Morning journal and courier., 1880-11-13
Scientific.
The Brain Localities of All Functions
 Interesting Tests.


 The Brain Localities of All Functions-
 Interesting Tests.
 Dr. Shew, of the State Insane Asylum, at Middletown, presented many interesting facts at the meeting of the Middletown Scientific club, Thursday evening" as to what had been done in the locaization of the functions of the brain. The results of the investigations have until recently been obscure, owing to the fact that observations were confined to lesions and diseases of the brain, and to ex- periments mainly upon animals. When it was found that the brain could be electrical ly excited, great impulse was given to re- searches in this direction. Diseases of the brain, organic or functional, affect the per captions and voluntary motions, in varying degrees Post mortem examinations show morbid conditions of the nerve cells-yet little progress had been made thereby in find ing out any morbid characteristic of special mental changes. Then, too the brain cor tex might be diseased or injured and no in- sanity follow hence there had been no real ization of functions. Extensive 1esions in one hemisphere of the brain failed to pro- duce mental disease, while lesions in both hemispheres are sure to produce 1t. One hemisphere is sufficient for mental action Now, by electricity, the physi- ological functions of the brain have been clearly and certainly localized, so that maps showing motor centres in different parts of the brain have been made. Exper ! iments made on a variety of animals, and on man, show uniform results. By applying | the electrode to any motor-centre the limb of the animal corresponding to that centre is | immediately moved. The frontal region of the brain, the region of the intellectual fac ! ulties, gives no definite response to electrical \ stimulation. A wound there causes no dis | turbance of sensation, no paralysis. No | motor-centres are found in this region. The ! top of the head is the region of the motor centres of the lower limbs, or of locomotlon. | A destruction of this motor centre results in | a destruction of the motion in the lower limb on the opposite side of the centre. A l paralysis of a lower limb of a man, upon | post-mortem, always shows softening of l the corresponding motor-centre. Autopsy | also shows, in the case of rudimentary limbs, an atrophy of the brain at the motor-centre corresponding to that limb. Even muscles have their motor-centres in the brain-the lips, the tongue, the eyelids, lateral move.
 ments of the heads, etc. Just below this
 upper line of motor-centres, near the parietal | walls, are centres of vision. Below the lat
 ter are centres of hearing. Below them are
 centres of touch ;> but the difficulty of reach ing the latter in their introversions makes
 experiments less decisive. Near the occipi
 tai lobe is the center of Visceral sensation ! All the experiments are made on the cere ! brum. They have nothing to do with the \ intellectual motor functions. The re \ suits thus reached have been confirmed ! over and over again by experimenters, here ! and in foreign lands. In four different ways ! the mapping of the brain in detail as above | explained has been made certain First by the electrode as above described. WheI ' iS T11o 0S 1 on the map, that center is stimulated and its | corresponding limb is moved second, by | destruction of the brain at point indicated | on the map the corresponding limb or orgaI is found to be inactive third, autopsy showi | that the paralysis of a limb function Ii l due to disease of the brain at the point l where the motor-center of that limb or func | tion appears on the map; fourth, by tht | thermometer it is found that when a limb il ! rapidly used, for shorter or longer period l heat is generated at it's corresponding motor I center in the head. This science is called ' lcerebro-thermometry. An elastic rubber cal
 is placed over the head of suitable sub ject, through perforations in which pecu | liarly formed thermometers are placed, st | that each one shall rest on a motor
 center as mapped out continuous move | ment of the arm, for example, fo
 ten or fifteen minutes, will show rise in temperature of 10 or more in the ther ! mometer placed on the corresponding motor center of the arm-while the other thermom eters show no change. As many as 80 ther
 mometers have been arranged on the heat
 at one time-and movements of any limb O muscle would be responded to by rise il , the temperature at the corresponding motor : center The localization of motor-centers i in the cerebral cortex, and does not penetrat below Notwithstanding various difficultie
 inseparab1e from brain investigation, remark able progress has been made, and is beinI made in this interesting field of labor l H0rtf0Td Times.