Brain of Vladimir Lenin

The anatomical study of Vladimir Lenin's brain by the German neurologist and psychiatrist Oskar Vogt in 1924 was a significant event in the history of neuroscience. The study aimed to understand the neural basis of Lenin's political and intellectual abilities. The research was conducted at the request of the Soviet government, which wanted to prove that Lenin's supposed genius was the result of his brain's superior structure.[1] Under Vogt's leadership, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin was established, and the study of Lenin's brain was one of the institute's first major projects.[2] The histological analysis methods used to examine tissue samples and helped establish the procedure as a viable way of studying the brain. Though certain structural aspects in Lenin's brain had been said to contribute to heightened cognitive ability, Vogt was nonetheless unable to identify any particular region within Lenin's brain which provided structural proof to Lenin's genius abilities.[3] While the study has limitations and controversies, it is significant in the context of the field of neuropsychology.[4]

Cover of the Journal Meditsinskii Rabotnik (Medical Worker) (1927) No. 47: "Prof. Fokht za izucheniem srezov mozga Lenina" (Professor Vogt investigating histological sections from Lenin’s brain)
  1. ^ Klatzo 2002, p. 28.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Magoun-1962 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Abbott 2003, p. 249.
  4. ^ v. Stuckrad-Barre & Danek 2004.