Literary Notices. xli 



Among the Review Departments that on Neurology is notably 

 weak. Such a department should either give us the recent literature 

 or a reasonably complete topical discussion. In this case nervous his- 

 tology is selected but the titles and facts noted scarcely suggest the 

 present status of the subject. The attempt to introduce a new nomen- 

 clature for the neuron and its parts [ Schafer's ] just as terms are 

 gaining general acceptance is to be deprecated. 



Optical Time-Content. 



Professor Miinsterberg and Mr. A. R. T. Wylie have investi- 

 gated the influence of different optical stimuli upon the time 

 estimates. Different colors and patterns were so placed upon 

 the Ludwig Kymograph that they moved past a screen perfor- 

 ated for the eye of the observer at a uniform rate. The subject 

 estimates the relative time required for the various color patterns to 

 pass. The result corresponds with that reached with auditory 

 stimuli. Irrespective of the number of presentations, the times ap- 

 pear shorter the more the optical time content attracts the attention, 

 and thus diverts it from the observation of the accompanying subject- 

 ive phenomena produced by bodily changes. 



Memory. 



Professor Miinsterberg reports in the first number of the Psycho- 

 logical Review the results of experiments carried on with the assistance 

 of J. Bigham. The work was intended to determine whether the dif- 

 ferent senses act at the same time independently, help, or hinder 

 each other. 



Under suitable precautions a series of 10 or 20 visible colors or 

 numbers or audible colors [names] and numbers or symmetrical com- 

 binations of both were presented and the observer after 2 seconds 

 observation was required to reproduce the series with cards carrying 

 the colors and numbers. The results may be briefly summarized thus: 

 When two senses act together in recollection, they hinder each other. 

 When isolated, the visual memory surpasses by far the aural ; when 

 combined the aural excels the visual. The memory is impeded by a 

 closer combination of different contents. A series of presentations 

 offered to two senses at the same time is much more easily reproduced 

 than if given only to sight or only to hearing. 



It may be added that the above line of experimentation would be 

 rendered much more instructive for pedagogic purposes if a compari- 

 son could be made of the effect of imitative reproduction as by 

 writing or drawing the object presented. 



