ANATOMICAL AND PSYCHIC LOCALISATION 261 



fact that the different bundles of fibres from the vari- 

 ous segmental ganglia enter at different spots in the 

 cortex, some authors have drawn the conclusion that 

 there is not only an anatomical localisation of fibres, 

 but also a psychic localisation of functions. They 

 assume that the various psychic functions take place 

 in different regions of the cortex. The occipital 

 region, where the fibres from the segmental ganglia 

 of the optic nerve enter, is considered by these authors 

 as the seat of visual consciousness. At the spot D 

 (where the brachial fibres enter or leave) the " con- 

 sciousness of the fore-leg" is said to be localised. 

 These assumptions are contradicted by the plain facts 

 of associative memory. Simultaneous processes in 

 different sense-organs are fused in our memory. The 

 odour of a rose recalls its visual image. This could 

 not be possible if the visual processes were confined 

 to one region of the cerebral hemispheres ; they must 

 spread to the olfactory region, and vice versa. The 

 same can be said of other kinds of stimulation and of 

 combinations of more than two stimuli. Moreover, 

 we remember not only simultaneous sense-impressions, 

 but we remember a whole series dependent upon suc- 

 cessive stimuli of different character, if only the first 

 constituent of such a series has been aroused. This 

 indicates that even the after-effects of a stimulus must 

 spread all over the cerebral hemispheres, so that they 

 may fuse with the successive processes going on in 

 the brain. It is thus obvious that the assumption of 

 a localisation of psychic functions in the cortex is 



