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  1. About
  2. History of SfN
  3. 1969-2019
Red background with "History of SfN" with various images from the issue
  • Current Issue: 1969-2019
    • Timeline
    • Introduction
    • Chapter I: Neuroscience Before Neuroscience, WWII to 1969
    • Chapter II: Establishing the Society for Neuroscience, 1968-1970
    • Chapter III: Fostering a New Interdisciplinary Approach to Problems of Brain and Behavior, 1970-1974
    • Chapter IV: Disciplinary Consolidation, the mid-1970s to the early 1980s
    • Chapter V: Neuroscience Ascendant, Mid-1980s to 1995
    • Chapter VI: A Robust SfN in a Rapidly Changing World
    • Chapter VII: SfN at the 25-Year Mark
    • Chapter VIII: Bold Transitions in the New Century
    • Chapter IX: The Annual Meeting, the “Hub,” of SfN, Enters the Digital Age
    • Chapter X: Reaching Many Audiences: Publications and Education
    • Chapter XI: Government and Public Advocacy: Not “Just a One-Day Affair”
    • Chapter XII: Meeting the Needs of an Increasingly Diverse Scientific Community
    • Chapter XIII: Nurturing a Global Society
    • Chapter XIV: SfN At 50 Years: Focus on the Future
    • Conclusion
    • Artifacts
    • Videos
    • Credits

1969-2019

Explore and discover SfN’s history and contributions to the development of the field of neuroscience.

The materials in this collection explore the Society’s work and influence from 1969-2019, its first 50 years. SfN is proud to reflect on its history while also looking to the future and the next 50 years.

  • Annual Meeting welcome banner at entrance to the 1989 annual meeting in Phoeniz, Arizona
    Introduction
  • Hippocampus. Golgi, C. Sulla fina anatomia degli organi centrali del sistema nervoso. Reggio-Emilia: S. Calderini e Figlio; 1885. Reprinted in: On the fine structure of the pes Hippocampi major (with plates XIII–XXIII). Brain Research Bulletin, Vol. 54, No. 5, p. 481 (2001).
    Chapter I: Neuroscience Before Neuroscience, WWII to 1969
  • Chapter II: Establishing the Society for Neuroscience, 1968-1970
  • MRI map of the language network in patient with Alzheimer's disease. Image courtesy of Dr. Liana Apostolova, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.
    Chapter III: Fostering a New Interdisciplinary Approach to Problems of Brain and Behavior, 1970-1974
  • First issue of the Philosophical Transactions, 1666.
    Chapter IV: Disciplinary Consolidation, the mid-1970s to the early 1980s
  • SfN President Carla Shatz opens Dana Alliance Event, 1995.
    Chapter V: Neuroscience Ascendant, Mid-1980s to 1995
  • The plastic and robust nervous system is depicted here
    Chapter VI: A Robust SfN in a Rapidly Changing World
  • SfN 50th Anniversary logo
    Chapter VII: SfN at the 25-Year Mark
  • Image of the Ramon y Cajal mural at the SfN headquarters. The mural depicts Cajal's drawing of a neuron
    Chapter VIII: Bold Transitions in the New Century
  • Poster floor at Neuroscience 2017
    Chapter IX: The Annual Meeting, the “Hub,” of SfN, Enters the Digital Age
  • SfN President Carol Barnes and the Dalai Lama at the Dialogues Lecture from Neuroscience 2005
    Chapter X: Reaching Many Audiences: Publications and Education
  • President Barack Obama announcing the BRAIN Initiative
    Chapter XI: Government and Public Advocacy: Not “Just a One-Day Affair”
  • Three Annual Meeting attendees looking at a laptop
    Chapter XII: Meeting the Needs of an Increasingly Diverse Scientific Community
  • International Member Survey October 2010, from NQ Spring 2011. Pie chart depicting the nationality, income status, and type of membership of SfN non-U.S. members
    Chapter XIII: Nurturing a Global Society
  • Three student members pose for a photo at Neuroscience 2018
    Chapter XIV: SfN At 50 Years: Focus on the Future
  • Credits
  • Artifacts
  • Timeline
  • Videos
Attendees and poster presenters at the first annual meeting poster floor in Washington, DC

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