The discovery of the Golgi apparatus

The existence of the cell organelle which is now known as Golgi apparatus or Golgi complex, or simply as 'the Golgi", was first reported by Camillo Golgi in 1898, when he described in nerve cells an 'internal reticular apparatus' impregnated by a variant of his chromoargentic staining. It soon became clear that the newly-identified cytoplasmic structure occurred in a variety of cell types. However, the reality of the organelle was questioned for decades, until it was finally ascertained with electron microscopy. The Golgi apparatus was destined to become a protagonist of the research in cytology and cell biology pursued in the second half of the twentieth century.     

The discovery of REM sleep

The impetus to pursue the study of ocular motility in sleeping adults was derived from a previous study conducted by the author on infants. He noted through visual observation alone that there was an approximate twenty minute interlude of complete ocular quiescence during each hour of sleep. This period of quiescence was termed 'No Eye Movement Period' or 'N.E.M. Period', and it was the intent of the author to ascertain what effect age would have on the distribution of N.E.M. periods during sleep. In the latter part of 1951, the first continuous all-night recording of ocular motility in sleep using a combined EEG and EOG technique was conducted on the author's eight year old son. Instead of N.E.M. Periods, what he found were aproximately twenty minute periods of vigorous ocular activity including saccadic-like eye movements. Although he ultimately termed these epochs as 'REM Periods', his initial intent was to name them 'Jerky Eye Movement Periods' or "JEM Periods'. Ironically, some three decades later he found that a mathematical measure of jerkiness was a better discriminator than velocity in distinguishing REMs from waking saccades. Kleitman, who was the thesis advisor, played the role of skeptic during the REM discovery and demanded unassailable proof of the existence of REM. His feelings had to be ambivalent inasmuch as the REM state, with its concurrent activated cerebral cortex, negated his own theory that sleep was a completely passive phenomenon.     

The discovery of anti-epileptic drugs

The general history of epilepsy is well documented, there being detailed accounts from ancient times in Babylonia (Wilson et al., 1990), ancient India (Bharucha & Bharucha, 1989), and China (Lai & Lai, 1991), up until the end of the 19th century (Tempkin, 1971). But relatively little has been written about its medical treatment, (Melville, 1982). The subject of this article is the history of potassium bromide, phenobarbitone and phenytoin, how their use in epilepsy was discovered, and in particular the surprisingly large part played by chance, luck and serendipity, in their introduction to the pharmacopaeia. The advance in this field has been one of sudden leaps forward, followed by periods of apparent inactivity, until the next discovery emerged, a pattern repeated many times, since medical treatment of epilepsy began with potassium bromide in 1857, until the introduction of vigabatrin in 1990.     

The body of power,the body of memory

Bioarchaeology is a relatively new and dynamic area of anthropological research, having grown out of the New Archaeology’s emphasis on understanding formation processes within a broader anthropological/behavioral context. Current bioarchaeological research is increasingly focused on questions of identity and social roles from the perspectives of agency and embodiment and with an emphasis on contextual interpretation, as illustrated by the edited volumes discussed in this review. The relevance of this bioarchaeology research extends to other areas of anthropological enquiry, especially when considering the importance of the body in power and identity construction in contemporary societies.     

秦城《红罗记》传奇稿本的发现

庄一拂<古典戏曲存目汇考>、周妙中<江南访曲录要>、李修生<古本戏曲剧目提要>等皆将秦子陵<如意珠>传奇著录为明末清初作品,认为清代叶怀庭<纳书楹曲谱>所收、姚燮<今乐考证>所著录的无名氏<如意珠>传奇即秦子陵的<如意珠>传奇.     

禹会村遗址的发掘收获及学术意义

禹会村遗址是淮河流域一处较大型的龙山文化遗址,也是中国古代文明探源工程中关键时期的关键遗址,对其发掘,为考证与相邻地区同类文化的关系,提供了直接的证据,同时也弥补了龙山文化的地域性空白,更重要的是为求证大禹治水史绩、探索江淮地区文明起源的进程以及后来如何汇聚、如何加速王朝国家的形成过程,具有重大意义。     

贺兰山的大发现

荒山坡上发现了大片塔林著名的宁夏贺兰山拜寺口双塔背后是一大片荒山坡。1999年7月14日，笔者听说双塔背后的山坡上发现了一块“壁画”，随即赶到现场察看。所谓“壁画”，是埋于乱石堆中的一小块白灰墙面，上面绘有红色纹饰。当时，估计是残存墙面的“壁画”，就决定清除其周围的乱石。谁也没有想到，清理干净后，呈现在眼前的却不是壁画，而是一座十字折角形的塔基壁画。彩绘塔基出现在双塔后边的山坡上，这里有无可能再出现一片著名的青铜峡108塔？带着疑问与猜想，贺兰县文管所与宁夏考古所开始了探查清理。于是，文物维修、考古史上的…     

The discovery of motor cortex and its background

In 1870 Gustav Fritsch and Edvard Hitzig showed that electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex of a dog produced movements. This was a crucial event in the development of modern neuroscience because it was the first good experimental evidence for a) cerebral cortex involvement in motor function, b) the electrical excitability of the cortex, c) topographic representation in the brain, and d) localization of function in different regions of the cerebral cortex. This paper discusses their experiment and some developments in the previous two centuries that led to it including the ideas of Thomas Willis and Emanuel Swedenborg, the widespread interest in electricity and the localizations of function of Franz Joseph Gall, John Hughlings Jackson, and Paul Broca. We also consider the subsequent study of the motor cortex by David Ferrier and others.