Functions of the Cerebellum. 625 



Some very conclusive experiments in this direction were performed 

 on dogs, by Luciani. He destroyed the cerebellum of a female dog in ' 

 two operations, eleven months apart, and between these two operations 

 the sigmoid gyri of both hemispheres of the cerebrum were likewise de- 

 stroyed. * Notwithstanding this mutilation the sexual instincts were not 

 abated, and four months after the complete extirpation of the cerebel- 

 lum, she became pregnant, and parturition and the subsequent maternal 

 offices and solicitude for the young, were performed and exercised in the 

 usual and normal manner. A post mortem examination showed her 

 destitute of a cerebellum, except a small fragment of the right lobe, 

 and the sigmoid gyri were missing in both hemispheres. ' ' This animal 

 was never able to stand or to walk, and could only move from place to 

 place by butting forward, and proceeding by the force of her falls. The 

 head also was subject to continual oscillations when she tried to mouth 

 anything. Though unable to stand up or to walk, she was able to 

 swim, with, however, some tendency to inclination to one side." This 

 dog was not injured except in regard to its ability to stand and move 

 about. Another bitch, from which Luciani removed nearly the whole 

 of the cerebellum, but not any part of the hemispheres, lived eight 

 months after the operation. She became unsteady and stumbling in 

 her gait, although she could swim as well as ever. She could not < 'land, " 

 however. The swimming, in this case, was probably due to the reflex 

 stimulation from the touch and pressure of the water by way of the 

 medulla oblongata. 



" The cerebellum would therefore seem to be a complex arrangement 

 of individually differentiated centers, which, in associated action, regu- 

 late the various muscular adjustments necessary to maintain equilibrium 

 and steadiness of the body, each tendency to the displacement of the 

 equilibrium round a horizontal, vertical or intermediate axis, acting as 

 a stimulus to the special center, which calls into play the antagonistic 

 or compensatory action. " (Ferrier.) It is like a series of braces hold- 

 ing the body in position. The anterior part of the median lobe holds 

 the body from falling forward. The posterior part of the median lobe 

 holds it from tumbling backward. The lateral lobes contain centers for 

 various " complex adj ustments against lateral combined with diagonal 

 and rotary displacements to the opposite side. " Some of th^se appar- 

 ently preventing tipping, and others preventing rolling to the opposite side. 

 Finally, the facts seem to warrant the conclusion that the cerebellum 

 is necessary to a proper combination of stimuli in the regulation of cer- 

 tain kinds of muscular movements and adjustments. We have already 

 seen that reflex muscular movements of themselves and uncombined, 

 can be effected through the medulla oblongata, or even the spinal cord 



1 See 1, 4, 5, fig. 359. 



