For those who are curious about the inner workings of the human brain, there may be no better opportunity to learn about the organ than from someone who has seen it up close and personal.

For the third installment of the UA’s 2014 Science Lecture Series, “The Evolving Brain,” UA Medical Center Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. G. Michael Lemole will lecture on the history and science of neurosurgery.

“[The lecture] is about the paradigm through which neurosurgery has advanced,” Lemole said. “In neurosurgery — and nowhere else in medicine­­ — is the cost of success and failure so stark.”

Neurosurgical practices have come a long way from simply drilling holes into the side of a patient’s head. Surgeons are now researching less invasive ways to get into the brain.

Functional neurosurgery has evolved to stop neurological issues like tremors. The hope is to one day use the practice of functional neurosurgery to treat mental illnesses like depression, Lemole said.

Lemole said that he hopes his lecture will enlighten the audience on how far neurosurgery practice has come and indicate what it costs to achieve such scientific advancements.

“Everything was built on the paradigm of trial and error and observation,” Lemole said.

Lemole will lecture beginning at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall on Monday. All lectures in the series are free to the public.

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