Elliott Danielle
School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY16 9JP.
J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2020 Dec 31;19(1):R11-R14. eCollection 2020 Fall.
Research into neural plasticity has progressed rapidly over the last few decades, but the origins of this field lie in the early 20th century. In 1936, Margaret Kennard introduced the concept of brain plasticity in an animal model by studying the recovery of motor functions after performing brain lesions in infant and adult monkeys. It took until the 1970s for her work to be widely acknowledged. When her work did eventually make it into the limelight, this led to the synthesis of what scientists dubbed the 'Kennard Principle'. The Kennard Principle states that the younger an organism is, the greater and swifter recovery from brain injury will be. This principle itself is subject to controversy and debate; furthermore, it is based on a simplification of Kennard's original results. This article will explore Kennard's original 1936 paper, published in the American Journal of Physiology, and the context in which the Kennard Principle arose. Kennard's paper demonstrates early pioneering work within the field of behavioral neuroscience which provides a historical foundation for psychology and neuroscience undergraduates. Exploring the context in which the Kennard Principle arose also highlights the importance of tracing the origins of scientific principles and theories for students and researchers alike.
在过去几十年里，对神经可塑性的研究进展迅速，但该领域的起源可追溯到20世纪初。1936年，玛格丽特·肯纳德通过对幼年和成年猴子进行脑部损伤后运动功能恢复情况的研究，在动物模型中引入了大脑可塑性的概念。直到20世纪70年代，她的工作才得到广泛认可。当她的研究最终成为焦点时，这促成了科学家们所称的“肯纳德原则”的形成。肯纳德原则指出，生物体越年轻，从脑损伤中恢复的程度就越大且速度越快。这一原则本身存在争议；此外，它是对肯纳德原始研究结果的简化。本文将探讨肯纳德1936年发表在美国《生理学杂志》上的原始论文，以及肯纳德原则产生的背景。肯纳德的论文展示了行为神经科学领域早期的开创性工作，为心理学和神经科学专业的本科生提供了历史基础。探究肯纳德原则产生的背景也凸显了追溯科学原则和理论起源对学生和研究人员的重要性。
