In an institutional ceremony held at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, the CSIC, an organization under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), formalized the deposit of the books comprising this significant collection. The initiative, driven by Editorial CSIC, underscores the institution's commitment to the preservation and international projection of the legacy of Ramón y Cajal, a key figure in modern neuroscience.
Eva Ortega, Secretary General for Research at the MICIU, and Carlos Closa, Vice President of Organization and Institutional Relations at the CSIC, participated in the event. This gesture symbolizes the CSIC's dedication, through its publishing house, to keeping alive the scientific and intellectual heritage of Cajal and his school for future generations.
Editorial CSIC, with 85 years of history, is responsible for the editing, production, and dissemination of the CSIC's official publications. As a public infrastructure aligned with open science, it ensures the quality, innovation, and accessibility of its journals and book collections, promoting multilingualism and the preservation of scientific and cultural heritage.
The new collection 'Cajal-Pioneers of Neuroscience Library', launched in 2025 in co-edition with Ediciones Doce Calles, aims to be a comprehensive reference on the scientific, biographical, and artistic contributions of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, as well as the continuation of his legacy through the Cajal School. The scientific direction of the series is led by Javier DeFelipe, a researcher at the CSIC.
The collection is structured around three thematic axes: the scientific and philosophical aspects, the human and biographical dimension, and the interdisciplinary integration of art, science, and photography. The academic excellence is supported by a multidisciplinary Editorial Committee with researchers from prestigious institutions such as the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and internationally renowned universities.
As part of the deposit, the Spanish and English editions of ¿Neuronismo o reticularismo? Las pruebas objetivas de la unidad anatómica de las células nerviosas (Neuron theory or Reticular theory?: objective evidence of the anatomical unit of nerve cells) are presented, along with Reglas y consejos sobre investigación científica. Los tónicos de la voluntad (Rules and advice on scientific research. The tonics of the will), which includes the first critical and annotated edition of the text. The English translation of La retina de los vertebrados (The retina of vertebrates) is also incorporated.
Additionally, two emblematic works from the Editorial CSIC's catalog are included: the historical Spanish edition of La retina de los vertebrados (2021) and Cajal y la emoción de los libros (Cajal and the Emotion of Books, 2024), which pays homage to Cajal's facet as a bibliophile and humanist.
