Literary Notices. v 



ing, is at least very suggestive. One must of course be on his guard 

 against attributing to the loss of brain substance phenomena which may 

 be due to the stimulating or depressing effects of operation or resulting 

 encephalo-meningitis. ^ 



The details must be sought in the original but, in general, in the 

 case of monkeys after ablation of both frontal lobes, the behavior is al- 

 tered, the physiognomy is stupid and less mobile, the expression is al- 

 tered and devoid of flashes of intelligence, curiosity or sociability. 

 There is no evidence of affection or gratefulness. Actions of purpos- 

 ive character are liable to be left incomplete. There is loss of cleanli- 

 ness and discrimination. The disposition is fitful and cruel. 



The author denies the existence of a special centre of inhibition or 

 attention but concludes that the frontal lobes are seats of coordination 

 and blending of outgoing products of the several sensory and motor 

 areas of the cortex. " The frontal lobes would thus sum up into series 

 the products of the sensori-motor regions, as well as the emotive states 

 which accompany all the perceptions, the fusion of which constitutes 

 what has been called the psychical tone of the individual. The removal 

 of the frontal lobes does not so much interfere with the perceptions 

 taken singly as it does disaggregate the personality, and incapacitate for 

 serializing and synthesizing groups of representations." 



C. L. H. 



Cerebral Localization. 



To the surgeon whose duty it is to diagnose and treat lesions of 

 the central nervous system the present state of the theory of cerebral 

 localization is perplexing enough. He sees some denying the fact of 

 cerebral locahzation in toto and insisting that the cortex acts as a unit ; 

 others who recognize the cortical areas essentially as located in the text- 

 books urge that the division of these areas into sensory and motor is a 

 false division, for all of the areas are really sensory, the motor zones 

 exerting no control over the muscles commonly associated with them, 

 but only receiving sensations of muscular and general sensations from 

 those regions of the body ; and yet all of the time our leaders in sur- 

 gical practice are operating successfully on the basis of the old charts 

 constructed on the theories of Munk and Ferrier. In view of this sit- 

 uation a recent paper by Dr. C. K. Mills^ offers a few timely suggest- 

 ions. We quote the latter part of the paper : 



" For the practical purposes of the physician and surgeon, no 



^MlLLS, C. K. Cerebral Localization in the Light of recent Pathologic 

 Researches. Jour. Am. Med. Assoc, XXVI, i, 4 Jan., 1896. 



