Cécile & Oskar Vogt: the significance of their contributions in modern neuroscience

A) By introducing and propagating the use of multidisciplinary approaches, Cécile and Okar Vogt played a decisive role in establishing brain research as a distinct branch of science, and thus laid the foundations for modern Neuroscience. B) The Vogts' and Brodmann's monumental work on brain cytoarchitectonics, supplemented with electrical stimulation of the exposed cerebral cortex, demonstrated correlations between evoked functional responses and the topography of brain regions endowed with distinct cytoarchitectonic structure (topistic units). This opened the field of functional brain mapping, a subject hotly pursued at the present time. C) One of the most important aspects of Pathoclisis is that the Vogts based their theory on molecular genetics. They envisaged that in any topistic unit the neurons had a different specific, molecular ("physico-chemical") composition, accounting for differences observed in the dynamics of neuronal development and involution. In sublethal injury, the induced genomic reactivity varies according to the selective vulnerability of various topistic units. Thus, in cerebral ischemia, the fluctuating genomic reactivity may play a significant role in designing therapeutic strategies, which would include enhancing regenerative expressions and suppressing harmful ones. D) The pathoclisis theory may be of assistance in analyzing the nature of various genetic disorders, which could be considered for the application of gene therapy.