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The article presents the discussion and conclusion of the various papers on the early embryonic movements in birds and mammals other than man. An examination of the literature on fetal behavior shows that there are no primary reflexes that are incorporated into more comprehensive or general patterns. Furthermore, reflexes are secondary and are developed by individuation within a totality of pattern of behavior of primary integration. Finally, individuation and integration operate in a reciprocal fashion in both the function and growth of the nervous system.

This article presents information on fourth annual meeting of Society for neuroscience which will held between October 20-23, in St. Louis, Missouri. Symposia, state-of-the-art sessions, in-depth panel explorations, dinner discussion groups, and volunteer paper sessions will cover a broad range of neuroscientific subjects. A special demonstration covering the use of computers in the neurosciences is also planned in cooperation with the Washington University School of Medicine.

The article presents a historical background and a critical analysis of the works of Frederick Mott, neuropathologist and founder of Maudsley Laboratories in Great Britain. It explores his contributions to neuropathology and to the pathology of mental disorders. His influence to his successor professor Frederic Lucien Golla is also discussed. According to the author, Mott's publications from 1880 onwards were focused on the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the nervous system. He states that these interests of Mott were influenced by his mentor E. A. Schäfer. He accounts that Mott and Schäfer have collaborated on two papers, including one which investigates the extent of the head and the eye area in the frontal cortex of the monkey.

The article presents information on various research papers on the research and development contributions to the area of the visually handicapped published in the years 1941, 1953 and 1959. One of the significant development for research was the "Model Reporting Area for Blindness Statistics," by Hyman Goldstein and Irving Goldberg. It was developed by the Biometrics Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness with the cooperation of a number of agencies concerned with visually handicapped persons. The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, started a collaborative Perinatal Research Project at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness an 15 medical centers was reported to be successfully isolating and cultivating the virus causing rubella. Researcher Samuel C. Mc Laughlin has concluded from a study of visual perception in strabismus and amblyopia, that the underlying disorder in the strabismus-amblyopia syndrome is a previously unrecognized anomaly of visual perception. His study indicated that objects as seen from one eye are perceived as being unreal and are eventually suppressed.

The article provides information on neuromuscular relaxation. The differences between complete and differential relaxation are discussed. An outline of the connections of sensory fibers that result in activity at all levels of the cord, brain stem, cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres is given. The process of facilitation, which operates at all levels of the cord and brain, is described. The results of experiments and observations of systematic instruction in neuromuscular relaxation based on principles developed by Jacobson are provided.

The article presents announcement on events related to psychophysiology as of May 1972. From October 3-6, 1972, the First European Congress on Sleep Research will take place in Basel, Switzerland, under the auspices of the newly founded European Sleep Society. It is planned to have presentations by three or four principal speakers, to arrange four to five symposia on topics in sleep research and to organize a number of sessions for 10-15 minutes free communications. The contact information for this event has been provided along with the article. Another event on the same topic is scheduled to be held from October 8-11, 1972. The Second Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience will be held in Houston, Texas at the Shamrock Hilton Hotel. The meetings are sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience which is an association of scientists whose common aim is an understanding of the function of nervous systems and how they control behavior. Contact address for the conference has been provided in the article.

This article presents information regarding the paper involvement of the nervous system in Behcet's disease. The paper is produced by A.D. Evans, C.A. Pallis and J.D. Spillane.

The last fifteen years have witnessed an extraordinary development of the neurosciences, towards which converged many professional scientists from other disciplines but which also succeeded in recruiting many of the most talented and ambitious students of biology all over the world. The author believes that this trend towards the massive study of the neurosciences is not a coincidence but, on the contrary, reflects a conscious change in emphasis aimed at achieving results which may help to develop instruments for certain policies. There is nothing abnormal in this circumstance, since scientific activity develops within a given society according to its prevalent rules, objectives and ideologies. As a part of the social system scientific institutions meet specific social needs. Yet, the reorientation of biology towards the neurosciences was steered by a small group of first-rank scientists who seemed to have carefully and independently selected their aims which can even be qualified as capricious, and can in any case be viewed as an instance of the disconnexion between scientific practice and social reality.

This study attempts to follow the development of an "awareness" of the importance of consistency in a logical system with 3 elements and 1 operation. 2 sets of tables were devised which enabled Ss to work with an operation,*. 1 set of tables was self-consistent, and the other gave inconsistent results in some of the cells. After training in which Ss used both sets of tables, they were asked to indicate which set they preferred to work with and to give the reason for their preference. 8-year-old Ss gave preferences and reasons which showed that they were either unaware of the inconsistency or considered it irrelevant; 16-year-old Ss preferred the consistent set of tables and gave "consistency" explicitly as their reason for preference; groups of Ss in between these ages responded in terms that showed a preference for the consistent table but were not, in general, able to give explicit reasons for their choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral studies of early visual development are interpreted within a framework provided by data from the neurosciences. It is concluded that the visual responses elicited during the first month of life are mediated directly by components of a phylogenetically older "second visual system," and that the more sophisticated reactions that typically begin to appear during the second and third months reflect a dawning participation of the primary visual system in the processing of visual input. The process of postnatal visual development is viewed as a progressive encoding, within different components of the visual network, of increasingly more complex aspects of the information contained in the visual signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full-term neonates were assessed with a neurological examination and a measure of visual attentiveness. Scores on the neurological examination were significantly related to the length of the first fixation of each stimulus and the total length of fixation of the first stimulus. The alterability of the baby's state during the neurological examination was also correlated with visual alertness. On the basis of these results, it was suggested that subjects who complete testing in newborn attention studies may comprise a highly selected sample of neonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effects of poliomyelitis on speech. Concepts of poliomyelitis; Pathological effects on the nervous system and resulting dysfunction; Corrective procedure in speech therapy.

Studies of animals suggest that changes in behavior are concomitant with early administration of hormones in abnormal quantities and types, and that these changes in behavior reflect actual changes in the structure of the central nervous system. Previous psychological studies of individuals with abnormal hormone makeup also have indicated that hormones might have an effect on mental as well as physical function. In order to assess the extent to which any brain changes might be reflected in mental functioning as revealed by scores on psychoeducational tests, the cognitive behavior of children with hormone abnormalities was examined. It was hypothesized that these children would reveal particularized patterns of function comparable to those found in children with specific learning disabilities. Thirty children between the ages of 3 and 15 under medical treatment for male pseudohermaphroditism and the adrenogenital syndrome (males and females) were tested on a variety of measures found useful in differentiating children with learning disabilities. Matched controls were included in the study. The findings suggest that the contention of earlier researchers that increased androgens act to elevate overall intellectual functioning is unwarranted at this time. Boys with the adrenogenital syndrome performed the same as their normal controls in all aspects of cognitive function. In contrast, girls with the adrenogenital syndrome differed from their controls and from the normal girls in their ability to do particular tasks. The male pseudohermaphrodites, reared as girls, demonstrated intellective function similar to their normal female controls on most measures, but performed significantly poorer than their male controls on various nonverbal measures. They showed significantly higher verbal than nonverbal ability, as has been reported in earlier literature. From these findings it was inferred that abnormal hormone function may influence specific mental processes, and that these influences may be related to the sensitivity of the brain to androgens. However, the effects on central nervous system processes seem to be highly specific and far more subtle than those affecting children of a learning disability population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neurological learning disability syndrome has become well-defined, however, its etiology is far from understood. Probably, there is no one etiology for this syndrome; there are several ways in which nervous system functioning can be altered to produce these findings. But clinical findings in children with the neurological learning disability syndrome are too consistent and too similar from child to child to accept the popular concept that random trauma or embarrassment occurring at various times during the fetal or post-delivery maturation of the central nervous system produced the syndrome. Neurochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and clinical data are presented in an effort to support the view that a neurohumoral imbalance might be the etiologic factor in one group of children with the neurological learning disability syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While we tend to agree that learning disabilities include neurological factors, we do not understand the relationships of these symptoms to different socio-economic groups, nor to various nutrition components. The result is a neglect of low-income children who demonstrate the symptoms of learning disabilities but have symptoms confounding the diagnosis. Similar materials, however, produce desired results both for advantaged and disadvantaged children regardless of the source of the learning disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigators have traditionally assumed that the kinesthetic after effects (KAE) procedure measures individuals' tendencies either to augment or to reduce the impact of incoming stimulation. Strikingly, this putative difference between individuals is one of the bases of Pavlov's typology: Pavlov maintained that individuals with "strong" nervous systems resist incoming stimuli, individuals with "weak' nervous systems are particularly sensitive to stimuli. The present study supports the usual interpretation of the KAE task by indicating significant relationships between it and three measures of "strength of the nervous system." The present data also have a practical implication: Since the KAE procedure has recently undergone strong methodological attacks, these results suggest that an investigator interested in the construct in question (tendencies to augment or reduce stimuli) can employ the measures of strength rather than the KAE method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on neurovegetative dystonia. Composed of sympathetic and parasympathetic subdivisions, the vegetative nervous system is responsible for the rapid adaptations of the organism and the harmonious cooperation of the organ functions. These subdivisions are easy to distinguish anatomically in the regions of the sympathetic trunk and the vagus nerve. However, their peripheral terminations in most organs are close together so that the histological separation is difficult. Most organs are continuously subject to impulses transmitted by both subdivisions. The functional status of an organ is governed by the mutual relations between these impulses. The activity of the vegetative nervous system can be likened to a pendulum, which tends to return to its resting position. The tonus of the vegetative nervous system diverges from this state of equilibrium in order to make the organism as a whole conform to internal and/or external demands at a given moment. In other words, the vegetative nervous system participates in the preservation of homeostasis in the organism.

Discusses various European neurological studies on the newborn. Interpretations made by pediatric professor Albrecht Peiper on infant neurology; Views of Andre-Thomas on the complex reflex responses of infants; Techniques used by Saint Anne-Daragassies in studying premature infants.

There is a popular belief that the genius is the result of a biological event and that the genius makes the times. Another point of view is that both the genius and the times are the result of broad impersonal social forces. The evidence is not complete on either of these statements. Much of the evidence that has been offered is have very slight or no value, as the methods used have generally been inadequate. Some research of impressive proportions has yielded little of importance because the measurements, precise as they sometimes have been, have not touched the real issues involved. There is no reason to believe, however, that success in finding decisive solutions to these questions is impossible. A superior conceptualization of the subject, and a more precise definition of the issues are required in this context. It is commonly believed that the nervous system of the genius must be of a superior order to make possible the handling of such complex thoughts, as he appears to use. The novice is amazed, for example, at the ability of the chess master who foresees future developments on a board with sixty-four locations and thirty-two pieces with different powers of use. The performance would be truly miraculous if the expert had to use such complex thoughts, as the novice would require. The explanation of his ability lies in the fact that he deals with units of a different order, in which complexities are organized into simplicities, thus enabling him to deal with simple thoughts.

The article discusses experimental works in the fields of somesthesis and the chemical senses. These are dominated by certain concepts which have proved so convenient that they have come to be accepted without serious question by the majority of physiologists and by many psychologists. These concepts are called "law" of specific nervous energies. It is for this reason that so much emphasis has been laid on the analysis of somesthesis and the chemical senses in terms of the activity of single nerve fibres. Recent anatomical and psycho-physiological work, however, has seriously challenged the validity this law, and has made it necessary to re-examine all the experimental observations on the sensory nervous system from a wholly different point of view.

This article analyzes the epidemiological distribution of dysfunctions of the central nervous system (CNS). Such dysfunctions are known to arise from the operation of a broad spectrum of causal variables during the prenatal, postnatal and the natal development changes. Brain damage maybe induced at any point in the life cycle from the earliest changes of embryonic development to the final stages of senescence. Some of the major causal variables of interest include such factors as genetic mutations and chromosomal aberrations. There are major biological and psychological determinants of brain damage. There is, however, another important group of causes, to which little systematic attention has so far been directed.

The human organism is continually bombarded with sensory stimulation, only a fraction of which is directly and consciously used for rational thought or action. Much sensory stimulation remains unnoticed or unattended, while some is actually subliminal. The fate or consequences of this marginal stimulation which occurs on the fringe of awareness has become of considerable theoretical and empirical interest in recent years. Experimental evidence now exists which suggests that incomplete or fragmentary perceptions have effects upon other behaviors. Modes of behavior such as dreams, associations, and fantasy have been shown to be influenced, often in quite unique ways, by marginal or subliminal perceptions. It is usually a matter of some unreported aspect of a stimulus configuration being "recovered," either conceptually or more directly and specifically. This so-called stimulus recovery is predicated on the assumption that much of the stimulus had registered on the central nervous system, even though it was not fully reported.

Distributional pattern of the neuromasts has been described for Gobius striatus Day. The neuromasts are arranged in several lines. Canal formation, like many gobiids, is suppressed to varying extent. The supraorbital line presents interesting variations. The supraorbital lines of the two sides are separate from each other even in the so-called common `interorbital chamber'. An outstanding feature of the neuromast system of the fish is the great development of the supramaxillary line which is perhaps best developed in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endocranium of Devonian osteolepiforms includes four minor structures, called zygals, which probably represent cephalic vertebral elements belonging to the second, third, and fourth metameres. Also, the endocranium exhibits a partial segmentation in the form of vestiges of intra- metameric articulations attributable to the anterior five metameres. Finally, the basicranial muscle of osteolepiforms, extending across the lower part of the endocranial articulation within the second metamere, is possibly supplied by a separate cranial nerve, for which the term nervus rarus is proposed. This hypothetical cranial nerve, which in osteolepiforms possibly emerges from the endocranium through a canal in the fourth metamere, is suggested to constitute, together with the trochlear nerve, the somatic motor component of the second cranionerval segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the development of the fibre in the young brain of the salmon. In the 9 day (3.6 mm) stage, the anterior part of the nervous system is still a solid neural cord. In the region of the future deuterencephalon, this cord is medially divided by a cleavage, but the, only existing ventricle is a small widening of this cleavage just above the floor cells. A diffuse secretory activity may be seen in some of the cells lining this ventricle, but a Reissner's fibre cannot be found at this stage.

The article presents information on the research performed on the two forms of Glossobalanus marginatus Meek and Protoglossus, collected from the west coast of Sweden. In the present area these animals live in comparatively deep water and are necessarily collected by means of dredging. Owing to the fact all the specimens collected are, unfortunately more or less incomplete, the hind parts of their fragile trunk regions being crushed or torn off by the too rough treatment. Consequently, the present author has not been able to examine the parts of the nervous system proximal to the liver region.

Idiosyncrasies in the metabolism of the mother may lead to an unbalanced or faulty supply of nourishment to the embryo. If the defect is in the vitamins it will lead to absence of growth, if in the mineral salts to misgrowth. The minerals are essential for the laying down of the nervous system, and the nervous system controls the mechanism of the brain. A far more intricate and subtle mechanism must be required for a mind capable of big and far-reaching encounters with the universe, than for one for which, say, home-interests will suffice. For the purpose of this inquiry the question of the influence of education in developing mental quality is left on one side altogether. The presents hypothesis requires that the mind of limited type, and that of far-reaching type, should be regarded as hereditary factors in personality, but that the functioning of the mind should be regarded as solely dependent on the physical perfection of the apparatus through which it works, i.e., the brain. This apparatus is, it may be claimed, chiefly or even solely conditioned by the minerals supplied to the blood stream during the period of development.

Some comments have been made upon the manner in which the sympathetic nervous system may participate in the development of hypertension and hypertensive cardiovascular disease in man. Indirect evidence concerning the role of the sympathetic nervous system in essential hypertension is deduced from the effects of thoracolumbar splanchnicectomy upon blood pressure levels and responses, the rate of progress of cardiovascular disease and upon life expectancy. The impression has been gained from a long clinical study that the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role in the development of certain cases of so called essential hypertension in man. In others, its role is important. In some cases, its role may be of little consequence. When faced for the most part with well established and late forms of hypertensive cardiovascular disease it is difficult, in fact it seems to be impossible, to trace its evolution in anything more than a speculative fashion. It seems to me that we should commence at the beginning and study normals and observe the evolution of the disorder from the beginning rather than to attempt to unravel this complicated problem in retrospect. This would require a large scale study over a long period of time. This is more than any one individual could possibly do and therefore would have to be a collaborative enterprise. Whatever the cause or causative mechanisms may be, and it may require the participation of combinations of factors to produce the full blown picture, they will have to explain the manner in which this disorder develops in man. The evidence now available suggests, to me at any rate, that some abnormality detectable in normals exists in the majority of cases, and that the disorder develops gradually being at first intermittent and later continuous in nature, with cardiovascular disease making its appearance earlier in some cases than in others but for the most part after the hypertension has become established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the interaction between hormone secretion by the endocrine glands and neural activity of the central nervous system (CNS). He limits the discussion on mammalian species even though there is considerable evidence for interaction between hormones and the CNS in lower vertebrates and invertebrates.

The article presents an essay on adrenergic β-blocking agents. It mentions that β-blocking agents have been used to examine epinephrine and the reception of drugs by the nervous system. The article describes the history of the study of epinephrine and related substances. An overview of adrenergic β-blocking agents is provided.

The article informs that psychologist E. Gellhorn studying autonomic nervous system excitability in animals found that perceptual acuity was related to hypothalamic stimulation. He concluded that "perceptions are quantitatively (and possibly qualitatively) altered by changes in the intensity of the hypothalamic-cortical discharge". The possible relationship of sympathetic nervous system excitability to perceptual acuity was therefore studied in a group of recently hospitalized schizophrenic patients. The hypothesis considered was that subjects exhibiting significant sympathetic excitability would demonstrate greater perceptual acuity than less reactive schizophrenics.

The article presents information on a study to find out a comparison of the Bender-Gestalt and Flicker fusion as indicators of central nervous system involvement. One of the most difficult diagnostic problems in clinical psychology and psychiatry is to decide whether a given patient has a disorder of the central nervous system. If the presence of an organic factor is not obvious to the physician, the psychologist is often asked to give an opinion about such damage as well as a description of personality. The Bender-Gestalt Test and a flicker fusion test were compared according to their ability to correctly distinguish between a group of normal's and a group of patients with CNS involvement.

The article informs that psychologist Z.A. Piotrowski first published his ten signs of central nervous system disorder in 1937. The presence of five of these signs in a Rorschach record give evidence of an organic lesion of the central nervous system. The results suggest that 5 or more of Piotrowski's signs are not significantly diagnostic of brain disorder as such. However, they would seem to be statistically reliable indicators of intellectual impairment, with the qualification that the cause of the impairment, whether congenital, organic, or functional, would have to be inferred from other data.

The article presents information on the book "Neuropharmacology," by H.A. Abramson.