Today on Google's home page is a special brain Google Doodle for the 127th birthday of the neurosurgeon, Wilder Penfield. Wilder Penfield was a pioneer in the space, being the first to map some of the functions of various regions of the brain. Hence the Doodle which shows a brain, eyes and understanding the look and smell of burnt toast to a region in the brain.
Wilder was born in Spokane, Washington on January 26, 1891 and died in Montreal, Canada on April 5, 1976 at the age of 85. He was an American-Canadian and was known as "the greatest living Canadian" for a period of time.
He was known for prompting memory recall during surgery via temporal lobe stimulation, treatment of epilepsy by surgery, the Montreal procedure and the Penfield dissector, amongst other things. He received Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, US & Canada and other awards.
Google explained the Doodle depicts the the Montreal Procedure, which led to a greater discovery: stimulating certain physical parts of the brain could evoke memory recall, like the smell of burnt toast.
Forum discussion at Google+.
