NOTES 227 



located in the basal ganglia and like other mere reflexes, as the 

 Achilles reflex and the knee jerk (exclusive of its cerebral ele- 

 ment), had only a peripheral activity consisting in an afferent 

 impulse with a ganglionic transfer of motion into a motor im- 

 pulse passing over an efferent nerve with absolutely no cortical 

 relation whatever. Rothman, failing to obtain any positive 

 results in tone differentiation, concluded he had extirpated the 

 cortical area subserving that function. The conclusions of Prof. 

 Jacobsohn and the writer place the functions in an entirely 

 different location from either the basal ganglia or the extir- 

 pated temporal lobe. 



We locate the differentiation of tone in the cortex ex-temporal. 

 My reasons for this cortical localization are the presence of 

 psychological elements in the execution of the act which differ- 

 entiates the execution from that of a mere reflex. These psy- 

 chological elements are purposefulness, slowness, inhibition, and 

 the need always to relearn the execution of the constellation of 

 inter-related perceptions and executions. 



To take these up briefly in detail : 



(i) A mere reflex is always quick — blitzartig as the Ger- 

 mans say — it shoots the determined act off " too quick for 

 thought." The eye reflex, various protective reflexes, and in 

 the neurological field the corneal, cremaster, and the knee jerk, 

 recall the quickness of the motor response to stimuli. In con- 

 tradistinction, the act of Louisa to tone had a noticeable ever 

 present slowness about it. This alone to me would be patho- 

 gneumonic of a premeditated cortical act. 



(2) Then inhibition is another quality that is foreign to the 

 mere reflex. The constant waiting and watchfulness to listen 

 and differentiate the tones and the persistent prevention of 

 motor action at the wrong time shows the inhibition in its 

 cerebral sense was a pretty constant factor in the behavior of 

 my dog Louisa. 



(3) All know that mere reflexes are without sustained pur- 

 poses and surely the eating act to tone stimulus had an ever 

 present purpose. 



(4) Mere reflexes are never learned, never have to be re- 

 learned, never are forgotten and have to be recalled to memory. 

 All of these elements — qualities of cortical function — were pres- 



