Angelman Today September / October edition 2013 | Page 28

Making Sense of it All
By Edwin J. Weeber, Ph.D.

Many of you reading
this magazine are more immersed in medical science and scientific discovery then most of the population. With a
focused eye on the latest work being performed in the field of Angelman syndrome, there are reports, papers, talks and posts that seem to be in constant conflict. It's important for you all to know that this is actually a good thing! Rarely are there "eureka" (I've found it) moments in science. Instead we follow our instincts and often let the results of the science lead us down the path of discovery. Sometimes, even when discoveries are made they are not immediately accepted in the broader field. With this in mind, I have a favorite story that I often tell to new graduate students about two very famous scientists: Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramon Y Cajal.

at a gross (really gross) level looked like just a bunch of mush. Camillo Golgi, a neuroanatomist, was a strong proponent of the Reticulum Theory and when Cajal suggested that neurons were discrit cells that made specific connections to other neurons (The Neuronal Doctrine) Golgi publically ridiculed such a thought. Cajal was undaunted. The complexity of the brain and subsequent complexity of the human cognitive strongly suggested that complex interactions of specific types of neurons were needed. In other words, neurons needed to be independent units and allow signaling with directionally. In order to convince others of the Neuron Doctrine he needed to show that different types of neurons existed and that these neurons connect to other neurons at distinct places (synapses). Golgi had developed a unique staining method for looking at neurons. This basic method could impregnate cells to see their structures under a microscope. Today this is referred to as Golgi staining and is used today in many laboratories, including my own. Cajal used Golgi's new technique to show these synaptic connections and garner support from other scientists that the Neuronal Doctrine should

replace the Reticular Theory. Golgi, despite this evidence, never gave in and continued support the Reticular Theory. Santiago Ramon Y Cajal was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize for Medicine along with Camillo Golgi for the development of the silver nitrate impregnation technique (Golgi Staining). Golgi's 1906 acceptance speech was a well worded and polite attack on the Neuron Doctrine. Cajal's speech was a little more magnanimous and he acknowledged that without Golgi's technique the Neuron Doctrine would not have gained support. The reason I tell the story to burgeoning new researchers is to let them know that science is not mathematics. There is often no correct answer at the end of a single experiment, especially for the really big, complicated questions. The culmination of many types of scientific work and contributions of many researchers is what finally addresses all the conflicts, allowing for the best possible final product. This takes time and countless hours in the laboratory, discussing conflicting data from others and sometimes looking beyond the single graph

We need to go back in time to the 1800s when the Reticular Theory predominated science. The Reticular Theory maintained that the nervous system was a continuously connected network of fibers or a "reticulum". Cells were known at the time as the basic unit of life, but the human brain and that of other mammals