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The First Topographical Mapping of Vision in the Brain

Ronald S. Fishman, MD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(12):1767-1773.

The conception by René Descartes of the human brain, notorious as it is for placing the soul or mind in the pineal gland, had yet within it the basic idea of the brain as a highly organized mechanism with topographical sensory mapping and different functions localized in specific areas. Descartes was directly led to this idea by his appreciation of what the retinal image conceived by Johannes Kepler implied, not only for the nature of vision, but for the operation of the brain in general. The linkage between Kepler and Descartes is not widely appreciated but is one of the best examples of synergism in the history of science.

Author Affiliation: Dr Fishman is retired.

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