Evening star., 1947-10-31
sturs, Men and Atoms
Broin Area 13' Believed
To Control Emotions
Yale Scientists Making Intensive Study
Of Section Just Over the Eyes
Bv Thomas r. Henry

~ lh0mGs N. henry
NEW HAVEN Conn, Oct. 31-There Is q
hitherto obscure area In the cortex Of the
brain, little more than o square inch In area
which apparently has supercontrol over the
body's subconscious emotional reactions.
When 1t is removed animals become more
than ten times as active as normal When 1t Is
stimulated by electricity there are profound
drops in blood pressure and breathing can be
stopped Immediately for few seconds.
An intensive study Of this Area 49," which
lies on the floor of the cerebral cortey Just
over the eyes, now is being conducted at the
Yale University Medical School here under the
direction Of Dr. Robert Livingston.
Precise Functions Sifted.
Its precise functions and connections with
the rest Of the brain have become Of exceptional
Importance since the introduction q few years
ago Of the operation Of prefrontal lobotomy-
boring holes in the brain"-by Drs. Walter
Freeman and James A. Watts Of Washington.
The brain area involved in this surgical pro-
cedure for relief Of mental depressions lies
very close to Area 1s.
The nervous system Of man and all higher
animals Is divided into two major parts, the
central and autonomc. The former is re-
sponsible for all conscious reactions the lat
ter for such subconscious reactions as increase
of heartbeat in rage or fear, blushing when
embarrassed, ETC. One Of the major connec-
tions between the two systems Is the tenth
cranial or vagus, nerve.
Experiments here just before the war showed
that when this nerve was severed from its
autonomic connections and the loose end stim-
ulated by electricity the response was entirely
in this hitherto unrecognized Area 49," This
work now mas been resumed, In order to
determine just what other regions of the brain
are connected with 1t by nerve pathways. The
chief connection established to date is with
the hypothalamus a region in the midd!s Of
the brain which is known to be q control
center for subconscious emotional responses
and which may have been the brains highest
center at some stage in animal evolution.
Acts as an Inhibitor.
Area Is, the present experiments show acts
as an inhibitor of unconscious emotional be-
havior. When animals from which the area
has been removed, for example, are placed
in cage they race around almost perpetually,
night and day, almost never stopping for rest.
Normal animals stop running when they get
tired. The hypothalamus, with which the area
is connected. also is the brain region concerned
with the initiation of sleep.
In experiments performed here 1t was found
that animals from which an adjacent Area il
had been cut few into sham RACES" with
almost any stimulus whatsoever. This condi-
tion hitherto had been produced only by re-
moving the entire cerebral cortex, leaving the
subject entirely without consciousness or any
conscious control over behavior.
One of the most curious effects found Is the
cessation of breathing. The major breathing
center is located in the base of the brain just
above the end of the spinal cord. If this Is
removed respiration stops altogether and death
follows. The cessation caused by stimulation
of Area 13 is of short duration.