The path to where neuroscience is today has been a long and convoluted one, but strange and controversial approaches — such as that of phrenology — at least contributed to opening up new avenues for research and investigation into the mysteries of the human mind.
Trepanation is the historical practice of drilling holes into the skull. But why did our ancestors do it, and when did it start? We investigate. Historically, doctors have got things wrong and, occasionally, very much so. In this Spotlight feature, we look at three no longer recognized….
We discuss five unusual medical procedures from ancient civilizations and more recent history. The journey toward medical discovery has been a bumpy…. In this Curiosities of Medical History feature, we look at the history of 'female hysteria', a 'condition' that reinforced gender stereotypes. Phrenology: The pseudoscience of skull shapes. Written by Maria Cohut, Ph. Share on Pinterest This is an illustration of a phrenological chart showing which areas of the brain allegedly corresponded to which mental attributes.
Faculties and symmetries. Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Sign Up. Already a subscriber? Want more? More From Discover. Recommendations From Our Store. This was often done by claiming that the activity of other organs counteracted Benevolence.
What was never accepted by phrenologists, however, was that admitting that the activity of a particular faculty could be independent of the size of its organ undermined the most fundamental assumptions of the science- and thereby rendered all of its conclusions inconsistent and meaningless. From Britain phrenology spread to America and France in the s and in thes it was re-introduced to Germany.
It became far more successful in America. Phrenology died away in Britain by the early s but a new movement was re-introduced to Britain by the American "phrenological Fowlers" in the s and s. The Fowlers had begun lecturing and reading heads for fees in New York in the s.
Their phrenology was wholly borrowed from the British modifications of Gall's system. The Fowlers swept through Britain on a successful lecture tour before establishing various phrenological institutions, societies and publishing concerns. Less scientifically pretentious and more overtly entrepreneurial, it is largely this latter-day phrenology whose remnants are still seen today. A phrenological bust in an antique shop will almost invariably bear the label "L.
But why did phrenologists think that bumps on your head might be so informative? Their enigmatic claims were based around a few general principles. They also thought of the brain like a muscle — the more you used a particular organ the more it would grow in size hypertrophy , and less used faculties would shrink.
Despite its initial popularity, phrenology started losing support from scientists in the 20th century due to methodological criticisms and failure to replicate various findings.
Gall was restricted in the cases he used to define the location of bump-trait correspondences — often he studied just a few people, such as his family and friends. Other times, he relied on dubious and somewhat offensive stereotypes. While there was some renewed interest in the theory in the 20th century due to the rise of disciplines like evolution, criminology and anthropology, it soon was almost completely abandoned.
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