The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-08
STUDYING THE BRAIN
MODERN SCIENCE KNOWS HOW WE
THINK. SEE, HEAR AND FEEL.

Locating Brain Diseases by Observing the
Action of Parts of the Iiody-Curlous
Things Brain Experts Lave Discovered
From Experiments.
Definite knowledge has recently been
acquired regarding tho anatomy of tho hui
man mind. 1t Is now understood, with
fair degree OF accuracy, where and how
ideas OF various kinds originate in differ
cnt parts of tho SO called gray matter.
The organ Of thought has been divided
up into sections, rs it were, which arc sew
orally responsible for tho creation OF ideas
and images of many classes. Certain areas
of brain surface arc recognized rs control
ling vision, hearing, taste, smell and vo-
col speech, while others govern the muscu-
lar mechanism Of the body. If you move
your big toe, you direct it's motion by or
ders conveyed from point of tho cerebral
cortcx directly beneath the very middle Of
the top Of the skull.
AT the University of PENNSYLVANIA i'm
pOrtant work In this limo of scientific re-
search Is being carried ON under tho dircc-
ton of DR.. Lightncr Wilmer. Ho has n
laboratory fitted up with all sorts of queer
looking machinery for finding out how
long it takes people to think, to see, to
hear, to feel to distinguish colors and
other such things. There orc models Of
brains, which ono may take apart and put
together again rs if they woro Chinese puz-
zlcs.
Most of the knowledge thus obtained
hns been got by studying tho brains of low
ct animals, chiefly dogs and monkeys. 1t
docs not always follow that what is true of
monkey Is true of II man, and scientists
have been led into u good many errors by
assumptions Of ulat kind. Unfortunately
it is not practicable to mako experiments
upon living human brains, save in cXcep-
tional cases where surgical operations have
to DC performed on them. But 1t is very
easy to remove portion Of the skull of
monkey and to observe how the boasts, acts
when Notwithstanding is usually
employed for the purposc--is applied to one
portion or another of tho surfaco
Acquaintance with tho so called motor
AREAS has become so accurate TINT Il disease
of n port Of the brain can usually bc To-
Gated with cxactncss by observation of the
muscles of the body. An abnormal wiggle
of the big toe would lead the physician to
look for trouble In the middle of the top
of the head. Maybe there would be no
cure for 1t, and then again perhaps somo-
thing might be done. If 1t werc asccr-
tanned that the patient had received a blow
thcrc, it might be imagined that frac-
tuc previously unsupported had occurred,
causing pressure on the brain In that
case relief would probably be obtained by
trrphinina
An interesting instance on record is
that of u girl who was suddenly seized
with paralysis of ono side of tho face, nc
cDmpanicd by loss of power of speech.
Within thrcc or four days the paralysis
passed downward from tho arm to tho
body and finally to tho leg on the samo
side 1t was decided by the doctors that
the symptoms indicated u brain hcmor-
rhagc up tho fissurc of Rolando and involv-
ing tho areas corresponding to the arm
and leg. Tho girl died. and u post NOR
tom examination disclosed the fact that
this was exactly what had occurred
Tho fissuro OF Rolando runs across tho
top Cd the head from side to side and al
most from car to car. In and about it nro
located the most important motor areas
which govern tho muscular movements of
the body. The highest point corresponds
to the toe. Following the flssuro down the
side of the head toward the ear comes tho
leg, next tho arm and finally the face.
That portion which represents the face is
much moro highly diffcrcntiatcd-i. O.,
split up into u great many smaller areas
Thinks 10 this arrangement, ono is able
TO vary ones count3nancc with an almost
infinite plny Of expression, every little
muscle being under ready control
CLOSE by and associated with tho nrcn
r1prrsrnting the face is that OF vocal
speech This latter area is 50 highly differ
entiMcd that each letter and numeral
seems TO possess its own special tract
There is case on record of man who
forgot the letters B, p, @, Xand Y and tho
numerals g, and 8. In other respects he
was all right. But he could not read be-
lnusc the Letters mentioned were unknown
10 him. OF course he could not write
Either. He was unable to add and 6 be-
ausc was unknown to him. When no
ried TO write out the word "six," he
ould only get as far rs the first two let
ers, inaSnuch rs TX" was forgotten.
People remember things in different
vays, according to the habit of tho indi-
idunl For example, you nSk ono man
Then Columbus discovered America, and
% will reply 1892 promptly, having Wis
lal picture OF the figures forming that
late in his mind. But another person will
recall tho date not in that manner at all,
but by sound. In the latter case it may
be the centcrs of hearing that furnish tho
memory, but it is moro likely to be those
of vocal speech. The best spoilers are Wis
ualists- They sec mental pictures of
words, spelling them by reading them of
as If from blackboard. Lots of folks
have no such pictures at all. Most of them
seem to depend chiefly if not wholly, upon
the habit of using the letters and syllablcs
in certain forms of Speaking.
The part of the brain belonging to and
representing each scnsc-soeing, hearing
or what not--sccms to be n complete little
brain in itself. y banker of Frankfort
Lost the use of his visual brain for pur-
poses of memory and was obliged to begin
like child and train his auditory brain