ABSTRACT
In 1865, Jules Luys (1828-1897) described the 'accessory band of the superior olive' (red nucleus). In 1877, A. Forel completed the description and gave the name of Corpus Luysii (CL) to this grey sub-thalamic formation. In 1927, P. Martin's attribute the Hemiballismus to the destruction of the C.L. and specifies the function of the nucleus foreseen by Luys, which play a crucial role in the synthesis of automatic motor action. The new stimulation techniques of this nucleus in the treatment of Parkinson's disease would have opened a third life for the C.L. if its name hade not be changed into 'nucleus subthalamicus'. Jules Luys, a good anatomist, one of the pioneers in France of microscope and photography, ruined his reputation by his ramblings on hysteria and hypnosis which allowed the 'action of medications at distance', the 'storage of cerebral activities within magnetic crowns' and gave prominence to 'brain emanations'.
