ABSTRACT
The emphasis on findings from brain research gives the impression that study of the brain is a new phenomenon; however, the structures and functions of the brain have been of interest to physicians, philosophers, and researchers since earliest times. Systematic study of the relationships between brain and learning processes began in the 17th–18th centuries as the Renaissance opened a period of interest in the brain. The communication functions of the brain are carried out by the neurons, each of which is composed of a cell body, one axon, and a number of dendrites. The development of metabolic, electrophysiologic, magnetic, and neuropsychological methods for studying living brains has enabled researchers to learn much more about the relationships between brain structures and functions. Many present-day studies are focused on understanding the precise ways that the functions occur within the various interacting brain structures.
