher
• Copyright