ReviewThe sensory neuron and the triumph of Camillo Golgi
Section snippets
The cell theory and the nature of cell contacts
The view that all plant and animal tissues are constructed of cells was a widely accepted notion by the mid-19th century and neither Golgi nor Cajal explicitly challenged Schleiden's and Schwann's concept, but even Cajal made statements implying he ‘hedged his bet’ about the nature of the unseen separation, noting that “neuronal discontinuity… could sustain some exceptions” (Bullock et al., 2005), although he could hardly have imagined neuronal and glial gap junctions as a means of continuity
Recovery of function
The excellent and insightful Mazzarello biography (Mazzarello, 1999) of Golgi elaborates on how he was profoundly impressed by the time course of functional recovery in humans following strokes and other acute injuries of the brain, emphasizing his professional immersion in neuropathology (Macchi, 1999). Yet, Golgi was not in dispute with the general thesis that interrupted axons in the central nervous system displayed limited propensity for re-growth and the absence of mitotic figures in
The polarity of the sensory neuron
The seemingly prototypic dorsal root sensory ganglion cell provided the initial vehicle for Golgi to express his reluctance in accepting Waldeyer's ‘neuron doctrine’ and while his rhetoric in the 1906 Nobel lecture was not a model of clarity, the validity of his argument is to be reckoned with in defining the terms ‘axon’ and ‘dendrite’. The adult sensory ganglion cell is unipolar and its peripheral processes were called ‘protoplasmic processes’; the extensively branched neurites later known as
The unsolved problems of sensory neurons
The seeming ‘simplicity’ of the sensory neuron remains misleading and perhaps Golgi displayed mischievous wisdom in opening his attack on the neuron doctrine by drawing attention to unresolved issues. The long ‘glomerular’ arrangement of large initial axons before the bifurcation, described in elegant detail by Cajal, was a puzzling and unexplained condition, but Golgi chose not to attack something for which he too could not offer a somewhat satisfactory explanation. Instead, his clumsily
A modern retrospective view
The ‘neuron doctrine’ became the framework of connectionist neuroanatomy in the 20th century and through his tremendous effort and accomplishment, Cajal's eminence appropriately thrived, while Golgi's reputation withered with neglect and suffered some needless and inappropriate abuse. Re-reading Golgi's Nobel lecture, I was struck by my mistaken negative recollection of Golgi's argument, rejecting him as a defeated warrior—a remnant of growing up in a scientific milieu that often proffered
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Cited by (7)
Golgi in retrospect: A historiographic examination of contextual influence in tracing the constructs of neuronal organization
2011, Brain Research ReviewsCitation Excerpt :By re-examining the turn of the previous century, there may be some insights to be derived in considering possible reasons for Golgi's reticence in fully accepting the “neuron doctrine” and its requirement of polarity at the synapse (Bennett and Zukin, 2004; Bullock et al., 2005). Defining the characteristics of the pre-synaptic axons and post-synaptic ‘dendrites’ (although this was not the ‘official’ name at the time) was quite problematic for Golgi and in his Nobel address he invoked the sensory ganglion as the exemplar of the difficulty (Kruger, 2007; Kruger and Otis, 2007). The peripheral (distal) processes of sensory ganglion cells were recognized as conducting toward the cell body (like a dendrite) but lacked the basophilia (due to ribosomes, as was learned later) characteristic of what eventually was accepted as ‘dendrites.’
The cerebellar network: From structure to function and dynamics
2011, Brain Research ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Historically, first Golgi observed the morphological characteristics of nerve cells and heralded the so-called reticularist hypothesis, while Cajal subsequently became the paladin of the neuron doctrine, the pillar of modern neuroscience. That network interactions are fundamental is now very clear, obviously in a way different from what Golgi believed: in other words, he proposed a wrong explanation for a right question (Kruger, 2007; Kruger and Otis, 2007; Galliano et al., 2010). This struggle led to hypothesize the existence of the synapses and to found the neuron doctrine more than to reveal the intimate functions of the cerebellum.
Whither withered Golgi?. A retrospective evaluation of reticularist and synaptic constructs
2007, Brain Research BulletinReticular Concept of Nervous System Physiology
2022, Reticular Concept of Nervous System PhysiologyCamillo Golgi (1843–1926): Scientist Extraordinaire and Pioneer Figure of Modern Neurology
2020, Anatomy and Cell Biology