Neurophysiology — Philip Bard 



gest that in them marked alterations of a 

 comparable nature can be reproduced by 

 certain cerebral ablations. The desirability 

 of pushing animal experimentation along 

 these lines is obvious. In such work the 

 neurophysiologist will require the coopera- 

 tion of the psychologist just as the neuro- 

 surgeon requires the collaboration of the 

 psychiatrist. 



9. Other Problems. There remain many 

 other activities of neurophysiologists to 

 consider. The problems and trends de- 

 scribed above are merely ones which the 

 writer believes worthy of special attention 

 at the present time. 



THE TRAINING OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGISTS 



The investigator of the functions of the 

 nervous system must possess a compe- 

 tency in the use of at least two or three 

 techniques and have some understanding 

 of other methods of study. The major 

 techniques that seem to be required for 

 further advances are the surgical, the elec- 

 trophysiological, the chemical and the ana- 

 tomical. Each of these may be divided 

 into several categories. A few examples 

 may be given. It is one thing to decere- 

 brate a cat or dog and study the prepara- 

 tion briefly in the manner of Sherrington 

 and Magnus; it is quite a different matter 

 to decerebrate an animal and keep it alive 

 and in good condition for five months. It 

 is now not difficult to obtain and maintain 

 — with the help of experts in electronics — 

 equipment that permits the recording of 

 localized potential changes evoked in the 

 cerebral cortex when certain sensory sur- 

 faces are locally and discretely stimulated, 

 but it would require advanced knowledge 

 of electronics on the part of the neuro- 

 physiologist himself to push the electrical 

 analysis of sensory cortical function fur- 

 ther, say, to the point of scanning the ac- 

 tivities of any specific sensory area when 

 it is activated by stimuli having some tem- 

 poral and spatial complexity. It is not 

 difficult for the beginner to determine 

 grossly and to describe in general terms 



the effects of anoxia on the central nervous 

 system, but the analysis of the intimate 

 effects of oxygen lack on individual neu- 

 rons or on a specific neuron system re- 

 quires technical facilities and a compe- 

 tence to use them that can only be ob- 

 tained by training in the higher echelons 

 of modern physics and chemistry. Fi- 

 nally, it should be pointed out that the 

 results of the application of many neuro- 

 physiological methods must be considered 

 in the light of either an anatomical control 

 or of a careful correlation with established 

 anatomical facts. 



These examples may serve to emphasize 

 the difficulties that confront the student 

 beginning a career in neurophysiology. He 

 is not likely to find opportunities for ex- 

 perience in several techniques in any one 

 laboratory or department. Further, in the 

 mastering of one of the more complex 

 tools of investigation the student always 

 runs the risk of becoming a narrow spec- 

 ialist who is so dependent upon and so 

 enthusiastic about his technique that his 

 selection of problems will be almost wholly 

 determined by the applicability of a single 

 method of attack. Probably the most ef- 

 fective way of preventing this perversion 

 in training is to provide attractive post- 

 doctoral fellowships that will enable the 

 young investigator to spend several years 

 in different laboratories. The need for this 

 kind of support is great and it will become 

 greater in the near future. 



However great our concern may be for 

 the proper training of neurophysiologists 

 this problem is secondary to that of attract- 

 ing into the field the best available material. 

 Anyone who has had experience with med- 

 ical students knows that many a poten- 

 tially fine investigator is lost to the basic 

 sciences because, in the face of economic 

 difficulties, a career in a clinical field seems 

 so much more feasible. This is a problem 

 that neurobiology shares with all other ba- 

 sic sciences related to medicine. Doubtless 

 added inducements, if properly directed, 

 would serve to recruit more first-rate ma- 

 terial. 



