Serendipity and the cerebral localization of pleasure

Most accounts of the discovery of "pleasure" circuits in the brain begin with the observation by James Olds and Peter Milner in 1953 that electrical brain stimulation can condition operant responses in rats. Less well-known, pleasurable brain stimulation was previously observed in schizophrenic patients by Robert Heath. However, Heath failed to recognize the significance of this observation, at least in part, because of preconceived notions he held about the etiology of schizophrenia. This episode in the history of neuroscience illustrates the importance of sagacity in serendipitous scientific discoveries. It also shows that "mental preparedness" can be an obstacle to progress.     

An American controversy about the localization of cutaneous sensory regions and their relation to motor regions

Three American neurologists (C. K. Mills, C. L. Dana, and M. A. Starr) explored the anatomical limits of the motor and tactile systems in the brain from 1884 to 1895. Their papers and critiques of one another show contemporary knowledge, limits of their thinking, and difficulties deciding between alternatives. The issue for them was whether there were separate sensory and motor regions or whether there was a combined sensory-motor region. They based their localization arguments on clinical and laboratory findings and on the conclusions of H. Munk and D. Ferrier. There is a discussion about why differences were unresolved.     

Solomon Carter Fuller, M.D. (1872-1953): American pioneer in Alzheimer's disease research

The appointment of Alois Alzheimer to Emil Kraepelin's clinic and laboratory at the Royal Psychiatric Hospital, University of Munich in 1903 offered new opportunities for clinical and pathological studies of the brain. At the opening of the facility in 1904, Alzheimer selected five foreign visiting students as his graduate research assistants, among whom was an American, Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller. A glimpse of Fuller's background as an African-American (born in Liberia) at the turn of the century, his continuing research after leaving Germany in 1906, and his critical view of the Alzheimer dementia entity are recounted. He was held in high esteem as a practicing neuropsychiatrist and teacher in the Boston area.     

Blood,Justice, and American Citizenship: An Interpretation of Gangs of New York

An ironic exploration of Aristophanes' anticipation of many of the doctrines of postmodernism including the notions that social conventions can be deconstructed, that speech constructs reality, and that poets, or writers, are the creators of human horizons. Despite his seeming agreement with postmodernists, Aristophanes comes to quite different conclusions about how readily the "truth" of postmodern ideas should be disseminated. Aristophanes' Clouds is examined as a postmodern text.     

The development and evolution of “cerebral thermometry”: Clinical applications of a nineteenth-century approach to cerebral localization and neurological diagnosis

ABSTRACT

Surface thermometers were developed in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In 1877, Broca, already famous for his contributions to the cerebral localization of nonfluent aphasia, presented his first clinical observations on cranial surface temperatures: In two cases, cranial surface temperatures were decreased over a middle cerebral artery infarction, and increased in surrounding areas, which Broca attributed to “compensatory hyperaemia.” As Broca made apparent in a later report in 1879, he had used a “thermometric crown,” an apparatus consisting of six to eight large-reservoir mercury thermometers strapped against the head. Following Broca’s report, American neurologists reported cases in which cranial surface temperatures were increased either locally over a superficial brain tumor or globally with a cerebral abscess. Despite promising anecdotal reports, contemporaries recognized that significant technical and practical problems limited its accuracy, reliability, and clinical utility. Advocates never demonstrated that this technology provided significant marginal benefit to the medical history and physical examination. The technique fell out of fashion before 1900, though some early advocates promoted it into the early twentieth century. It was ultimately replaced by more effective technologies for cerebral localization and neurological diagnosis.