A hiatus in the rivalry between Pierre Marie and Jules Dejerine: a collaborative study on sensory disorders by Andre Pierre Marie and Gustave Roussy.

Personal and professional rivalries involving prominent neurologists mark the history of nineteenth-century French neurology. One of the great examples is the feud between Pierre Marie and Jules Dejerine. The dispute between the two, nevertheless, did not prevent Pierre Marie's son, André Marie, and Gustave Roussy - one of Dejerine's favorite pupils, from collaborating on significant research that led to the doctoral dissertation by Andre Marie regarding sensory disturbances associated with painful hemiagnosia found in thalamic lesions.

As rivalidades pessoais e profissionais entre neurologistas proeminentes marcaram a história da neurologia francesa do século XIX. Um dos grandes exemplos é a rivalidade entre Pierre Marie e Jules Dejerine. A disputa entre os dois, no entanto, não impediu que o filho de Pierre Marie, André Marie, e Gustave Roussy, um dos pupilos preferidos de Dejerine, colaborassem numa investigação significativa que resultou na tese de doutorado de André Marie sobre os distúrbios sensoriais associados à hemiagnosia dolorosa encontrada nas lesões talâmicas.

[Jose Ingenieros and the amusias: the beginning of the neuropsychology in Argentina]. / Jose Ingenieros y las amusias, sobre los origenes de la neuropsicologia argentina.

The Argentine neuropsychological school is born of the hand of the European school and is part of the beginning of the Experimental Psychology. In 1896 Horacio Pinero creates the first Department of Psychology at the University of Buenos Aires and in 1898 the first laboratory of Experimental Psychology is annexed. Jose Ingeniero, psychiatrist, neurologist, politician and above all sociologist publishes in France his work about the musical aphasia, the first neuropsychological work with international significance. In the same redeems to Charcot instead of to Knoblauch like the first one to describe the amusias, it speaks of an intelligence instead of a musical language and proposes a new classification and a methodology of assessment with a neurological-psychiatric integrative perspective. This article gave rise to this book in French on the musical language and its hysterical alterations awarded by the Academy of Medicine of Paris.

TITLE: Jose Ingenieros y las amusias, sobre los origenes de la neuropsicologia argentina.La escuela neuropsicologica argentina nace de la mano de la escuela europea y forma parte del inicio de la psicologia experimental. En 1896, Horacio Pinero crea la primera catedra de psicologia de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, y en 1898 se anexa el primer laboratorio de psicologia experimental. Jose Ingenieros, psiquiatra, neurologo, politico y, sobre todo, sociologo publica en Francia su trabajo sobre afasias musicales, el primer estudio neuropsicologico argentino con trascendencia internacional. En el redime a Charcot y no a Knoblauch como el primero en describir la amusia, habla de una inteligencia y no de un lenguaje musical, y propone una clasificacion y una metodologia de evaluacion con una perspectiva integradora neurologica-psiquiatrica. Este articulo dio origen a su libro en frances sobre el lenguaje musical y sus alteraciones histericas, premiado por la Academia de Medicina de Paris.

¿Es la corteza prefrontal el centro del universo? / Is the prefrontal cortex the center of the universe?

Introducción. Actualmente, cuando reflexionamos sobre cuál es la estructura más relevante del encéfalo humano invariablemente pensamos en las regiones anteriores de la corteza cerebral, concretamente en la corteza prefrontal. Si bien éste ha sido el dogma predominante a lo largo de más de 150 años, investigadores de reconocido prestigio han cuestionado abiertamente tal supuesto. Desarrollo. A caballo entre los siglos xix y xx, diversos investigadores consideraron que las regiones corticales posteriores son la sede neuroanatómica de las más altas facultades intelectuales. Entre todos ellos destacó, por la elaboración de sus propuestas e impacto en la comunidad científica, el neuroanatomista alemán Paul Emil Flechsig (1847-1929). Wilder Graves Penfield (1891-1976) fue otro detractor del dogma que considera la corteza prefrontal el sustrato anatómico de los procesos mentales más complejos y sublimes del ser humano. A mediados del siglo xx, Penfield mantuvo la hipótesis de la existencia de lo que denominó el sistema de integración centrencefálico, responsable del nivel más elevado de integración del sistema nervioso central. Conclusiones. Las concepciones corticocéntricas otorgan el preciado cetro de ‘estructura más importante del encéfalo’ a la corteza prefrontal. Sin embargo, no han faltado propuestas alternativas que, con mayor o menor éxito, han intentado arrebatárselo en favor de otras estructuras encefálicas (AU)

Introduction. Today, when we reflect on which structures of the human brain are the most significant, we invariably think of the anterior regions of the cerebral cortex, and more particularly the prefrontal cortex. Although this has been the predominant dogma over the last 150 years or more, well-renowned researchers have openly questioned this assumption. Development. During the 19th and 20th centuries, a number of researchers considered the posterior cortical regions to be the neuranatomical seat of the highest intellectual faculties. One of those researchers who stands out above the others, due to the proposals he formulated and the impact they had on the scientific community, was the German neuroanatomist Paul Emil Flechsig (1847-1929). Wilder Graves Penfield (1891-1976) was another scientist who disagreed with the dogma that considered the prefrontal cortex to be the anatomical entity underlying the most complex and sublime mental processes of human beings. In the mid-20th century, Penfield held the hypothesis of the existence of what he called the centrencephalic integrating system, which was responsible for the highest level of integration of the central nervous system. Conclusions. The corticocentric conceptions confer the highly-revered award of ‘the most important structure in the brain’ to the prefrontal cortex. Nevertheless, many other alternative proposals have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to strip it of this distinction and bestow it upon other brain structures (AU)

Nursing a sense of family.

Rosemary Jenkinson was named nurse of the year in 1991 in recognition of her work to establish a community home for children with profound sensory disabilities. Winning the award was a confidence booster and a responsibility, she says.

Body-conscious Shakespeare: sensory disturbances in troubled characters.

It is widely accepted that Shakespeare was unique in the range of his insights into the human mind, but the way his characters reveal their mental states through bodily sensations has not been systematically explored. The author has searched for these phenomena in the 42 major works of Shakespeare and in 46 genre-matched works by his contemporaries, and in this paper the author focuses on sensory changes other than those involving vision, taste, the heart and the alimentary tract (all considered in other papers). Vertigo is experienced by five distressed Shakespearean characters, all men, but not at all by the other writers' characters. Breathlessness, probably representing hyperventilation, occurs eleven times in Shakespeare's works but only twice in the other writers' works. Fatigue, expressing grief, is articulated by several Shakespearean characters including Hamlet. It features less often in the others' works. Deafness at a time of high emotion is mentioned by Shakespeare several times but usually by a character 'turning a deaf ear', consciously or unconsciously. To the other writers, ears show emotion only by burning or itching. Blunting of touch and pain and their opposites of hypersensitivity to touch and pain are all to be found in Shakespeare's works when a character is distressed or excited, but not so with his contemporaries' works. Faint feelings and cold feelings are also more common in the works of Shakespeare. Overall, therefore, Shakespeare was exceptional in his use of sensory disturbances to express emotional upset. This may be a conscious literary device or a sign of exceptional awareness of bodily sensations.

Chapter 32: sensory and perceptual disorders.

Disorders of perception can be examined appropriately only after the normal operations of the senses have been appreciated. There was a long descriptive history of perceptual phenomena before theories were formed and experiments were performed. The phases through which phenomena pass in progressing from description to dissection are charted. The first stage is a description of phenomena, followed by attempts to incorporate them into the body of extant theory. Finally, the phenomena are accepted and utilized to gain more insights into the functioning of the senses and of the brain. In many cases, the phenomena have been described in the distant past, and no clear origin can be determined. In others, there is an obvious break with the past and a phenomenon is described and investigated for the first time. For most of the history of the senses, interest was usually restricted to illusions or oddities of experience: the commonplace characteristics of constant perception were ignored. These factors are taken into consideration with regard to the classification of the senses, phantom limbs, vertigo, and developmental disorders. Imposing some order on the senses was a long but necessary precursor to examining their disorders. Once order was established then a range of fascinating phenomena came to light (particularly in vision). Others that had long been known became open to more detailed scrutiny.

Synaesthesia.

Synaesthesia is the intriguing, involuntary experience of feeling one sensation in response to a different sensory stimulus. Recognised since described in 1890 by John Locke and clarified by Galton in the 1880s, it has been analysed in the last 50 years. Grapheme-colour synaesthesia is the commonest form, but many other sensory linkages are reported. Experiments show that it is a genuine immediate perception, not merely a memory or learned association. Many of the mechanisms posited are based on indirect methods, and we know little of the neurophysiological mechanisms.

William Porterfield (ca. 1696-1771) and his phantom limb: an overlooked first self-report by a man of medicine.

EARLY REPORTS OF phantom limbs by Ambroise Paré and René Descartes were based on second- or third-hand descriptions provided by amputees. William Porterfield (ca. 1696-1771) was a prominent Scottish physician and was possibly the first man of medicine to write about his experiences after having a leg amputated. Porterfield was an authority on vision; he devised the first optometer and examined accommodation after cataract operations. Rather than using the phenomenon of a phantom limb to question the veracity of the senses (as Descartes had done), Porterfield integrated his phantom limb experiences into his general account of sensory function.

Origins of the sensory examination in neurology.

Formal testing of sensation as part of the neurological examination followed the improvements in examination techniques as well as advances in neuroscience. By the 1890s, the observation that temperature sense was frequently impaired at the same time that pain was appreciated led to the supposition that the two paths traveled closely. Through the works of Brown-Séquard and Edinger the existence of a crossed afferent tract was verified. The distinction between two sensory pathways was clear by 1898, when van Gehuchten reported a case of syringomyelia and suggested that the pain and temperature fibers were carried anterolaterally and the position sense fibers carried posteriorly in the spinal cord. Many authors describing patients with tabes dorsalis suspected the posterior columns of the spinal cord played a key role in position sense. It is difficult to determine in the 19th century who first employed the use of movements of joints as a test for proprioceptive function; however, Bell in 1826 recognized what he termed a sixth sense, which later was characterized as proprioceptive function. Goldscheider went on to report the degrees of movement that were considered normal for each joint. Although vibratory sense had been described by Cardano and Ingrassia in the 16th century and tests had been developed by Rinne and Rumpf by the 19th century, it was not until 1903 that Rydel and Seiffer found that vibratory sense and proprioceptive sense were closely related and that both senses were carried in the posterior columns of the spinal cord. By 1955, the sensory examination included tests for light-touch, superficial pain, temperature, position sense, vibration, muscle (deep pain), and two-point discrimination. Tests for these sensibilities still remain in use. We will review the origins of the understanding of sensation, which ultimately led to the development of the sensory examination. We will highlight individuals who made important discoveries and observations, as well as review the history of each of the elements of the sensory examination.

[The Alice in Wonderland syndrome]. / La sindrome di Alice nel paese delle meraviglie.

The "Alice in Wonderland syndrome includes an array of symptoms involving altered perception of shape (meta-morphopsia) of objects or persons who appear to be smaller (micropsia) or larger (macropsia) than normal, of impaired sense of passage of time, of zooming of the environment. This unusual neurological picture which can be confused with psychosis or drug intoxication has been found to accompany cerebral lesions mainly temporo-occipital or parietal-occipital temporal epilepsy and migraine. Todd gave the syndrome its literary name in his report in 1955, describing a singular group of symptoms closely associated with migraine and epilepsy. However the first description of the condition was made by Lippman in 1952. This syndrome is so called because of the resemblance of its symptoms to the fluctuations in size and shape that plague the main character in Lewis Carrol's 1865 novel Alice in Wonderland. Cases of "Alice in Wonderland" syndrome have been described associated with infectious mononucleosis. In each clinical case, the classical infectious mononucleosis symptoms and diagnosis followed the onset of visual aberration. Nuclear medicine techniques are able to demonstrate changes in cerebral perfusion and may be used to detect abnormal cerebral areas in patients with AIWS.

[Coenesthesia. On the history of general sensibility]. / Coenästhesie. Zur Geschichte des Gemeingefühls.

The term "coenaesthesis" or "Gemeingefühl" (general sensibility), common until 1900, combined different psychological, neurological and psychopathological components of body experience in the borderland between soma and psyche. By and large however, it was replaced by specialized terms like "body scheme", "body image" or "body ego". This development may be pursued from Reil and the so-called romantic medicine up to Griesinger, Wernicke, Head and Schilder in our century; its profits and losses are demonstrated.