260 



ORIGINAL ARTICLES AND CLINICAL CASES 



duced to assure that the reaction was to the light and not to accidental 



cues. 



Operative methods. — Under ether anaesthesia the skull was pierced 

 on each side of the median line at the fronto-parietal suture and the 

 bone clipped away to make an opening, about 2 by 6 millimetres, above 

 the caudate nucleus. Through this opening a small electric cautery, 

 heated to redness, was plunged to a measured depth, then drawn slowly 

 back and forth at a nearly constant depth throughout the length of the 



Fig. 4. — Frontal and horizontal sections through^the corpus striatum at the levels of its 

 maximum area. c.a. = Commissura anterior, c.c. = Corpus callosum. p.f. = Columna 

 fornicis. c.o. = chiasma opticum. /. = fornix, g. = Genu corporis callosi. h. = Lobus 

 hippocampus, l.v. = Veutriculus lateralis, n.c. = Nucleus caudatus. n.h. = Nucleus 

 habenulse. n.l. = Nucleus lentiformis. sp. = Septum pellucidum. 



caudate nucleus. A fine scalpel was next passed from the posterior 

 margin of the skull opening to the base of the olfactory bulb and drawn 

 back and forth with its point in contact with the floor of the cranial 

 cavity, so as to sever the frontal pole from the remaining cortex. In 

 the majority of cases this method resulted in the complete destruction 

 of the stimulable areas and in extensive lesions to both caudate nuclei. 

 When haemorrhage was stopped, the scalp was closed with interrupted 

 sutures and covered with a cotton-collodion dressing. 



