MIND AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. ii 



of years tauglit, in my course of lectures on diseases of the mind and 

 nervous system, the doctrine now set forth that, wherever there is 

 gray nerve-tissue in action, there is mind. Into the detail of these 

 experiments it is scarcely proper on this occasion to enter ; suffice it 

 to say that they all go to establish the fact that the spinal cord, after 

 the complete removal of the brain, has the power of perception and 

 volition, and that the actions performed are to all intents and pur- 

 poses as perfect of their kind as they would be were the brain in its 

 place. 



As I have said, it is difficult to perform experiments of the kind 

 in question on warm-blooded animals, for the haemorrhage that results 

 in consequence of the necessary cutting operation soon leads to the 

 loss of life ; but, for all that, we are not without information on the 

 subject, derived from investigations of some of the higher animals. 

 You have, most of you, seen a decapitated chicken staggering and 

 fluttering about the barn-yard. Whence comes the force by which its 

 movements are made, unless from other organs than the brain ? This 

 is a rough experiment that is performed every day, but in the labora- 

 tory we do it in a more careful way, and the results are still more 

 striking. 



If the brain be entirely removed from a pigeon, the bird turns its 

 head in accordance with the motion given to a lighted candle held 

 before its eyes ; it smooths its feathers with its bill when they are 

 ruffled ; it places its head under its wing when it sleeps ; it opens its 

 eyes when a loud noise is made close to its head. Onimus removed 

 the brain from young ducks hatched and brought up by a chicken. 

 These ducks had never been in the water, yet when placed in a basin 

 they immediately began to swim. Their motions in swimming were 

 as regular as in other ducks which had lived in the water. This series 

 of experiments shows that even the inborn instinct of animals is not 

 solely resident in the brain. 



Now, when we come to man, and observe the experiments which 

 are constantly being made for us, both in health and disease, we can 

 not avoid placing the spinal cord much higher as a nerve-center than 

 it is usually placed by physiologists. 



In human anencephalic monsters, or those born without a brain, 

 we have interesting examples of the fact that the spinal cord is pos- 

 sessed of perception and volitional j^ower. Syme describes one of 

 these beings which lived for six months. Though very feeble, it had 

 the faculty of sucking, and the several functions of the body appeared 

 to be well performed. Its eyes clearly perceived the light, and during 

 the night it cried if the candle was allowed to go out. After death 

 the cranium was opened, and there was found to be an entire absence 

 of the cerebrum, the place of which was occupied by a quantity of 

 serous fluid contained in the arachnoid. The cerebellum and pons 

 Varolii were present. Panizza, of Pavia, reports the case of a male 



