Rudimentary awake craniotomy used in the early 17th century.
In 1928, the first recorded-case of the awake craniotomy was operated for the epilepsy surgery by Wilder Penfield.
In 1937, Wilder Penfield and Boldrey promoted the cortical maps for the motor and the sensory responses.
In 1941, Wilder Penfield and Erickson noted that stimulation of the temporal cortex in patients occasionally excited recall of vivid memory.