Experimental researches on sensory localization in the cerebral cortex of the monkey (macacus)

Abstract

In a previous paper it was shown that the method of local strychnization of the central nervous system not only yields good results in investigations on the sensory mechanisms of the spinal cord, but also with regard to the problem of the localization of the sensory area (sensibility) in the cerebral cortex. The writer then showed that there exists on the convexity of the cortex of the cat a large area, intimately connected with sensory functions. The slight strychnization of a very small part of this so-called “active zone” gives rise to intense symptoms of sensory excitation, whereas the application of the strychnine to parts of the cortex outside this area is not followed by like disturbances. The sensory disturbances produced by the poisoning of that part of the cerebral cortex affect both cutaneous and deep sensibility. They manifest themselves in the cat so far as the skin is concerned by:—