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Introduction What is the need for a foundation devoted to research in vision and the brain? Research in this field is being supported in the United States by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Their support runs into the billions of dollars, which cannot be matched in any effective economic way by private organizations. Private foundations can support research in a way that government institutions do not and politically cannot, through recognition. Perhaps the first to accomplish this in a global way was through the legacy of Alfred Nobel whose prizes were first awarded in 1901 and have become a symbol of the recognition of excellence everywhere. Origin The Minerva Foundation was instituted in 1983 by Helen and Elwin Marg . Along with the founders, the directors were and are Richard M. Buxbaum and Lawrence W. Stark. A sculptured bronze replication of the human brain, called the Golden Brain has been awarded each year since to an investigator in the forefront of research and original discovery of significant findings of vision and the brain. A list of the "Golden Brains" and a nontechnical description of their notable findings can be found here. The annual presentation of the Golden Brain award is usually in November, either in Berkeley or, for the convenience of most of the attendees, in the city in which the society of neuroscience is having its annual meeting. All previous awardees (Golden Brains) are cordially invited to attend. The choice of the award is based on nominations to the board from previous awardees. From these nominations, the board makes the final choice. Of the following is the charge to the "Golden Brains" for the basis of the nomination. Name The name of the foundation, Minerva, was chosen from that of the Roman goddess Minerva who derived from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. Of course we emphasize the former and are ready to fight (figuratively of course) for her ideals. Philosophy The paramount achievement for all organisms, including Mankind, is survival, in the Darwinian sense. The most fundamental aspect to survival is the provision of material needs. Humankind has needs beyond those of basic survival. They are implied in the name anthropologists have given to our species, Homo sapiens. Sapience is a quality of being, that is, it includes wisdom and sagacity. Foxes may seem smart, chimpanzees may seem clever, but only Homo sapiens is capable of wisdom. What gives Mankind its wisdom? The substrate is a neural organ called the brain, which is organized to produce a mind. The greater part of the conscious input to the brain is through the sense of vision. If we want to know how man achieves sapience (and perhaps be able to enhance it), we need to know more about the operation of the brain and how it uses its primary input, vision. A good beginning has been made in the latter half of the twentieth century with the advent of microelectrodes, probing and tapping in on the functions of the visual system, its gray cells and its neuron pathways. We are also on the threshold of learning more details about memory, rationality, and emotion, which are part of the mix of the intellectual activity of homosapiens. At present, the quest is primarily on the physiological level and as that becomes better understood, the search will undoubtedly progress increasingly to the psychological overlay. It may seem abstract and nonspecific that the resulting knowledge can make a profound difference in the lives and future of humankind. Take one narrow example: the time it takes for learning and the level of its profundity can undoubtedly be strongly influenced by a knowledge of how motivation occurs in the brain and how it may be enhanced. We want to enhance basic knowledge of brain function. Abnormal mental states are left to the psychiatrist and the clinical psychologist, but we need a broad basis of knowledge to administer to effectively optimize the function of what we already basically have. The next step, genetic manipulation, promises yet more major gains. It may require a a better knowledge of the neurophysiological and psychophysiological mechanisms for full development.
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The Minerva Foundation |
The Golden Brains |
The Golden Brain Award |
About the Foundation |
Minerva House
©1998-2005
Minerva Foundation