Literary Notices. . xxix 



Peripheral Control of the Circulation in the Brain. 



An editorial in the .i/ici/ist and Xeurologist for July, 1891, calls 

 attention to a fact of much significance in physiology, aside from its 

 value in neurotherapy. 



M. Onimus(') shows that the application of tlie continuous galvanic 

 current to the sciatic nerve produces sleep. This is in accord with the 

 well-known fact that stimulation of the sciatic produces changes in the 

 cerebral circulation. The observations were made upon patients suffer- 

 ing with atrophy of the legs or sciatica, mostly combined with insomnia. 

 He thinks that the sciatic nerve is, of all the peripheral nerves, capable 

 of exerting most influence on the nervous centres, and makes a piactical 

 induction against the exposure of the limbs, especially in children. 



The use of warm foot-baths for relief of congestion in the brain thus 

 finds a more direct explanation than the usual one. 



Electro-Motor Disturbances in the Brain as Products of 

 Psychical Activity. 



During 1S90 a number of papers bearing on the interesting question 

 as to how far cerebral activity may be estimated by measurement of the 

 electro-motor activity induced in the organ have appeared in the Cen- 

 tralblatt f. P/ivsioIogic. These independent researches by Professors 

 Beck, Marxow, Gotch and Horsley have induced Prof. B. Danilewsky, 

 of Charkow, to describe experiments undertaken in 1S76 for the same 

 purpose, which have nevertheless more than an historic interest. (^) 

 The animals were operated on under morphium narcosis by means of 

 unpolarizable glass electrodes, separated by from 10-13 mm., and a very 

 sensitive Du Bois Raymond " multiplicator " served as a galvanometer. 

 In spite of a wide range of variation, the author satisfied himself that 

 "every slightest irritation of the sensory organs, as well as of the inner 

 sensory nerves (vagus), produced an obvious change in the electro- 

 motor state of a definite area of the cortex of the hemispheres (generally 

 the effect is crossed). While it proved impossible to sharply localize 

 these eftects, it appeared that stimulation of the sensory nerves of the 

 skin produced a variation in the current in the frontal lobes, while a 

 loud sound aftected the occipital region. A pistol shot, for example 

 produced negative variation of 40°. 



The Relation of the Sympathetic System to the Erectile 

 Appendages of the Head of the Gallinace,e.(^) 



In this paper, which gives an illustrated description of the sympa- 

 thetic systein of birds, Prof. Jegorow shows that the vaso-constrictor 



1 Soc. de Med. de Paris, 1879. 



2 Centralblatt f. Physiologie, V. I, p. 1-4. 



3 J. Jegorow, " Ueber das Verhaltniss des Sympathiciis /iir Kopfversierung eiiiiger 

 Vugel," Du Bois-Raymond's Archiv, 1890, Suppl., p. 33. 



