8. The Agony and the Ecstasy

Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.

From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.

What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.

In this episode, the focus is on the collaborative work between Otto Loewi in Austria and Henry Dale in England. They established that communication within the brain is chemical and not electrical. Thanks to the work of many exiles from Nazism (and a leech smuggled out by one of them) the vital role of acetylcholine became known. This work laid the foundation for the neuropharmalogical gold rush of the 1950s, with the discovery of drugs to help those suffering from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.

Featuring the voices of Paul Bhattacharjee, Jonathan Forbes and Hattie Morahan.

Produced by Marya Burgess.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.