The Neuron Doctrine (1860-1895)

The neuron [4] doctrine is a concept formed during the turn of the twentieth century that describes the properties of neurons, the specialized cells that compose the nervous system. The neuron [4] doctrine was one of two major theories on the composition of the nervous system at the time. Advocates of the neuron [4] doctrine claimed that the nervous system was composed of discrete cellular units. Proponents of the alternative reticular theory, on the other hand, argued that the entire nervous system was a continuous network of cells, without gaps or synapses between the cells. In 1873, physician and reticular theory supporter Camillo Golgi developed a staining technique called the black reaction, a neuron [4] staining technique that allowed for complete visibility of nerve cells [5], which enabled scientists to view a complete neuron [4] cell and its cellular structures. Later, neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal [6] used the black reaction to show the existence of synapses, or gaps between neurons, and argued that his evidence supported the neuron [4] doctrine. The confirmation of the neuron [4] doctrine showed that neurons function as discrete and independent cells, not as a single network, within the nervous system.