146 Journal of Comparative Neurology. 



the cerebellum, ' midbrain ' and ' forebrain ' supersegmental 

 mechanisms, v. Monakow has been the first to speak of the 

 forebrain and its dependendent elements {Grosshimanteile^. When 

 he cut a part of a forebrain, he killed not only the cells which 

 he removed, and the fibers growing from them, but also cells 

 located in other parts which send their fibers into the piece cut 

 out. These latter elements he calls Grosshirnanteile with the 

 same right as for instance the pyramidal tract ; they are the af- 

 ferent elements of the part, while the pyramidal tract is the 

 efferent. I would generalize this principle and search for the 

 ' Cerebellaranteile, ' afferent and efferent elements of the cere- 

 bellum etc. For purely anatomical purposes it is indeed the 

 most stimulating principle. We speak of the corpus albicans 

 and its * Anteile ' etc. 



(A thoughful reader will see between the above lines a 

 definite concept of the ' meaning ' (i. e. interpretation) of the 

 interrelation of cell-elements, the discussion of which does not 

 properly belong here. In the neurological cant, we are accus- 

 tomed to speak of connections of neurones for the purpose of 

 association. According to the above, we rather think of inter- 

 relations of neurones for the purpose of dissociation and read- 

 jiistment. A neurone reaches with its processes many individ- 

 uals of many types of neurones and the interrelation with these 

 takes place in order to make possible the reflection of different 

 reactions in response to different states of excitation of the 

 neurone. 



This assumption becomes plain when we try to explain the 



* interruption of the fiber-tracts by gray nuclei, ' as when we 

 speak of the 'interruption of the 'sensory ' path by the nuclei 

 of Goll and Burdach. ' These 'nuclei' contain cerebral and 

 cerebellar afferent neurones. The cerebellar neurones pick out 

 special elements of excitation ; the cerebral afferent neurones 

 pick out other elements of excitation, as it were, selecting out 

 those which belong together ; otherwise, there would be no 



* need ' for an interruption. The same holds for the thalamic 

 nuclei ; in fact, for all accumulations of cells, after the para- 

 digma given on page 141. From a physiological point of view, 



