The modern interdisciplinary field of neuroscience is often thought to have begun as a result of the efforts of the biophysicist F. O. Schmitt, who spearheaded the growth of the Neurosciences Research Program (NRP) at MIT in the 1950s. This historical understanding is largely incorrect. At the same time that Schmitt was developing his ‘mind-brain’ study group at MIT, a parallel development was occurring north of the border at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) in Quebec. This interdisciplinary neurological clinic was considerably more influential in developing the field of neuroscience, and launching that enterprise onto the world stage. This paper will examine the efforts of the MNI electroencephalographer Herbert Jasper, a key player in the development of modern neuroscience. Jasper’s efforts to organize the emerging profession of electroencephalographers gave him a key role in coordinating the conduct of brain research in the post-World War II era, and his efforts to understand the electrophysiology of consciousness and learning ultimately led to the founding of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) in 1960, an event that is typically regarded as the birth of organized neuroscience in the world outside of the United States. By comparing the parallel development of the NRP and the IBRO, and the contrasting figures of Schmitt and Jasper, we can trace the development of competing visions for the future of the brain and mind sciences in the post-war world. We can also identify different 'styles' of neuroscientific thought that grew out of different institutional, intellectual and national contexts.
