The Mind, Brain, Health and, Education Timeline

This timeline traces the parallel history of four fields: Mind, Brain, Health, and Education. It covers Ancient Times through 2019. Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa created it in 2019. In it, she maps how each field grew on its own. She also shows where they intersected. Eventually, those intersections formed what is known today as educational neuroscience, or Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE).

What is this resource about?

The timeline runs across four tracks side by side. As a result, a reader can see what was happening in each field at the same point in history. For example, it starts with the first recorded mention of the word «brain.» That reference appears in Egyptian hieroglyphics from around 1700 BCE. From there, it moves through Greek philosophy and the Renaissance. It then covers the birth of neuroscience. Finally, it reaches the formal founding of Mind, Brain, and Education as its own field of study, up to 2019.

Key highlights

Ancient roots: the earliest written reference to the brain appears in the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, around 1700 BCE. By 400 BCE, Greek thinkers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle were already debating the brain’s role in thought and emotion.

A field takes shape: as this timeline documents, Mind, Brain, and Education became a distinct, named field in the mid-2000s. That shift included the founding of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES). It also included the launch of the Mind, Brain, and Education journal, co-edited by Kurt Fischer and David Daniel.

A global, collaborative field: since then, IMBES conferences have been held on nearly every continent. For instance, locations include San Antonio, Los Angeles, Toronto, China, and Fort Worth. As a result, the field has grown into a truly international one.

Neuromyths enter the conversation: the timeline also includes Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa’s own 2018 work. In particular, «Neuromyths: Debunking False Ideas About the Brain» is placed within the field’s broader history

Frequently asked questions

What is the history of Mind, Brain, and Education?

Mind, Brain, and Education traces back to ancient observations about the brain. However, it only became a formally organized academic field in the mid-2000s. At that point, researchers from neuroscience, psychology, and education began working together in a structured way.

Is Mind, Brain, and Education the same as educational neuroscience?

They are closely related but not identical. This timeline treats Mind, Brain, and Education as a distinct, transdisciplinary field that grew alongside — and sometimes overlaps with — educational neuroscience and neuroeducation.

Who created this timeline?

Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa created the timeline in 2019. She developed it with support from a team of researchers. Contributors included David Daniel, Sashank Varma, Michael Thomas, Sylvia Bunge, Nienke van Atteveldt, Curtis Kelly, Marie Edita Kaye, and Cynthia Borja.

Where can I download the full timeline?

The full infographic is available as a free download; use the link click here on this page to view or save it.

About the author

Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D., is a researcher in Mind, Brain, and Education science and teaches at Harvard University Extension School. Read more about her work here