11. The Electroencephalograph Machine
In 1875, Richard Caton, a British physiologist, and surgeon from Liverpool wrote a landmark report for the British Medical Journal noting that he had successfully recorded weak electrical currents from the brains of monkeys and rabbits. It was the first-ever report of its kind. By placing unipolar electrodes (which have a single conductor lead with an electrode at the tip) on both hemispheres of the brain, or on the cerebral cortex, or alternately on the grey matter and the surface of the skull, Caton was able to measure the weak electrical currents. Using a galvanometer, the young doctor was able to measure the electrical currents, and he noticed something intriguing — the currents increased during sleep. However, they were vulnerable to anoxia (absence of oxygen) and anesthesia and of course, vanished when the animal died.
But Caton made other fascinating discoveries: The electrical currents became especially strong when a light was shone into the eyes. And sensory stimulation also caused the currents to change. Tragically, his remarkable discoveries, little was reported about his work. Fellow electrophysiologists neglected to mention the discoveries, and frankly, he’s mainly remembered for becoming Liverpool’s Lord-Mayor in 1907. Even his obituary column in the renowned periodical The Lancet failed to mention his contribution to the understanding of electrophysiology.