The node and the network: the fundamental contribution of Camillo Golgi to Modern Neuroscience

Camillo Golgi Nobel Prize centennial, 1906-2006

Foreword

The beginning of the last century was marked by fundamental advances for the origin of modern Science and set the basis for the understanding of the brain. A critical step was the description of the fine anatomy of brain circuits pioneered by Camillo Golgi, who first discovered a method to stain the neurons, the black reaction. The Golgi staining was exploited and extended by Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who reconstructed the neuronal structure of the nervous system of the man and the animals. Golgi and Cajal received the Nobel Prize in 1906. The impact of their discovery was immense and opened the door to the functional investigation ofnervous system at the cellular level. As soon as their results appeared, two diverging aspects became immediately obvious. Although the brain was made of neurons, its complex functions could be better understood by considering neuronal communication in complex neuronal networks. Indeed, the global states of brain activity, just revealed at that time by the firsts electroencephalograms, required coordinated activity in many neurons. Golgi favored the idea of the “reticular” nature of the brain, Cajal supported the notion that the brain is made of individual “nodes”, the neurons, communicating at discrete contact sites. The discontinuity between neurons was soon supported by the functional demonstration of synapses by Lord Sherrington. Since then, Physiologists and Neuroscientists have been struggling to understand the mechanism and function of single neurons and synapses. Interestingly, however, their functional properties cannot be understood without considering the surrounding network. Moreover, recent discoveries have re-evaluated the importance of electrical junctions revitalizing theoriginal idea proposed by Golgi.

This symposium in honor of Camillo Golgi Nobel Prize will highlight the importance of the dialogue between neurons and networks by proposing novel findings descending from the original discoveries. Powerful techniques allow to investigate the emergence of synaptic and neuronal properties at the network level, and the mechanisms through which single neurons and synapses could contribute to memory and network computation. At a century of distance, the node and the network are at the core of modern Neuroscience.

Egidio D’Angelo