The Golgi method. A historical through contemporary view

Abstract

Knowledge regarding the biology of the nervous system and its functions has gone through various theoretical, methodological, and interpretative stages throughout history, depending largely on technical advances that have allowed us not only to approach old questions from new perspectives but also to address new ones. One advance that constituted a watershed in the history of neuroscience was the appearance of a chrome-silver staining technique called the Golgi method that allowed the complete, three-dimensional observation of nerve cells. Discovered by Camilo Golgi and, later, modified significantly and employed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Golgi’s method was crucial in demonstrating the veracity of the Neuronal Theory over the earlier Reticular Theory, and in revealing numerous findings related to the human brain and those of many other animal species, which continue to be analyzed today. Despite a period of scientific recession in the first half of the 20th century, the use of the Golgi method prevailed and even expanded in the second half of that century and into the 21st, as researchers continued to use it in its original or modified form and in combination with emerging methodologies. Currently, there are no signs of any decline in its use.