250 



KOBEKT S. ELLIS 



TABLE 6 



Number of Purkinje cells per EUA in a case of paresis. Designations as in 



table 1 



COMPARISON WITH THE CEREBRAL CORTEX 



The writer has had occasion to make cell counts on a number 

 of areas in the cerebral cortex, and has found, in agreement with 

 most others who have conducted investigations along this line, 

 that there is ordinarily a distinct deficiency in cells in cases of 

 amentia. Among those authors who may be mentioned here 

 are, for example, Hammerberg ('95), Roncoroni ('05), Tredgold 

 ('03), and Bolton ('03). 



The motor area of the cortex in several cases of paresis and 

 also of senescence has been carefully examined, and it is interest- 

 ing to note that in all of these there has been found a deficiency 

 in Betz cells. How general 'this particular loss is, the writer 

 does not know; it is, however, important to recognize that 

 disintegration takes place in the cerebrum in a manner similar 

 to that found in the cerebellum. It is therefore not probable 

 that the motor deficiencies observed in the cases studied have 

 been due solely to deficiencies in the cerebellum. Probably in 

 the majority of cases a defective cerebellum is accompanied by a 

 defective cerebrum, and vice versa. 



It would be beyond the scope of the present paper to attempt 

 a more detailed statement of the character of the cell changes in 

 these atypical brains; enough has been done, however, if we have 

 succeeded in establishing the numerical differences found in these 

 different types of cases. 



