THE CEREBELLUM 607 



over backward to the left. The contracture mentioned above gradually dimin- 

 ished, but the animal was still able to lift himself only by his fore legs. Mus- 

 cular weakness, particularly in the hind limbs, was very marked. 



Gradually, however, this weakness passed off and by the 24th of September 

 the animal began to stand on all fours and to take steps, supported against the 

 wall. Some ten days later he took his first steps unsupported, and from this on 

 his ability to walk steadily improved. On the 31st of October the following 

 description was written concerning his gait: "quick, almost twitchlike move- 

 ments, the head lowered, the back slightly convex, very pronounced lateral move- 

 ments of the spinal column, abnormal elevation and abduction of the fore leg, 

 movements of the hind legs not in accord with those of the fore legs, often fall- 

 ing on a smooth floor, seldom on a rough one." Particularly noticeable was the 

 extreme effort with which the dog walked, and which was expressed in the dysp- 

 noaa, lolling of the tongue and need of rest at short intervals. Thrown into a 

 tank, he was now able to swim powerfully and well, getting his equilibrium 

 very promptly. 



On the llth of January, 1884, it was noted, among other things, that the 

 animal could not stand perfectly still even for a moment. The most he could 

 do was to stand for a few minutes with the legs wide apart, swaying back and 

 forth until he decided either to walk or to lie down. When the animal walked 

 he presented a most perfect picture of ataxia. Coordination of his movements 

 was frequently quite normal, but whenever the regular rhythm was interrupted, 

 as in turning or attempting to walk rapidly, or if one leg slipped causing the 

 body to fall down behind thereby impeding his progress, coordination between the 

 fore and hind legs was lost for the time. It was noted also that the legs were 

 lifted abnormally high in walking and that the spinal column undulated slightly 

 up and down. Luring the animal on with food only aggravated his symptoms 

 without improving his speed. On the whole the gait was much slower and the 

 loss of strength by exercise much greater than in a normal animal, leading to 

 extreme fatigue in a very short time. 



We see that the effects of removing the cerebellum wear off to a certain 

 extent with time, and only those which remain after several months can 

 be described as the final effects. The latter Luciani summarizes as follows: 

 asthenia, or loss of strength; atonia, or loss of tonus in resting muscles; and 

 astasia, or loss of steadiness in all kinds of movements. 



Several authors have reported that while lesion on one side of the cere- 

 bellum caused motor disorders, two symmetrical lesions on the opposite sides, 

 whether large or small, either produced no effect at all or only slight ones. 

 In Luciani's experience this was not the case. When the middle lobe or 

 vermis was extirpated more or less completely, immediately after the opera- 

 tion tonic contraction of the fore leg or neck muscles came on whenever the 

 animal attempted to do anything voluntarily. But these effects passed off 

 in a few days, and whatever permanent effects then remained stood out very 

 clearly, although naturally less pronounced than after practically complete 

 removal as above described. These disorders probably appeared in all muscles, 

 but were more sharply defined in certain definite groups e. g., those of the 

 hind limbs. In animals from which the vermis was removed to the same 

 extent on both sides permanent effects were equally distributed to the two 

 halves of the body, whereas when the removal was more extensive on one side 

 than the other, the effects were more strongly marked on the one side. 



