[Proprioceptive regulation of standing in the human. An electromyography study]. / Uber die proprioceptive Regulation des Stehens beim Menschen. Eine elektromyographische Untersuchung.

Electromyographic experiments, undertaken in connection with action of standing, are here described. A short, sharp push given in an anterior or posterior direction caused an abrupt upsetting of balance, whereby adaptive reactions of the relevant muscles were found to occur after an interval of 60 to 90 msecs. These reactions, although having become automatic as a result of the early-acquired upright posture, are in fact of a voluntary nature and fully controllable by the will. It is demonstrated that these reactions are very probably due to stimulation of deep mechano- and joint-receptors. They do not have anything to do with a functional stretchreflex mechanism.

[Orientation of art, orientation of writing and visual field dominance. An experimental and cultural historical study]. / Zeichnungsrichtung, Schreibrichtung und Blickfelddominanz. Eine experimentelle und kulturhistorische Studie.

Investigations have shown that 75% of children aged 3-6 years, who have not as yet acquired the ability to write, tend to draw and sketch from the left to the right side. The same tendency has also been found in adults with regard to drawing, which indicates a dominance of the left field of vision when the cerebral optical analysis is used, as it invariably is for the appreciation of three-dimensional figures. The tendency to draw from the left to the right side can be traced back to works of art that date from as far back as the 6th century B.C. Before the 6th century B.C. and way back into the prehistoric period, the direction seems to have been the reverse, i.e. there was a tendency to draw from the right to the left side. Evidence showing that this was true in up to 80% of cases can be found on vase paintings with either geometric shapes or animals. These findings, together with those of earlier publications, are interpreted as evidence that a shift of dominance has taken place during the history of mankind. It is assumed that together with the increasing significance of language and writing, associated with the left cerebral hemisphere, there was also a development toward a right-sided dominance as regards optical analysis.

[The profile direction toward right and left as seen from a historical study of cultural development. A dominance problem (author's transl)]. / Das Rechts-Links-Profil im kulturhistorischen Längsschnitt. Ein Dominanzproblem.

Eighty percent of right handers drawing a human profile, direct it towards the left. The neurophysiological basis for this fact and the dominant role that the right hemisphere plays in higher visual performances is discussed. The preference for the left profile direction is traced back to the early Greek period in paintings, drawings, coin portraits, gems, cameos, and vase portraits. Fifty thousand objects have been analyzed. A 60% prevalence of face direction towards the right occurs in the cultural centers of the Mediterranean before 600 B.C. Before the early Greek period: the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Sumerian cultures faced more profiles to the right. This tendency for right profile direction can be traced back to Stone Age cave drawings. The profile shift from right to left occurs in the early Greek period and is related to a shift in script and in letter profile at the same time. This profile shift occurs simultaneously with an acceleration of intellectual and cultural development which also influenced our present culture. Although the percentage of right handers might not have changed considerably since the Stone Age, the profile shift from right to left suggests a hypothetical change in dominance of the cerebral hemispheres for the higher visual perception which may have induced a left preference in the period around 600 B.C.

[On crossed reflexes in human leg motoricity (author's transl)]. / Uber gekreuzte Reflexe in der Beinmotorik des Menschen.

Crossed reflexes induced in the muscles of the calf were studied in 30 neurologically healthy volunteers. Almost half of the volunteers showed a pronounced reaction of the contralateral gastrocnemius muscle and of the soleus on ipsilateral stimulation of the corresponding muscle. The results vary, but they show that fundamentally there are processes of facilitation and inhibition due to the stimulation of the tension receptors or Golgi tendon organs of the stimulated muscle and also to the muscle spindle afferents of the antagonistically stretched muscle. It is assumed that the contralateral reflexes can exercise a modulatory effect on the central locomotor program, although they do not monitor it.

Neurophysiological experiments on intention tremor (author's transl). / Neurophysiologische Untersuchungen über den Intentionstremor.

During a postural innervation, cerebellar intention tremor can be produced by applying direct stimulus to the muscle. The stimulus is followed by a silent period of 160 to 200 ms, which exceeds the normal variation. Simultaneously, a massive rebound in the antagonistic muscle is evoked due to the tension reflex in the agonistic muscle. Passive shortening or stretching of the voluntarily activated muscle has no effect: there is no silent period in the shortened muscle, no rebound in the stretched muscle, and, consequently, little or no oscillation follows. The spindle apparatus seems irrelevant to the development of intention tremor. The feedback mechanism of the Golgi-inhibition systems is discussed. These findings cannot be explained by assuming a central pacemaker.

[Body proportions in sculpture and painting. An anthropometric and historical essay (author's transl)]. / Körperproportionen in Plastik und Malerei. Ein anthropometrischer und kulturhistorischer Versuch.

Taking anthropometric mean values of the European population as a standard, we examined some proportions in representative sculptural and pictorial works of art. We established that the classical antique sculptures and those of Michelangelo and his school conform very closely to the European norm. Mid-Italian wooden crucifixes of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and early medieval European paintings of the Corpus Christi, on the other hand, display quite different proportions: exaggerated length of forearms, or torsos that are stunted in relationship to the legs. Proportions similar to these can be found in the art of the New Kingdom of the Egyptians, reflecting the physique of the Nubian population. We discussed the extent to which an artistic proportion is conditioned by style, imitation, racial aesthetic ideals, or anatomy of the ambient population.

Treatment of the neurogenic bladder with direct current on the spinal cord (Myelotron).

We carried out urodynamic examinations before and after galvanotherapy (Myelotron) of the spinal cord in 25 patients with upper and lower motor neuron lesions, mixed lesions and sensory lesions of the bladder. With the upper motor neuron lesions (neurogenic unhibited bladder, dyssynergia) there was a deterioration of the condition and therefore electrotherapy is contraindicated in this group of patients. With the lower motor neuron lesions and also the sensory lesions definite success was achieved with electrotherapy. Where there is a deficiency of impulses, it would appear to be compensated.

A damping factor in human voluntary contraction.

Experiments on patients with Parkinsonism showed that the damping factor was lowered, so that, a tension stimulus being without supraspinal effect, oscillation occurred.