Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Spanish histologist who supported the neuron doctrine
Spanish histologist who adopted Golgi's silver staining method and used it to show that neurons are separate cells. He shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Camillo Golgi.
Why this person matters
Cajal's drawings and evidence supported the neuron doctrine, the view that the nervous system is made of discrete cells. Golgi, whose stain he used, defended the rival reticular theory, and Heinrich Waldeyer named the neuron theory. Fridtjof Nansen had argued earlier that nerve cells are contiguous, and Cajal did not cite him.
Main contributions
Applying and improving the Golgi stain
He first learned Golgi's method after moving to Barcelona in 1887 and applied it to thick sections of embryonic tissue. One source says he improved it in 1888 by splitting it into two separate soaks.
The neuron doctrine
His work showed that axons end in the grey matter without forming a network and that nerve cells have no physical continuity with one another. This supported the view later called the neuron doctrine.
Neural plasticity
In 1894 he told the Royal Society that the ability of neurons to grow in an adult and form new connections can explain learning. This statement is considered an origin of the synaptic theory of memory.
Context and limits
Cajal and Golgi shared the 1906 Nobel Prize while holding opposed views: Golgi attacked the neuron doctrine in his Nobel lecture and Cajal defended it, and the shared award caused some controversy. Cajal's conclusions rested on Golgi's method, and several researchers contributed to the doctrine. He was a histologist and physician, not a psychologist.
In your introductory course
Biological bases of behaviour.Appears in biological chapters as the neuron doctrine and the idea that learning changes neural connections.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 3.1. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1887
He became professor of histology at Barcelona, where he learned Golgi's method.
- 1894
He gave the Croonian Lecture to the Royal Society.
- 1899
He began publishing Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y de los vertebrados, which appeared from 1899 to 1904.
- 1906
He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Golgi.
Sources
- Encyclopedia.com, Santiago Ramón y CajalReference work. Reference article inspected.
- Wikipedia, Santiago Ramón y CajalReference work. Reference article inspected.