Twelfth annual meeting of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. June 19-23, 2007

Christian Baumann (Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany): Wilbrand's ideas of the visual cortex. Hermann Wilbrand (1851-1935) is considered one of the founders of neuro-opthalmology. He is best known for the monumental handbook, Die Neurologie des Auges (Wilbrand &Saenger, 1898-1922). Prior to this encyclopedic work, Wilbrand published three clinical monographs on the diagnosis of brain diseases with the help of ophthalmological examinations(Wilbrand 1881, 1884, 1890). But Wilbrand not only treated clinical aspects but also supplied evidence for the localization of the optical center in the calcarine fissure of the occipital cortex. Moreover, he worked out theories of the organization of the visual cortex that, as he postulated, must contain subdivisions corresponding to the qualities of visual sensation such as light, form, and color. Wilbrand also considered the binocular input of the visual cortex and put forward a detailed scheme of the projection of the two retinae to the occipital cortex that anticipated modern concepts of ocular dominance columns. His ideas are critically reviewed in the light of current opinions about his topics.     

Proceedings Of The Fourth Annual Meeting Of The European Association For The History Of Psychiatry (Eahp), The European Club For The History Of Neurology (Echn), And The International Society For The History Of The History Of The Neurosciences (Ishn)

Abstract

Osphresiology, though beginning with Aristotle, and the title of a classical monograph from 1819 by Cloquet, has, like the human sense of smell itself, played a relatively modest role, compared to other sensory functions. The anatomical and physiological connections of the nose to the brain proved to be more complex than those of sight, hearing and even touch, and were therefore poorly understood before the second half of the 19th century. Moreover, the close association between smell and taste gave rise to much controversy regarding the respective roles of the first and the fifth cranial nerves. Next, came the unfolding of the evolutionary influence of cerebral structure and function ‐ viz Broca's “limbic”; concept, and the “olfactory desert”; in the brains of “anosmatic”; animals. Jackson's “uncinate”; seizures featuring olfactory hallucinations brought the hippocampal formation into focus. Finally, there were the clinical manifestations of hyposmia and hyperosmia, from “coryza”;, the common cold, to injury or neoplasms causing hyposmia, as well as some endocrine alterations causing hyperosmia. (And let us not forget Charles Huysman's “Against the Grain”; and Marcel Proust's evocative fragrant madeleine.)     

中国经济史学会2002年年会现代组讨论综述

20 0 2年 4月 19日 ,中国经济史学会 2 0 0 2年年会在山西大学隆重举行。为在短短几天内获得富有成效的研讨结果 ,大会专门分组进行了学术交流。现代组有 2 4名专家学者参加讨论 ,提交论文近 2 0篇。会议围绕本次大会主题———市场发育与区域经济展开了热烈的讨论 ,其发言和论文涉及经济史研究的许多领域 ,并引出一些新的课题 ,从内容上归纳起来可分为以下四部分 :一、市场经济条件下的农业、农村、农民经济问题中国是农业人口大国。农业、农村与农民经济发展问题始终是我国社会、经济发展中的重大问题。在社会主义市场经济条件下 ,重新审…