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Nerve Endings: The Discovery Of The Synapse

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In this engaging and well written book, part history of science, part biography, Rapport focuses on the intellectual war that eventually led to the discovery of the neuron theory. The neuron theory - the idea that the nervous system consists of discrete cellular units (neurons) - was one of the key, early discoveries of neuroscience. It has radically accelerated our understanding of how the brain works and it has since had wide-ranging implications, for neurosurgery, psychiatry and other fields.

At heart of the story lie two characters: a charismatic Spanish artist and scientist, Santiago Ramon y Cajal and an equally brilliant, but dogmatic, Italian scientist, Camillo Golgi. These two men (both of whom were awarded the Nobel prize in 1906) were the representatives of two opposing scientific camps who were engaged in an acrimonious intellectual battle during the second half of the 19th century. The point of contention was the structural anatomy of the nervous system. Cajal represented the `neuronist' camp, who claimed that the nervous system consisted of individual cellular units that communicated with one another across tiny gaps (these gaps are called synapses). In contrast, Golgi headed the `reticularists' who held that the entire nervous system was linked in one giant network, that there were no individual cells that were separated from each other.

Besides making many important discoveries in the field of biology (discovery of the Golgi apparatus, the Golgi tendon organ) Camillo Golgi also invented a method for preparing slides of nervous tissue - called silver (Golgi) staining. Silver staining allowed scientists to begin making detailed analyses of nervous tissue for the first time, using light microscopes. Golgi contributed much to the early study of neurohistology, but he confused certain branching neuronal processes (the axon collaterals) for widely ramifying protrusions that he thought connected the entire nervous system in one large network. He used this observation to support his erroneous reticularist theory; at the same time, Cajal was using and improving Golgi's silver staining method to develop the opposing (and as it turns out, correct) theory of neuronal structure. Cajal was a visionary genius, "fascinated by the bewitchment of the infinitely small." His contribution to neuroanatomy is immeasurable. He used his considerable artistic skills to complete extremely detailed drawings of the nervous system that were used in textbooks for years to come. Unlike Golgi, Cajal did not think that the nerve cells were all connected in one diffuse net. He deduced the existence of the synaptic gap from the way that the terminal axons of presynaptic neurons and the dendrites of postsynaptic neurons appeared to fit each other so well (the synapse was not actually seen until the arrival of electron microscopy in the first half of the twentieth century).

But more than helping to clarify the anatomy of the nervous system, Cajal was remarkably prescient in putting forth theories about the physiology of the nervous system as well. He formulated the law of dynamic polarization, which says that the current flow within neurons is unidirectional - electrical signals are received at the dendrites, sent to the cell body and then conducted along the length of the axon. (This law is actually not quite correct but it still remains a basic principle of neural function and is presented in all neuroscience textbooks). Cajal also speculated about the chemical nature of inter-neuronal communication and made predictions about the ways in which neurons grow from their neuroblast precursors.

The significance of Cajal's work was by no means immediate, among other reasons because of national chauvinism. Cajal was a Spaniard and in 19th century science it was mainly Germany, Italy and France who dictated the intellectual landscape. The amazing thing about Cajal is that he made many of his great discoveries working in solitude, his important publications being ignored for years.

This book is a great companion-piece to Elliot Valenstein's "The War of the Soups and Sparks" and should be read prior to that book as it covers chronologically earlier events. Both books will be of great interest to those involved in the neurosciences. Both books also do a great job of showing how science develops in particular sociohistorical and technological contexts and how it is shaped by the personalities and temperaments of its practitioners.

NERVE ENDINGS is a jewel of a book written by neurosurgeon Richard Rapport, in his extremely lucid and sometimes humorous style, on the life and contributions of Ramon Cajal,- one of neuroscience's greatest anatomists. Although not an avid reader of biographies, I am a fan of Rapport's writing, having read his numerous contributions to Northwest Review and his book PHYSIAN: THE LIFE OF PAUL BEESON. So, based on this, I ordered NERVE ENDINGS. I was not disappointed. From the introduction to the last chapter I was always entertained, educated, and enthralled. I recommend this book to devotees of fiction and non-fiction alike as an extremely satisfying read.

A very well written, and nicely illustrated history of the early years of research on the synapse, illuminating the differences in opinion between Ramon y Cajal and Golgi. Which controversy, in the end, has overshadowed the multitude of work Golgi did.

One of the best ways to learn a science is to learn the history of that science. Like "In Search of Memory", "Nerve Endings" is a biographical work about the life and scientific contributions of a Nobel prizing winning neuroscientist. The author documents the 19th century debate about the existence and purpose of the synapse and the personal rivalry between Dr. Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Dr. Camillo Golgi. I would recommend this book to any neuroscience student.

Dr. Richard Rappaport's study of the discovery of the nerve synapse Nerve Endings also presents the story of two doctors who shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906 yet were separated by geographical and psychological differences. The parallel lives and discoveries of Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi provides an intriguing survey of two men whose similar discoveries and investigative processes led to the science of neurosurgery and better understanding of neurological diseases. An intriguing survey of parallel lives and very different perspectives.

This book provides a highly readable review of the emergence of the so-called "Neuron Doctrine." Roughly speaking this doctrine claims that neurons are anatomically distinct and constitute independent functional units. In revised forms the Neuron Doctrine and related principles like "the Law of Dynamic Depolarization" still appear to form part of neuroscience's theoretical back-bone. (As witnessed by their explicit introduction in text books like Kandel et als "Principles of Neural Science."

The book focuses on the life and work of Cajal, to whom early evidence for the Doctrine is often attributed, and on Cajal's controversy with Golgi. The latter was a "reticularist" who thought that neurons form a continuous network or "reticulum."

While "Nerve Endings" is a fun and easy read, readers who are interested in the precise content of the Neuron Doctrine, how it has been interpreted in different ways, and how it is to a certain extent currently being revised may want to look elsewhere, as there is relatively little discussion of this. (See e.g. Bullock et al "The Neuron Doctrine, Redux", Science Vol 310, 4 Nov 2005. Jones "Golgi, Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine", Journal of the History of the Neurosciences Vol 8, no 2, 1999)

I would also have preferred to have references to litterature in the main text rather than have to look up the page numbers in the final "notes" section.

These are minor complaints, however, and the book is certainly a fine introduction to the life of a great scientist and an exciting period in the history of neuroscience!