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A History of the Brain

Dr Geoff Bunn journeys through 5,000 years of human understanding of the brain

Radio 4 Extra,10 episodes

Episodes

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1. A Hole in the Head
Dr Geoff Bunn reflects on trepanation at the start of his cultural history of the brain.
07 Nov 2011,15 mins
2. The Blood of the Gladiators
Dr Geoff Bunn moves on to the debate in Ancient Greece as to the primacy of heart or brain
08 Nov 2011,15 mins
3. The Origin of Common Sense
Dr Geoff Bunn on early Christian and Islamic contributions to understanding of the brain.
09 Nov 2011,15 mins
4. Spirits in the Material World
Thomas Willis's pioneering attempt to correlate brain anatomy with function.
10 Nov 2011,15 mins
5. The Spark of Being
Dr Geoff Bunn examines the influence of the 18th-century preoccupation with electricity.
11 Nov 2011,15 mins
6. The Beast Within
The influence of evolutionary theory, phrenology and a hole in Phineas Gage's head.
14 Nov 2011,15 mins
7. Mind the Gap
Dr Geoff Bunn discovers Freud's original contribution was via the microscope.
15 Nov 2011,15 mins
8. The Agony and the Ecstasy
Dr Geoff Bunn on how chemical transmission became a fundamental concept in neuroscience.
16 Nov 2011,15 mins
9. All or Nothing
The impact of the electroencephalograph, which made brain waves visible.
17 Nov 2011,15 mins
10. Einstein's Brain
Dr Geoff Bunn discusses the impact of neurology on how we understand ourselves today.
18 Nov 2011,15 mins