Neuroelectrical Pioneers

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 10: Magnetron’s remarks regarding “the brain’s ability to direct the body with small electrical discharges” have a historical context dating back to Luigi Galvani’s 18th Century frog-leg experiments in “animal electricity,” which in turn spurred Alessandro Volta to invent the first battery. In Magnetron’s time, Liverpool physician Richard Caton had observed electrical activity in animal brains, although the first electroencephalogram was not recorded until 1912.

Read more about Galvani, Volta, and Caton here:

• Luigi Galvani
• Alessandro Volta
• Richard Caton