Stimulation: History of Brain Mapping

The history of brain mapping using stimulation is long and nonlinear. It started with very imprecise stimulation of the brain using electrical discharges in the early 1800s. With better control of the electrical sources and more precise application of the stimuli, the re­ al mapping of brain functions began in the 1870s, starting with the easily observed ef­ fects of activation of neurons in the motor cortex. Work since then has shown that the cerebral mantle is highly specialized and, more interesting, that experience and practice can cause significant alterations of the organization of neurons in the cortex and subcorti­ cal structures. New techniques to alter neuronal activity are being developed each year and will certainly increase our understanding of how the brain is organized and how it can be modified.