Fibre pathways of the brain

This large, well illustrated volume deals with one aspect of the fibre systems of the brain. The book reports the results of tracing efferent fibre connections from various areas of the cerebral cortex of 32 macaque monkeys. The book would be useful for those wishing to have an anatomical basis for interpreting patterns of connectivity seen in scans, and some of the clinical symptoms that might be associated with interruption of fibre pathways. There is a brief history of prior contributions, and some elegant illustrations from the classical literature. The bulk of the book reports the results of studies of the course of cortically-originating nerve fibres after an injection of a labelled amino acid is placed into a specific region of the monkey cerebral cortex. The study of neural connections has a long history. Early views were changed by later evidence, and old problems clarified. The process continues. The tracing technique used here is useful, but it is not the final word, and it leaves many problems to solve. Here I consider the problem of fibre connections in the brain in a broader, historical context. Introductory students of neuroscience quickly learn that axons are extensions of nerve cell bodies. This simple truth took well over 100 years to establish. Even when that became established, it was still not at all clear how the axon is formed. The idea that an axon either fires or it does not fire; the ‘all or none law’, also is usually introduced in chapter 1 of introductory texts, seldom with any consideration of how we know this or why it should be true. The early history of some of these questions can help to put our modern views in perspective. Nerve fibres were recognized long before nerve cells. Early anatomists searched for tube-like structures that …

[1]  M Glickstein,et al.  Basal ganglia and cerebellum receive different somatosensory information in rats. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[2]  J. Meek,et al.  Unmyelinated fibers in the pyramidal tract of the rat: a new view , 1982, Brain Research.

[3]  A. Hendrickson,et al.  The autoradiographic demonstration of axonal connections in the central nervous system. , 1972, Brain research.

[4]  J. Sjöstrand,et al.  Axonal uptake and retrograde transport of exogenous proteins in the hypoglossal nerve. , 1971, Brain research.

[5]  E. Clarke The human brain and spinal cord , 1968 .

[6]  W. Nauta,et al.  Silver impregnation of degenerating axons in the central nervous system: a modified technic. , 1954, Stain technology.

[7]  P. Weiss,et al.  Experiments on the mechanism of nerve growth. , 1948, The Journal of experimental zoology.

[8]  A. M. Lassek The pyramidal tract of the monkeys. A betz cell and pyramidal tract enumeration , 1941 .

[9]  A. M. Lassek,et al.  A comparative fiber and numerical analysis of the pyramidal tract , 1940 .

[10]  F. Cole Leeuwenhoek's zoological researches.—Part II. Bibliography and analytical Index , 1937 .

[11]  W. E. Le Gros Clark,et al.  THE STRUCTURE AND CONNECTIONS OF THE THALAMUS , 1932 .

[12]  G. Holmes,et al.  Disturbances of Vision from Cerebral Lesions, with Special Reference to the Cortical Representation of the Macula , 1916, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine.

[13]  J. King The cortico‐spinal tract of the rat , 1910 .

[14]  M. J. Greenman,et al.  Observations of the living developing nerve fiber , 1907 .

[15]  R. G. Harrison,et al.  Observations on the living developing nerve fiber , 1906 .

[16]  Waldeyer,et al.  Ueber einige neuere Forschungen im Gebiete der Anatomie des Centralnervensystems , 1892 .

[17]  W. Waldeyer,et al.  Ueber einige neuere Forschungen im Gebiete der Anatomie des Centralnervensystems1) , 1891 .

[18]  A. Waller XX. Experiments on the section of the glossopharyngeal and hypoglossal nerves of the frog, and observations of the alterations produced thereby in the structure of their primitive fibres , 1850, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.