[Wilder G. Penfield at the Residencia de Estudiantes (madrid, 1924)]

Wilder Graves Penfield (1891-1976) is considered to be one of the 20th century's most gifted and brilliant neuroscientists. He made crucial contributions in the field of epileptology or in brain mapping. He was the founder and director of the advanced Montreal Neurological Institute, regarded as being one of the most prestigious neurological and neurosurgical centres in the world.

His wish to further basic neuroscientific knowledge as much as possible led him to Europe. In the spring of 1924 he arrived in Madrid with his wife and two children on an 'exciting adventure' to improve his knowledge of the histology of the nervous system. Inside the walls of the Residencia de Estudiantes (1910-1936) could be found an enlightening generation of artists and scientists who represented the beginning of the modernization of the country. The building had some humble but very active laboratories, where the scholars elaborated their scientific projects in order to opt for grants allowing them to travel to foreign centres. The North American scientist spent four and a half months participating enthusiastically in what was at that time an avant-garde subject: the discovery and characterisation of glial cells, which would be developed in a number of publications. He was also 'fascinated' by the 'cultural renaissance' that was taking place in Spain.