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=Chapter II The Form and Subdivisions of the Brain=


==Chapter II The Form and Subdivisions of the Brain==
==Gross Structure==


GROSS STRUCTURE
Reference to figures 1-5, 85, and 86 shows that the larger; subdivisions of the human brain are readily identified in Amblystoma, though with remarkable differences in shape and relative size. When this comparison is carried to further detail, the sculpturing of the ventricular walls shown in the median section is especially instructive. It is again emphasized that the application of mammalian names to the structures here revealed rarely implies exact homology; these areas are to be regarded as primordia from which the designated mammalian structures have been differentiated. The relationships here implied have been established by several independent lines of evidence: (1) The relative positions and fibrous connections of cellular masses and the terminal connections of tracts. In so far as these arrangements conform with the mammalian pattern, they may be regarded as homologous. (2) Embryological evidence. The early neural tubes of amphibians and mammals are similar, and subsequent development of both has been recorded. On the basis of Coghill's observations of rates of proliferation and differentiation in prefunctional stages, the writer ('37) gave arbitrary numbers to recognizable sectors of the neural tube in early functional stages, and the subsequent development of each of these is, in broad lines, similar to that of corresponding mammalian parts. (3) The relationships of svipposed primordia of mammalian structures may be tested by the comparative method. In an arrangement of animal types which approximates the phylogenetic sequence from the most generalized amphibians to man, there are many instances of progressive differentiation of amphibian primordia by successive increments up to the definitive human form.


REFERENCE to figures 1-5, 85, and 86 shows that the larger; subdivisions of the human brain are readily identified in Amblystoma, though with remarkable differences in shape and relative
size. When this comparison is carried to further detail, the sculpturing of the ventricular walls shown in the median section is especially
instructive. It is again emphasized that the application of mammalian names to the structures here revealed rarely implies exact
homology; these areas are to be regarded as primordia from which
the designated mammalian structures have been differentiated. The
relationships here implied have been established by several independent lines of evidence: (1) The relative positions and fibrous connections of cellular masses and the terminal connections of tracts.
In so far as these arrangements conform with the mammalian pattern, they may be regarded as homologous. (2) Embryological evidence. The early neural tubes of amphibians and mammals are similar, and subsequent development of both has been recorded. On the
basis of Coghill's observations of rates of proliferation and differentiation in prefunctional stages, the writer ('37) gave arbitrary numbers to recognizable sectors of the neural tube in early functional
stages, and the subsequent development of each of these is, in broad
lines, similar to that of corresponding mammalian parts. (3) The
relationships of svipposed primordia of mammalian structures may be
tested by the comparative method. In an arrangement of animal
types which approximates the phylogenetic sequence from the most
generalized amphibians to man, there are many instances of progressive differentiation of amphibian primordia by successive increments up to the definitive human form.


Many pictures of the brains of adult and larval Amblystoma and other urodeles have been published, some of which I have cited ('35a, p. 239). The most accurate pictures of the brain of adult A. tigrinum are those of Roofe ('35), showing dorsal, ventral, and lateral aspects and the distribution of endocranial arteries and veins. The outHnes of the brain were drawn from specimens dissected after preservation for 6 weeks in 10 per cent formahn. One of these is shown here (fig. 86 A). Figure IB is drawn from a dissection made by the late Dr. P. S. McKibben, showing the sculpturing of the ventricular surfaces. Figures lA and 85 are drawn from a wax model in which there is some distortion of the natural proportions. Not all the differences seen in these pictures and in the proportions of sections figured are artifact, for the natural variability of urodele brains is surprisingly large (Neimanis, '31). Brains of larval stages have been illustrated by many authors and in my embryological papers of 1937-39.


Many pictures of the brains of adult and larval Amblystoma and
other urodeles have been published, some of which I have cited
('35a, p. 239). The most accurate pictures of the brain of adult A.
tigrinum are those of Roofe ('35), showing dorsal, ventral, and lateral aspects and the distribution of endocranial arteries and veins. The
outHnes of the brain were drawn from specimens dissected after
preservation for 6 weeks in 10 per cent formahn. One of these is
shown here (fig. 86 A). Figure IB is drawn from a dissection made by
the late Dr. P. S. McKibben, showing the sculpturing of the ventricular surfaces. Figures lA and 85 are drawn from a wax model in
which there is some distortion of the natural proportions. Not all the
differences seen in these pictures and in the proportions of sections
figured are artifact, for the natural variability of urodele brains is
surprisingly large (Neimanis, '31). Brains of larval stages have been
illustrated by many authors and in my embryological papers of
1937-39.


The somewhat simpler brain of the mudpuppy, Necturus, has been described in a series of papers as completely as available material permits, and comparison with the more differentiated structure of Ambly stoma is instructive. The sketches shown in figures 86B and C illustrate the differences between the form of this forebrain and that of Amblystoma. The monograph of 1933 contains a series of diagrams ('33&, figs. 6-16) of the internal connections of the brain of Necturus similar to those of Amblystoma shown here (figs. 7-24). In 1910 I described the general features of the forebrain of A. tigrinum, with a series of drawings of transverse Weigert sections, no. lie, which has subsequently been used as the type specimen. Though this paper contains some errors and some morphological interpretations which I now regard as outmoded ('33a), most of the factual description has stood the test of time, and additional details and reports on other parts of the brain have been published in a series of papers.




The somewhat simpler brain of the mudpuppy, Necturus, has
The most conspicuous external fissures of the brain of Amblystoma are: (1) the longitudinal fissure separating the cerebral hemispheres; (2) the deep stem-hemisphere fissure; (3) a wide dorsal groove separating the epithalamus from the roof (tectum) of the midbrain; (4) the ventral cerebral flexure or plica encephali ventralis, which is a sharp bend of the floor of the midbrain, where it turns downward and backward into the "free part" of the hypothalamus; and (5) the fissura isthmi, extending downward and forward from the anterior medullary velum between midbrain and isthmus. The middle part of the fissura isthmi is at the anterior border of the auricle, which is more prominent in the larva than in the adult ('14a, figs. 1-3). Here in the adult it lies near the posterior border of the internal isthmic tissue, some distance posteriorly of the ventricular sulcus isthmi; but, like the latter, it really marks the anterior border of the isthmus, as will appear in the description of the development of the isthmic sulcus (p. 179).
been described in a series of papers as completely as available material permits, and comparison with the more differentiated structure
of Ambly stoma is instructive. The sketches shown in figures 86B and  
C illustrate the differences between the form of this forebrain and  
that of Amblystoma. The monograph of 1933 contains a series of  
diagrams ('33&, figs. 6-16) of the internal connections of the brain of
Necturus similar to those of Amblystoma shown here (figs. 7-24).  
In 1910 I described the general features of the forebrain of A.
tigrinum, with a series of drawings of transverse Weigert sections,  
no. lie, which has subsequently been used as the type specimen.
Though this paper contains some errors and some morphological
interpretations which I now regard as outmoded ('33a), most of the  
factual description has stood the test of time, and additional details
and reports on other parts of the brain have been published in a
series of papers.  




The most conspicuous external fissures of the brain of Amblystoma
The obvious superficial eminences on the dorsal aspect of the brain are the small cerebellum, the dorsal convexity of the roof of the midbrain (tectum mesencephali) , the habenular nuclei of the epithalamus, and the two cerebral hemispheres. Posteriorly of the habenulae in the early larvae is the membranous pineal evagination, which in the adult is a closed epithelial vesicle detached from the brain except for the few fibers of the parietal nerve. The lateral aspect of the thalamus, midbrain, and isthmus is a nearly smooth convexity, posteriorly of which is the high auricle, composed of tissue which is transitional between the body of the cerebellum and the acousticolateral area of the medulla oblongata. This auricle contains the primordia of the vestibular part of the cerebellar cortex (flocculonodular lobe of Larsell), and most of its tissue is incorporated within the cerebellum in mammals. On the ventral aspect there is a low eminence in front of the optic chiasma, which marks the position of the very large preoptic nucleus, and a similar eminence behind the chiasma formed by the ventral part of the hypothalamus. The latter is in the position of the human tuber cinereum but is not exactly comparable with it. Most of the hypothalamus is thrust backward under the ventral cerebral flexure as the pars libera hypothalami. The large pars glandularis of the hypophysis envelops the posterior end of the infundibulum and extends spinal ward from it, not anteriorly as in man.
are: (1) the longitudinal fissure separating the cerebral hemispheres;
(2) the deep stem-hemisphere fissure; (3) a wide dorsal groove separating the epithalamus from the roof (tectum) of the midbrain; (4)
the ventral cerebral flexure or plica encephali ventralis, which is a  
sharp bend of the floor of the midbrain, where it turns downward and  
backward into the "free part" of the hypothalamus; and (5) the
fissura isthmi, extending downward and forward from the anterior
medullary velum between midbrain and isthmus. The middle part of
the fissura isthmi is at the anterior border of the auricle, which is more
prominent in the larva than in the adult ('14a, figs. 1-3). Here in the  
adult it lies near the posterior border of the internal isthmic tissue, some distance posteriorly of the ventricular sulcus isthmi; but, like
the latter, it really marks the anterior border of the isthmus, as will
appear in the description of the development of the isthmic sulcus
(p. 179).  




The obvious superficial eminences on the dorsal aspect of the brain  
The primary subdivisions of the human brain as defined from the embryological studies of Wilhelm His are readily identified in adult Amblystoma, as shown in the median section (fig. 2A).
are the small cerebellum, the dorsal convexity of the roof of the
midbrain (tectum mesencephali) , the habenular nuclei of the epithalamus, and the two cerebral hemispheres. Posteriorly of the
habenulae in the early larvae is the membranous pineal evagination,  
which in the adult is a closed epithelial vesicle detached from the
brain except for the few fibers of the parietal nerve. The lateral aspect
of the thalamus, midbrain, and isthmus is a nearly smooth convexity,
posteriorly of which is the high auricle, composed of tissue which is
transitional between the body of the cerebellum and the acousticolateral area of the medulla oblongata. This auricle contains the primordia of the vestibular part of the cerebellar cortex (flocculonodular
lobe of Larsell), and most of its tissue is incorporated within the
cerebellum in mammals. On the ventral aspect there is a low eminence in front of the optic chiasma, which marks the position of the
very large preoptic nucleus, and a similar eminence behind the
chiasma formed by the ventral part of the hypothalamus. The latter
is in the position of the human tuber cinereum but is not exactly
comparable with it. Most of the hypothalamus is thrust backward
under the ventral cerebral flexure as the pars libera hypothalami.
The large pars glandularis of the hypophysis envelops the posterior
end of the infundibulum and extends spinal ward from it, not anteriorly as in man.  




The primary subdivisions of the human brain as defined from the  
At the anterior end of each cerebral hemisphere is the very large olfactory bulb, the internal structure of which shows some interesting primitive features (p. 54; '246). The bulbar formation extends backward on the lateral side for about half the length of the hemisphere, but on the medial side only as far as the anterior end of the lateral ventricle (figs. 3, 4). Bordering the bulb is an undifferentiated anterior olfactory nucleus, and posteriorly of this the walls of the lateral ventricle show early stages of the differentiation of the major subdivisions of the mammalian hemisphere — in the ventrolateral wall a strio-amygdaloid complex, ventromedially the septum, and dorsally the pars pallialis. In the pallial part no laminated cortical gray is differentiated, but there are well-defined pallial fields: dorsomedially, the primordial hippocampus; dorsolaterally, the primordial piriform lobe; and between these a primordium pallii dorsalis of uncertain relationships.
embryological studies of Wilhelm His are readily identified in adult
Amblystoma, as shown in the median section (fig. 2A).  




At the anterior end of each cerebral hemisphere is the very large
The boundaries of the diencephalon, as here defined and shown in figure 2A, are: anteriorly, the stem-hemisphere fissure and the posterior border of the anterior commissure ridge and, posteriorly, the anterior face of the posterior commissure and the underlying commissural eminence and, more ventrally, the sulcus, s, which marks the anterior border of the cerebral peduncle. The inclusion of the preoptic nucleus is in controversy; but, whether or not this inclusion is justifiable morphologically, its relationships with the hypothalamus are so intimate that it is practically convenient to consider these parts together. The four primary subdivisions of the diencephalon as I defined them in 1910 are: (1) the dorsal epithalamus, containing on each side the habenula and pars intercalaris, the latter including the pretectal nucleus; (2) pars dorsalis thalami, which is the primordium of the sensory nuclei of the mammalian thalamus; (3) pars ventralis thalami, the motor zone of the thalamus, or subthalamus; (4) hypothalamus. The mammalian homologies of these areas are clear, though their relative sizes and fibrous connections exhibit remarkable differences.
olfactory bulb, the internal structure of which shows some interesting
primitive features (p. 54; '246). The bulbar formation extends backward on the lateral side for about half the length of the hemisphere,  
but on the medial side only as far as the anterior end of the lateral
ventricle (figs. 3, 4). Bordering the bulb is an undifferentiated anterior olfactory nucleus, and posteriorly of this the walls of the lateral
ventricle show early stages of the differentiation of the major subdivisions of the mammalian hemisphere — in the ventrolateral wall a
strio-amygdaloid complex, ventromedially the septum, and dorsally the pars pallialis. In the pallial part no laminated cortical gray is
differentiated, but there are well-defined pallial fields: dorsomedially,
the primordial hippocampus; dorsolaterally, the primordial piriform
lobe; and between these a primordium pallii dorsalis of uncertain
relationships.  




The boundaries of the diencephalon, as here defined and shown in  
The posterior boundary of the mesencephalon is marked by the external fissura isthmi, the ventricular sulcus isthmi (fig. 2B, s.is.), and ventrally in the floor plate a pit, the fovea isthmi [f.i.). These are all more prominent in the larva than in the adult. This sector includes the posterior commissure, the tectum mesencephali (primordial corpora quadrigemina) , the underlying dorsal tegmentum (subtectal area), and the area surrounding the tuberculum posterius at the ventral cerebral flexure, termed the "nucleus of the tuberculum posterius." On embryological grounds and for convenience of description, this ventral area, which is bounded by the variable ventricular sulcus s, is here called the "peduncle" in a restricted sense ('36, p. 298; '396, p. 582). This is a primordial mesencephalic structure which is not the equivalent of the peduncle of human neurology. Amblystoma has nothing comparable with the human basis pedunculi, and its "peduncle" is incorporated within the tegmentum of the human brain. The III cranial nerve arises within the "peduncle" and emerges near the fovea isthmi. The nucleus of the IV nerve is in the isthmus. In the human brain there are no definite structures comparable to the amphibian dorsal and isthmic tegmentum.
figure 2A, are: anteriorly, the stem-hemisphere fissure and the posterior border of the anterior commissure ridge and, posteriorly, the  
anterior face of the posterior commissure and the underlying commissural eminence and, more ventrally, the sulcus, s, which marks
the anterior border of the cerebral peduncle. The inclusion of the
preoptic nucleus is in controversy; but, whether or not this inclusion
is justifiable morphologically, its relationships with the hypothalamus are so intimate that it is practically convenient to consider these
parts together. The four primary subdivisions of the diencephalon as
I defined them in 1910 are: (1) the dorsal epithalamus, containing on
each side the habenula and pars intercalaris, the latter including the
pretectal nucleus; (2) pars dorsalis thalami, which is the primordium
of the sensory nuclei of the mammalian thalamus; (3) pars ventralis
thalami, the motor zone of the thalamus, or subthalamus; (4) hypothalamus. The mammalian homologies of these areas are clear, though their relative sizes and fibrous connections exhibit remarkable
differences.  




The posterior boundary of the mesencephalon is marked by the
The isthmus is much more clearly defined than in adult higher brains, it is relatively larger, and its physiological importance is correspondingly greater, as will appear later. It is bounded anteriorly by the sharp isthmic sulcus and posteriorly by the cerebellum, auricle, and trigeminal tegmentum. The so-called "pons" sector of the human brain stem is named from its most conspicuous component, but this name is meaningless in comparative anatomy. In man it is the pons and the sector of the stem embraced by it; but in no two species of mammals is the part embraced by the pons equivalent; and below the mammals the pons disappears entirely. The medulla oblongata, on the other hand, is a stable structure, extending from the isthmus to the spinal cord, and for it the shorter name "bulb" is sometimes used, especially in compounds.
external fissura isthmi, the ventricular sulcus isthmi (fig. 2B, s.is.),
and ventrally in the floor plate a pit, the fovea isthmi [f.i.). These
are all more prominent in the larva than in the adult. This sector
includes the posterior commissure, the tectum mesencephali (primordial corpora quadrigemina) , the underlying dorsal tegmentum
(subtectal area), and the area surrounding the tuberculum posterius
at the ventral cerebral flexure, termed the "nucleus of the tuberculum
posterius." On embryological grounds and for convenience of description, this ventral area, which is bounded by the variable ventricular
sulcus s, is here called the "peduncle" in a restricted sense ('36, p.  
298; '396, p. 582). This is a primordial mesencephalic structure which
is not the equivalent of the peduncle of human neurology. Amblystoma has nothing comparable with the human basis pedunculi, and
its "peduncle" is incorporated within the tegmentum of the human
brain. The III cranial nerve arises within the "peduncle" and
emerges near the fovea isthmi. The nucleus of the IV nerve is in the isthmus. In the human brain there are no definite structures comparable to the amphibian dorsal and isthmic tegmentum.  




The isthmus is much more clearly defined than in adult higher
I outlined the development and morphological significance of the urodele cerebellum ('14, '24), and this was followed by detailed descriptions of the development and adult structure of this region of Amblystoma by Larsell ('20, '32), whose observations I have subsequently confirmed, including his fundamental distinction between its general and its vestibular components.
brains, it is relatively larger, and its physiological importance is correspondingly greater, as will appear later. It is bounded anteriorly
by the sharp isthmic sulcus and posteriorly by the cerebellum,  
auricle, and trigeminal tegmentum. The so-called "pons" sector of  
the human brain stem is named from its most conspicuous component, but this name is meaningless in comparative anatomy. In man
it is the pons and the sector of the stem embraced by it; but in no
two species of mammals is the part embraced by the pons equivalent;
and below the mammals the pons disappears entirely. The medulla
oblongata, on the other hand, is a stable structure, extending from
the isthmus to the spinal cord, and for it the shorter name "bulb" is
sometimes used, especially in compounds.  




I outlined the development and morphological significance of the
Some features of the larval medulla oblongata and related nerves have been described ('14a, '396) and, more recently ('446), additional details of the adult, particularly the structures at the bulbospinal junction. Much remains to be done to clarify the organization of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord.
urodele cerebellum ('14, '24), and this was followed by detailed descriptions of the development and adult structure of this region of
Amblystoma by Larsell ('20, '32), whose observations I have subsequently confirmed, including his fundamental distinction between
its general and its vestibular components.  




Some features of the larval medulla oblongata and related nerves
The cranial nerves and their analysis into functional components (chap, v) were described by Coghill ('02). The embryological development of these components also has been extensively studied (chap. x). The arrangement and composition of these nerves are fundamentally similar to those of man, with a few notable exceptions. The internal ear lacks the cochlea, which is represented by a very primitive rudiment; a cochlear nerve, accordingly, is not separately differentiated. There is an elaborate system of cutaneous organs of the lateral lines, whose functions are not as yet adequately known. These are supplied by very large nerves commonly assigned to the VII and X pairs, though it would be more appropriate to regard them as accessory VIII nerves, for all these nerve roots enter a wide zone at the dorsolateral margin of the medulla oblongata known as the "area acusticolateralis." There is no separate XI cranial nerve, this being represented by an accessorius branch of the vagus. The XII nerve is represented by branches of the first and second spinal nerves. The first spinal nerve in some specimens has a small ganglion ; the second nerve always has a large dorsal root and ganglion. In this connection a passage in the comprehensive work on the anatomy of Salamandra by Francis ('34, p. 134) is worthy of mention: "After making due allowance for the absence of a lateralis component in the adult salamander, the correspondence between the cranial nerves of this animal and those of Ambly stoma is very close indeed."
have been described ('14a, '396) and, more recently ('446), additional details of the adult, particularly the structures at the bulbospinal junction. Much remains to be done to clarify the organization
of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord.  




The cranial nerves and their analysis into functional components
The configuration and mutual relations of the gross structures just surveyed can be seen only in sections, of which many, cut in various planes, have been illustrated in the literature. Only a few selected examples are included in the present work, with references in subsequent chapters to many others. For general orientation the following figures may be consulted : a series of selected transverse sections from the spinal cord to the olfactory bulb (figs. 87-100); a series of horizontal sections through the middle part of the brain stem (figs. 25-36); a few sagittal sections (figs. 101-4). Figures 6-24 show the chief fibrous connections of each well-defined region of the brain stem.
(chap, v) were described by Coghill ('02). The embryological development of these components also has been extensively studied (chap.
x). The arrangement and composition of these nerves are fundamentally similar to those of man, with a few notable exceptions. The
internal ear lacks the cochlea, which is represented by a very primitive rudiment; a cochlear nerve, accordingly, is not separately differentiated. There is an elaborate system of cutaneous organs of the  
lateral lines, whose functions are not as yet adequately known. These
are supplied by very large nerves commonly assigned to the VII and
X pairs, though it would be more appropriate to regard them as
accessory VIII nerves, for all these nerve roots enter a wide zone at
the dorsolateral margin of the medulla oblongata known as the "area
acusticolateralis." There is no separate XI cranial nerve, this being represented by an accessorius branch of the vagus. The XII nerve is
represented by branches of the first and second spinal nerves. The
first spinal nerve in some specimens has a small ganglion ; the second
nerve always has a large dorsal root and ganglion. In this connection
a passage in the comprehensive work on the anatomy of Salamandra
by Francis ('34, p. 134) is worthy of mention: "After making due
allowance for the absence of a lateralis component in the adult
salamander, the correspondence between the cranial nerves of this
animal and those of Ambly stoma is very close indeed."


The configuration and mutual relations of the gross structures just
surveyed can be seen only in sections, of which many, cut in various
planes, have been illustrated in the literature. Only a few selected
examples are included in the present work, with references in subsequent chapters to many others. For general orientation the following
figures may be consulted : a series of selected transverse sections from
the spinal cord to the olfactory bulb (figs. 87-100); a series of horizontal sections through the middle part of the brain stem (figs.
25-36); a few sagittal sections (figs. 101-4). Figures 6-24 show the
chief fibrous connections of each well-defined region of the brain
stem.


The diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus have the form of three irregular pyramids oppositely oriented (fig. 2A). The broad base of the diencephalon extends from the anterior commissure to the hypophysis, and the apex is at the epiphysis. The tectum forms the base of the mesencephalic pyramid, and the apex is at the ventral tip of the tuberculum posterius, which borders the ventral cerebral flexure. The base of the pyramidal isthmus is formed by the massive tegmentum isthmi of each side and the median interpeduncular nucleus in the floor plate. It narrows dorsally into the anterior medullary velum between the tectum and the cerebellum.


The diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus have the form of
three irregular pyramids oppositely oriented (fig. 2A). The broad
base of the diencephalon extends from the anterior commissure to the
hypophysis, and the apex is at the epiphysis. The tectum forms the
base of the mesencephalic pyramid, and the apex is at the ventral tip
of the tuberculum posterius, which borders the ventral cerebral
flexure. The base of the pyramidal isthmus is formed by the massive
tegmentum isthmi of each side and the median interpeduncular
nucleus in the floor plate. It narrows dorsally into the anterior medullary velum between the tectum and the cerebellum.


The middle sectors of the brain stem — diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus — contain the primordial regulatory and integrating apparatus controlling the fundamental sensori-motor systems of adjustment. The most important peripheral connections are with the eyes, and these in most vertebrates play the dominant role in maintaining successful adjustment with environment. From this topographical feature it naturally followed that, during the course of phylogenetic differentiation of the brain, the chief centers of adjustment of the other exteroceptive systems were elaborated in close juxtaposition with the visual field in the midbrain and thalamus.


The middle sectors of the brain stem — diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus — contain the primordial regulatory and integrating apparatus controlling the fundamental sensori-motor systems of adjustment. The most important peripheral connections are
with the eyes, and these in most vertebrates play the dominant role
in maintaining successful adjustment with environment. From this
topographical feature it naturally followed that, during the course of
phylogenetic differentiation of the brain, the chief centers of adjustment of the other exteroceptive systems were elaborated in close
juxtaposition with the visual field in the midbrain and thalamus.


Here they are interpolated between the primary sensory and motor apparatus of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord below and the great olfactory field and suprasegmental apparatus of the cerebral hemispheres above.


Here they are interpolated between the primary sensory and motor
apparatus of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord below and the
great olfactory field and suprasegmental apparatus of the cerebral
hemispheres above.


In all lower vertebrates the roof of the midbrain, the tectum, is the supreme center of regulation of motor responses to the exteroceptive systems of sense organs. The hypothalamus is similarly elaborated for regulation of olfacto- visceral adjustments. The patterning of motor responses for both these groups of receptors is effected in the cerebral peduncle and tegmentum. In the region of the isthmus, between the tectum and the primary vestibular area of the medulla oblongata and above the tegmentum, the cerebellum was elaborated as the supreme adjustor of all proprioceptive systems.


In all lower vertebrates the roof of the midbrain, the tectum, is the
supreme center of regulation of motor responses to the exteroceptive
systems of sense organs. The hypothalamus is similarly elaborated for
regulation of olfacto- visceral adjustments. The patterning of motor
responses for both these groups of receptors is effected in the cerebral
peduncle and tegmentum. In the region of the isthmus, between the
tectum and the primary vestibular area of the medulla oblongata and
above the tegmentum, the cerebellum was elaborated as the supreme
adjustor of all proprioceptive systems.


At the rostral end of the brain, within and above the specific olfactory area of the cerebral hemisphere, there gradually emerged a synthetic apparatus of control, adapted to integrate the activities of all the other parts of the nervous system and to enlarge capacity to modify performance as a result of individual experience. In the lowest vertebrates this "suprasensory" and "supra-associational" apparatus, as Coghill termed it, is not concentrated in the cerebral hemispheres, but it is dispersed, chiefly in the form of diflfuse neuropil. In the amphibian cerebral hemispheres this integrating apparatus is more highly elaborated than elsewhere, with some local differentiation of structure. The hemispheres are larger than in fishes, and the primordia of their chief mammalian subdivisions can be recognized. A dorsal pallial part is distinguishable from a basal or stem part of the hemisphere, though the distinctive characteristics of the pallium are only incipient. There is no cerebral cortex, and, accordingly, the mammalian cortical dependencies in the thalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum have not yet appeared. The primordial thalamus is concerned chiefly with adjustments within the brain stem, though precursors of the thalamic radiations to the hemispheres are present.


At the rostral end of the brain, within and above the specific
olfactory area of the cerebral hemisphere, there gradually emerged a
synthetic apparatus of control, adapted to integrate the activities of
all the other parts of the nervous system and to enlarge capacity to
modify performance as a result of individual experience. In the lowest vertebrates this "suprasensory" and "supra-associational" apparatus, as Coghill termed it, is not concentrated in the cerebral
hemispheres, but it is dispersed, chiefly in the form of diflfuse neuropil.
In the amphibian cerebral hemispheres this integrating apparatus is
more highly elaborated than elsewhere, with some local differentiation of structure. The hemispheres are larger than in fishes, and the
primordia of their chief mammalian subdivisions can be recognized.
A dorsal pallial part is distinguishable from a basal or stem part of
the hemisphere, though the distinctive characteristics of the pallium
are only incipient. There is no cerebral cortex, and, accordingly, the
mammalian cortical dependencies in the thalamus, midbrain, and
cerebellum have not yet appeared. The primordial thalamus is concerned chiefly with adjustments within the brain stem, though
precursors of the thalamic radiations to the hemispheres are present.


==Ventricles==


VENTRICLES
The lateral ventricles of the cerebral hemispheres have the typical form except at the interventricular foramen, where the amphibian arrangement is peculiar. The anterior and hippocampal commissures do not cross as usual in or above the lamina terminalis, but in a more posterior high commissural ridge ; and between these structures there is a wide precommissural recess, into which the interventricular foramina open. This results in some radical differences from reptilian and mammalian arrangements of the related fiber tracts and membranous parts, as elsewhere described (p. 291; '35). The third ventricle is expanded dorsally into the complicated membranous paraphysis and dorsal sac. Ventrally, the great elongation of the preoptic nucleus gives rise to a large preoptic recess between the anterior commissure ridge and the chiasma ridge, and in front of the latter there is a lateral optic recess (fig. 96), which in early larval stages extends outward as far as the eyeball, as a patent lumen of the optic nerve ('41), an arrangement which persists in the intracranial part of the nerve of adult Necturus ('41a). In the hypothalamus the ventricle is dilated laterally ('35a, p. 253; '36, figs. 10-14), and posteriorly it is a wide infundibulum with membranous roof and thin but nervous floor and posterior wall. The latter is the pars nervosa of the hypophysis and is partly enveloped by the pars glandularis (figs. 2, 101; '35a, p. 254; '42, p. 212 and figs. 56-65; Roofe, '37). The aqueduct of the midbrain is greatly expanded dorsoventrally. Its ventral part is contracted laterally by the thick peduncles and tegmentum, and the dorsal part is dilated as an optocoele. The sulcus lateralis mesencephali marks its widest extent, and tectal structure reaches far below this sulcus. The fourth ventricle is of typical form except anteriorly, where the wide lateral recess with membranous roof extends outward and forward to cover the whole dorsolateral aspect of the auricular lobe (figs. 90, 91 ; '24, p. 627). The rhombencephalic chorioid plexus is elaborately developed in interesting relation with the peculiar endolymphatic organs of this animal ('35, p. 310). The ventricular systems of adult Triturus (Diemyctylus) and of larval and adult stages of Hynobius have been described and illustrated with wax models bySumi('26, '26a).


The lateral ventricles of the cerebral hemispheres have the typical
form except at the interventricular foramen, where the amphibian
arrangement is peculiar. The anterior and hippocampal commissures
do not cross as usual in or above the lamina terminalis, but in a more
posterior high commissural ridge ; and between these structures there
is a wide precommissural recess, into which the interventricular foramina open. This results in some radical differences from reptilian
and mammalian arrangements of the related fiber tracts and membranous parts, as elsewhere described (p. 291; '35). The third ventricle is expanded dorsally into the complicated membranous paraphysis and dorsal sac. Ventrally, the great elongation of the preoptic
nucleus gives rise to a large preoptic recess between the anterior commissure ridge and the chiasma ridge, and in front of the latter there is
a lateral optic recess (fig. 96), which in early larval stages extends
outward as far as the eyeball, as a patent lumen of the optic nerve
('41), an arrangement which persists in the intracranial part of the
nerve of adult Necturus ('41a). In the hypothalamus the ventricle is
dilated laterally ('35a, p. 253; '36, figs. 10-14), and posteriorly it is a
wide infundibulum with membranous roof and thin but nervous floor
and posterior wall. The latter is the pars nervosa of the hypophysis
and is partly enveloped by the pars glandularis (figs. 2, 101; '35a, p.
254; '42, p. 212 and figs. 56-65; Roofe, '37). The aqueduct of the
midbrain is greatly expanded dorsoventrally. Its ventral part is contracted laterally by the thick peduncles and tegmentum, and the
dorsal part is dilated as an optocoele. The sulcus lateralis mesencephali marks its widest extent, and tectal structure reaches far below this
sulcus. The fourth ventricle is of typical form except anteriorly,
where the wide lateral recess with membranous roof extends outward
and forward to cover the whole dorsolateral aspect of the auricular
lobe (figs. 90, 91 ; '24, p. 627). The rhombencephalic chorioid plexus is
elaborately developed in interesting relation with the peculiar endolymphatic organs of this animal ('35, p. 310). The ventricular systems of adult Triturus (Diemyctylus) and of larval and adult stages
of Hynobius have been described and illustrated with wax models
bySumi('26, '26a).


The ventricular surface of both larvae and adults is clothed with very long cilia. These are not preserved in ordinary preparations and in our material are seen only in Golgi sections, where their impregnation is erratic and local ('42, p. 196). They are most frequently seen in the infundibulum and optocoele under the tectum. In the vicinity of the posterior commissure the ciliated ependyma is thickened (subcommissural organ of Dendy), and to it the fiber of Reissner is attached ('42, p. 197). This thick, nonnervous fiber extends backward through the ventricle to the lower end of the spinal cord and, like the cilia, is apparently an outgrowth from the internal ependymal membrane.


The ventricular surface of both larvae and adults is clothed with
very long cilia. These are not preserved in ordinary preparations and
in our material are seen only in Golgi sections, where their impregnation is erratic and local ('42, p. 196). They are most frequently seen
in the infundibulum and optocoele under the tectum. In the vicinity
of the posterior commissure the ciliated ependyma is thickened (subcommissural organ of Dendy), and to it the fiber of Reissner is attached ('42, p. 197). This thick, nonnervous fiber extends backward
through the ventricle to the lower end of the spinal cord and, like the
cilia, is apparently an outgrowth from the internal ependymal membrane.


==Meninges, Chorioid Plexuses, and Blood Vessels==


MENINGES, CHORIOID PLEXUSES, AND BLOOD VESSELS
The meninges of Amblystoma were described in 1935. This account shoukl be compared with that of Salamandra pubhshed in 1934 by Francis, whose description was based on the investigation of Miss Helen O'NeiU ('98), done under the direction of Wiedersheim and Gaupp. In Amblystoma the meninges are intermediate between the meninx primitiva of the lower fishes and those of the frog. Over the spinal cord and most parts of the brain a firm and well-defined pachymeninx, or dura, closely invests the underlying undifferentiated pia-arachnoid. The meninges of the frog have been described by others, and recently Palay ('44) has investigated their histological structure in the toad. The most interesting feature of these amphibian membranes is their intimate relation with the enormous endolymphatic organ described by Dempster ('30) and the associated blood vessels.


The meninges of Amblystoma were described in 1935. This account
shoukl be compared with that of Salamandra pubhshed in 1934 by
Francis, whose description was based on the investigation of Miss
Helen O'NeiU ('98), done under the direction of Wiedersheim and
Gaupp. In Amblystoma the meninges are intermediate between the
meninx primitiva of the lower fishes and those of the frog. Over the
spinal cord and most parts of the brain a firm and well-defined
pachymeninx, or dura, closely invests the underlying undifferentiated pia-arachnoid. The meninges of the frog have been described by
others, and recently Palay ('44) has investigated their histological
structure in the toad. The most interesting feature of these amphibian membranes is their intimate relation with the enormous
endolymphatic organ described by Dempster ('30) and the associated  blood vessels.


The vascular supply of these brains is peculiar in several respects. The distribution of arteries and veins has been described by Roofe ('35, '38), and I have added some details from the adult ('35) and the larva {'Md). The endocranial veins form a double portal system of sinusoids of vast extent and unknown significance. Between the cerebral hemispheres and the epithalamus the nodus vasculosus (Gaupp) is permeated by a complicated rete of sinusoids, which receives venous blood from the entire prosencephalon— chorioid plexuses, brain wall, and meninges. The efferent discharge from this rete is by the two oblique sinuses, which pass backward across the midbrain to enter a similar rete of wide, anastomosing smusoids spread over the chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle and the lobules of the endolymphatic organs. This rete also receives the vems from all posterior parts of the brain, meninges, and chorioid plexus. The common discharge for all this endocranial venous blood is by a large sinus, which emerges from the cranium through the jugular foramen and joins the jugular vein. These membranous structures are readily observable in the living animal without serious disturbance of normal conditions, and they provide unique opportunities or experimental study of some fundamental problems of vascular


The vascular supply of these brains is peculiar in several respects.
Sorted out by Craigie ('38, '38a, '39, '45) that within the substance of this brain the penetrating blood vessels are arranged in two ways-a capillary net of usual type and simple loops, which enter from the meningeal arterial network. Our preparations confirm this observation and also the fact that the vascular pattern varies in different parts of the brain. Both isolated loops and the capillary net may be seen in the same field, as in the dorsal thalamus (fig. 44), or one of these patterns may prevail, with few, if any, instances of the other. In the tectum and dorsal tegmentum of the midbrain, for instance, the tissue is vascularized by simple loops with only occasional anastomosis (fig. 48), while in the underlying peduncle and isthmic tegmentum the vascular network prevails, with occasional simple loops. In the meninges and chorioid plexuses only the network has been observed.
The distribution of arteries and veins has been described by Roofe
('35, '38), and I have added some details from the adult ('35) and the  
larva {'Md). The endocranial veins form a double portal system of  
sinusoids of vast extent and unknown significance. Between the
cerebral hemispheres and the epithalamus the nodus vasculosus
(Gaupp) is permeated by a complicated rete of sinusoids, which receives venous blood from the entire prosencephalon— chorioid
plexuses, brain wall, and meninges. The efferent discharge from this
rete is by the two oblique sinuses, which pass backward across the  
midbrain to enter a similar rete of wide, anastomosing smusoids
spread over the chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle and the
lobules of the endolymphatic organs. This rete also receives the vems
from all posterior parts of the brain, meninges, and chorioid plexus.
The common discharge for all this endocranial venous blood is by a
large sinus, which emerges from the cranium through the jugular
foramen and joins the jugular vein. These membranous structures
are readily observable in the living animal without serious disturbance of normal conditions, and they provide unique opportunities or
experimental study of some fundamental problems of vascular


^\\' wSomted out by Craigie ('38, '38a, '39, '45) that within the
substance of this brain the penetrating blood vessels are arranged in
two ways-a capillary net of usual type and simple loops, which enter from the meningeal arterial network. Our preparations confirm
this observation and also the fact that the vascular pattern varies in
different parts of the brain. Both isolated loops and the capillary net
may be seen in the same field, as in the dorsal thalamus (fig. 44), or
one of these patterns may prevail, with few, if any, instances of the
other. In the tectum and dorsal tegmentum of the midbrain, for instance, the tissue is vascularized by simple loops with only occasional
anastomosis (fig. 48), while in the underlying peduncle and isthmic
tegmentum the vascular network prevails, with occasional simple
loops. In the meninges and chorioid plexuses only the network has
been observed.


The telencephalic and diencephalic chorioid plexuses have an abundant arterial blood supply through the medial hemispheral artery; but the elaborately ramified tubules of the paraphysis seem to have no arterial supply or capillary net, the accompanying vessels being exclusively venous sinusoids ('35, p. 342). The same seems to be true of the endolymphatic sacs ('34c?, p. 543). The chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle has abundant arterial blood supply. In all plexuses the capillaries unite into venules, which discharge into wide sinusoids, which ramify throughout the plexus and have very thin walls. All arterioles of the chorioid plexuses are richly innervated, but it has not been possible to get satisfactory evidence of the sources of these nerve fibers ('36, p. 343; '42, p. 255; Necturus, '336, p. 15).


The telencephalic and diencephalic chorioid plexuses have an
abundant arterial blood supply through the medial hemispheral
artery; but the elaborately ramified tubules of the paraphysis seem
to have no arterial supply or capillary net, the accompanying vessels
being exclusively venous sinusoids ('35, p. 342). The same seems to
be true of the endolymphatic sacs ('34c?, p. 543). The chorioid plexus
of the fourth ventricle has abundant arterial blood supply. In all
plexuses the capillaries unite into venules, which discharge into wide
sinusoids, which ramify throughout the plexus and have very thin
walls. All arterioles of the chorioid plexuses are richly innervated,
but it has not been possible to get satisfactory evidence of the sources
of these nerve fibers ('36, p. 343; '42, p. 255; Necturus, '336, p. 15).


The enormous development of the chorioid plexuses and associated endolymphatic organ of urodeles is apparently correlated with the sluggish mode of life and relatively poor provision for aeration of the blood. In the more active anurans the plexuses are smaller; but in the sluggish mudfishes, including the lungfishes, with habits similar to those of urodeles, we again find exaggerated development of these plexuses. Existing species in the border zone between aquatic and aerial respiration are all slow-moving and relatively inactive. The enlarged plexuses and sinusoids give vastly increased surfaces for passage of blood gases into the cerebrospinal fluid; and, correlated with this, the brain wall is thin everywhere, to facilitate transfer of metabolites between brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. Massive thickenings of the brain wall occur in many fishes and in amniote vertebrates, but not in mudfishes and urodeles.


The enormous development of the chorioid plexuses and associated
endolymphatic organ of urodeles is apparently correlated with the
sluggish mode of life and relatively poor provision for aeration of the
blood. In the more active anurans the plexuses are smaller; but in the
sluggish mudfishes, including the lungfishes, with habits similar to
those of urodeles, we again find exaggerated development of these
plexuses. Existing species in the border zone between aquatic and
aerial respiration are all slow-moving and relatively inactive. The
enlarged plexuses and sinusoids give vastly increased surfaces for
passage of blood gases into the cerebrospinal fluid; and, correlated
with this, the brain wall is thin everywhere, to facilitate transfer of
metabolites between brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. Massive
thickenings of the brain wall occur in many fishes and in amniote
vertebrates, but not in mudfishes and urodeles.


 
{{Herrick1948 footer}}
 
==Chapter III Histological Structure==
 
GENERAL HISTOLOGY
 
IN AMPHIBIAN brains the histological texture is generalized,
exhibiting some embryonic features; and it is at so primitive a
level of organization as to make comparison with mammals difficult.
Most of the nerve cells are small, with scanty and relatively undifferentiated cytoplasm. There are some notable exceptions, such as
the two giant Mauthner's cells of the medulla oblongata and related
elements of the nucleus motorius tegmenti. With the exceptions just
noted, Nissl bodies are absent or small and dispersed.
 
 
Almost all bodies of the neurons are crowded close to the ventricle
in a dense central gray layer, with thick dendrites directed outward
to arborize in the overlying white substance (figs. 9, 99). The axon
usually arises from the base of the dendritic arborization, rarely from
its tip, and sometimes from the cell body; it may be short and much
branched or very long, with or without collateral branches. The
ramifications of the short axons and of collaterals and terminals of
the longer fibers interweave with dendritic arborizations to form a
more or less dense neuropil, which permeates the entire substance of
the brain and is a synaptic field. Some of the nerve fibers are
myelinated, more in the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and medulla
oblongata than in higher levels of the brain. Both myelinated and
unmyelinated fibers may be assembled in definite tracts, or they may
be so dispersed in the neuropil as to make analysis difficult. The arrangement of recognizable tracts conforms with that of higher brains,
so that homologies with human tracts are in most cases clear. These
tracts and the gray areas with which they are connected provide the
most useful landmarks in the analysis of this enigmatic tissue.
 
 
In the gray substance there are few sharply defined nuclei like
those of mammals, but the precursors of many of these can be recognized as local specializations of the elements or by the connections of
the related nerve fibers. In most cases the cells of these primordial
nuclei have long dendrites, which arborize widely into surrounding
fields (figs. 9, 24, 61, 66), so that the functional specificity of the nucleus is, at best, incomplete. This arrangement facilitates mass
movements of "total-pattern" type, but local differentiations serving
"partial patterns" of action (Coghill) are incipient. Localized reflex
arcs are recognizable, though in most cases these are pathways of
preferential discharge within a more dispersed system of conductors
(chap. vi).
 
 
Tissue differentiation is more advanced in the white substance
than in the gray. The most important and diversely specialized
synaptic fields are in the alba, and this local specialization is correlated with differences in the physiological properties of the nervous
elements represented. This means, as I see it, that functional factors
must be taken into account in both ontogenetic and phylogenetic
differentiation and that in the long view the problems of morphogenesis are essentially physiological, that is, they resolve into questions of
adaptation of organism to environment (chap. viii). This is the reason
why in this work the histological analysis is made in terms of physiological criteria, even though these criteria are, in the main, based on
indirect evidence, namely, the linkage of structures in functional
systems of conductors.
 
 
The nonnervous components of this tissue comprise the blood vessels, ependyma, and a small number of cells of uncertain relationships
which are regarded as undifferentiated free glial cells or transitional
elements ('34, p. 94; '336, p. 17). The ependymal elements everywhere span the entire thickness of the brain wall with much free
arborization. They assume various forms in different regions, and
their arrangement suggests that they are not merely passive supporting structures, though if they have other specific functions these are
still to be discovered. For illustrations see figures 63, 64, 70, 79, and
81.
 
 
More detailed descriptions of the histological structure of urodele
brains may be found in earlier papers ('14a, p. 381; '17, pp. 232,
279 ff.; '335, pp. 16, 268; '33c; '33cf; '34; '34a,- '346; '42, p. 195; '44a).
In the olfactory bulbs of Necturus ('31) and Amblystoma ('246) we
find an interesting series of transitional cells between apparently
primitive nonpolarized elements and typical neurons, as described
on page 54.
 
 
THE NEUROPIL
 
In the generalized brains here under consideration the neuropil is
so abundant and so widely spread that it evidently plays a major
role in all central adjustments, thus meriting detailed description.
 
 
 
Only the coarser features of this tissue are open to inspection with
presently available histological technique. In my experience its texture is best revealed by Golgi preparations, and very many of them,
for the erratic incidence of these impregnations may select in different specimens now one, now another, of the component tissues —
blood vessels, ependyma, dendrites, or axons. In each area of neuropil
these components are independent variables, and in most of these
areas axons from many sources are so intricately interwoven that the
tissue can be resolved only where fortunate elective impregnations
pick out one or another of the several systems of fibers in different
specimens. It is difficult to picture the neuropil either photographically or with the pen, and the crude drawings in this book and in the
literature give inadequate representations of the intricacy and delicacy of its texture.
 
 
A survey of the neuropil of adult Amblystoma as a whole has led
me to subdivide it for descriptive purposes and somewhat arbitrarily
into four layers ('42, p. 202). From within outward, these are as
follows:
 
1. The periventricular neuropil pervades the central gray so that
every cell body is enmeshed within a fabric of interwoven slender
axons (figs. 106, 107). This persists in some parts of the mammalian
brain as subependymal and periventricular systems of fibers.
 
 
2. The deep neuropil of the alba at the boundary between gray and
white substance knits the periventricular and intermediate neuropil
together, and it also contains many long fibers coursing parallel with
the surface of the gray. The latter are chiefly efferent fibers directed
toward lower motor fields (fig. 93, layer 5; '42, figs. 18-21, 24, 29-45,
47).
 
 
3. The intermediate neuropil in the middle depth of the alba contains the largest and most complicated fields of this tissue. It is very
unevenly developed, in some places scarcely recognizable and in
others of wide extent and thickness. Its characteristics are especially
well seen in the corpus striatum (figs. 98, 99, 108, 109), thalamus
('396, fig. 81; '42, figs. 71, 81), and tectum opticum (figs. 93, layer 2,
101; '42, figs. 26, 30, 32, 79-83). Many of the long tracts lie within
this layer and have been differentiated from it. Most of the specific
nuclei of higher animals, including the outer gray layers of the
tectum, have been formed by migration of neuroblasts from the central gray outward into this layer. Here we find much of the apparatus of local reflexes and their organization into the larger, innate
patterns of behavior.
 
 
4. The superficial neuropil is a subpial sheet of dendritic and axonal
terminals, in some places absent, in others very elaborately organized. Here are some of the most highly specialized mechanisms of
correlation in the amphibian brain, from which specific nuclei of
higher brains have been developed. Notable examples are seen in the
interpeduncular neuropil (chap, xiv) and the ventrolateral neuropil
of the cerebral peduncle described in the next section. This neuropil
seems to be a more sensitive medium for strictly individual adjustments (conditioning) than the deeper neuropil, but of this there is no
experimental evidence. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that
in higher animals cerebral cortex develops within this layer and
apparently by neurobiotactic influence emanating from it.
 
 
In the first synapses observed in embryogenesis numerous axonic
terminals converge to activate a single final common path (Coghill,
'29, p. 13), This is the first step in the elaboration of neuropil. As
differentiation advances, neurons are segregated to serve the several
modalities of sense and the several systems of synergic muscles, and
these systems are interconnected by central correlating elements. In
no case are these connections made by an isolated «hain of neurons in
one-to-one contact between receptor and effector. The central terminals of afferent fibers from different sense organs are widely spread
and intermingled. Dendrites of the correlating cells branch widely in
this common receptive field, and the axons of some of them again
branch widely in a motor field, thus activating neurons of the several
motor systems. This arrangement is perfectly adapted to evoke mass
movement of the entire musculature from any kind of sensory stimulation, and this is, indeed, the only activity observed in early
embryonic stages.
 
 
It is the rare exception rather than the rule for a peripheral sensory
fiber to effect functional connection directly with a peripheral motor
neuron. One or more correlating elements are interpolated; and, as
differentiation advances, the number of these correlating neurons is
enormously increased in both sensory and motor zones and also in
the intervening intermediate zone. The axons of these intrinsic elements ramify widely in all directions, and, as a rule, they or collaterals from them interweave to form the closely knit fabric which
pervades both gray and white substance everywhere. This is the axonic neuropil, within the meshes of which dendrites of neurons
ramify widely. These axons are unmyelinated, and every contact
with a dendrite or a cell body is a synaptic junction. Eveiy axon contacts many dendrites, and every dendrite has contact with many
axons, and these may come from near or from very remote parts.
 
 
All neuropil is a synaptic field, and, since in these amphibian brains
it is an almost continuous fabric spread throughout the bram, its
action is fundamentally integrative. But it is more than this. It is
germinative tissue, the matrix from which much specialized structure
of higher brains has been differentiated. It is activated locally or
diffusely by every nervous impulse that passes through the substance
of the brain, and these impulses may irradiate for longer or shorter
distances in directions determined by the trend of the nerve fibers of
which it is composed. This web of conductors is relatively undifferentiated, but it is by no means homogeneous or equipotential, for each
area of neuropil has characteristic structure and its own pattern of
peripheral and central connections. Many of these fibers, which take
long courses, may connect particular areas of gray substance either
in dispersed arrangement or assembled as recognizable tracts. In
fact, we find all gradations between an almost homogeneous web of
neuropil and long well-fasciculated tracts of unmyelinated or myelinated fibers. Many of these long fibers have collateral connections
throughout their length; others are well-insulated conductors between origin and termination.
 
 
The web of neuropil shows remarkable diversity in different regions. In some places it is greatly reduced, as, for instance, in the
ventral funiculi, where the alba is densely filled with myelinated
fibers; in other places there are local concentrations of dendrites and
finest axons so dense that in ordinary haematoxylin or carmine preparations they appear as darker fields, the Punksuhstanz of the early
histologists and the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb and interpeduncular nucleus (chap. xiv). When some of these fields are analyzed, it is found that their fibrous connections conform with those of
specific "nuclei" of higher brains. In Ambly stoma such a field is not a
"nucleus," for it contains no cell bodies; but examination of the corresponding area in anurans and reptiles may show all stages in the
differentiation of a true nucleus by migration of cell bodies from the
central gray outward into the alba ('27, p. 232). Such a series of
phylogenetic changes can be readily followed in the corpus striatum,
the geniculate bodies, the interpeduncular nucleus, and many other places and particularly in the tectum opticum and the pallial fields
of the cerebral hemispheres.
 
 
In phylogeny the long, well-organized tracts seem to have been
formed by a concentration of the fibers of the neuropil. The diffuse
neuropil is probably the primordial form, going back to the earliest
evolutionary stages of nervous differentiation (coelenterates) . Local
reflex arcs and specific associational tracts have been gradually differentiated within it, that is, integration precedes local specialization, the total pattern antedates the partial patterns. In ontogeny,
especially of higher animals, this history may not be recapitulated,
and tracts serving local reflexes may appear very early; but in
Amblystoma, even in the adult stage, there are few tracts which are
compactly fasciculated and free from functional connection with the
surrounding neuropil. Most of the long, well-fasciculated tracts have
some myelinated fibers that seem to have functional connections
only at their ends; but these are accompanied by others, which are
without myelin and are provided with numberless collaterals tied
into the enveloping neuropil. There is, accordingly, a seepage of
nervous influence along the entire length of these tracts.
 
 
From the primordial diffuse neuropil, differentiation advanced in
two divergent directions. One of these, as just pointed out, led to the
elaboration of the stable architectural framework of nuclei and tracts,
the description of which comprises the larger part of current neuroanatomy. This IS the heritable structure, which determines the basic
patterns of those components of behavior which are common to all
members of the species. The second derivative of the primordial
neuropil is the apparatus of individually modifiable behavior — conditioning, learning, and ultimately the highly specialized associational tissues of the cerebral cortex. In both phylogeny and ontogeny,
differentiation of the first type precedes that of the second. Primitive
animals and younger developmental stages exhibit more stable and
predictable patterns of behavior; and the more labile patterns are
acquired later. In Amblystoma both these types of differentiation are
at low levels, but they are sufficiently advanced to be clearly recognizable. Tissue differentiation is further advanced in the white substance than in the underlying gray.
 
 
During the course of this progressive specialization of tissue, the
primordial integrative function of the neuropil is preserved and
elaborated. The mechanism employed is seen in its most generalized
form in the deep periventricular neuropil, layer 1 of the preceding analysis. This is a close-meshed web of finest axons, within which all
cell bodies are imbedded. It is everywhere present, providing continuous activation (or potential activation) of every neuron, summation, reinforcement, or inhibition of whatever activities may be going
on in the more superficial layers and affecting the general excitatory
state of the whole central nervous system. It receives fibers from all
sensory and motor fields and seems to be the basic apparatus of integration. In man this type of tissue survives in the periventricular
gray of the diencephalon, and, as suggested by Wallenberg ('31), it
probably plays an important part in determining the disposition and
temperament of the individual ('34rt, pp. 241, 245). This unspecialized tissue may serve the most general totalizing function. From it
there have been derived the complicated mechanisms for synthesizing the separate experiences and organizing them in adaptive patterns — a process of differentiation which culminates in the human
cerebral cortex. The relations of neuropil to reflex arcs are discussed
in chapter vi.
 
 
The relative abundance of myelinated fibers is a rough indicator of
the relation between stable and labile types of performance. Thus
the myelinated white substance is relatively greater in the spinal
cord than in the brain, and the ratio of myelinated to unmyelinated
tissue diminishes as we pass forward in the brain, as is well illustrated
by a published series of Weigert sections drawn from a single specimen (no. IIC) from the olfactory bulb to the spinal cord ('10, figs.
8-21; '25, figs. 2-9; '44&, figs. 1-6). This is because the myelinated
fibers, most of which are long conductors of through traffic, tend to
be compactly arranged, with relatively scanty collateral connections
with the neuropil.
 
 
In the gray substance there is a similar increment m relative
amount of neuropil as we pass forward from spinal cord to hemispheres, the higher levels being specialized for correlation, association, conditioning, and integration and the lower levels for stabilized
total activities and reflexes. In the phylogenetic series this principle
takes a form which can be quantitatively expressed as Economo's
coefiicient of the ratio between total gray substance and the mass of
the nerve cells contained within it. The lower the animal species in
the scale, the greater is the mass of the cells compared with the gray
substance. This law may be expressed in the converse form: Higher
animals have a larger proportion of neuropil in the gray substance,
thus giving them capacity for conditioning and other individually acquired patterns of behavior (Economo, '26, '29). No mathematical
precision should be claimed for these laws, but they do express the
general trend of our experience. For additional data and critical
comment see von Bonin on page 64 of the monograph by Bucy and
others ('44).
 
 
The properties of amphibian neuropil have been discussed in several places, in addition to the summary already cited ('42, p. 199).
In one of these papers ('33c?) the geniculate neuropil of Necturus was
described, and later ('42, p. 280) the quite different arrangement of
Anibly stoma (compare the corresponding structure of the frog, '25),
together with a full account of the neuropil of the optic tectum and
its connections (here, again, comparison with the more differentiated
structure of the frog is instructive). In connection with a general
survey of the neuropil of Necturus, its peculiar relations in the pallial
part of the hemisphere were discussed in four papers ('336, p. 176;
'336?, '34, '34a). Amblystoma is similar ('27), though the details have
not been fully explored. In the pallial field the four layers of neuropil
tend to merge into a single apparatus of association. This is corticogenetic tissue within which the earliest phases of incipient differentiation of laminated cortex can be recognized in the hippocampal area,
as described in chapter vii.
 
 
Some samples of the appearance of elective Golgi impregnations of
amphibian neuropil are shown in the accompanying illustrations, and
many others are in the literature. The related morphological and
physiological problems can best be presented in the form of illustrative examples, one of which is the striatal neuropil (chap, vii), another the interpeduncular neuropil described in chapter xiv, and still
another in the superficial ventrolateral neuropil of the peduncle,
the area ventrolateralis pedunculi, which will next be described.
 
 
THE VENTROLATERAL PEDUNCULAR NEUROPIL
 
The "peduncle" in the restricted sense as here defined, together with the adjoining
tegmentum, is the chief central motor pool of the skeletal muscles. Efferent fibers
from it are among the first to appear in the upper brain stem in embryogenesis,
descending in the primary motor path, which is the precursor of the fasciculus
longitudinalis medialis, and activating the musculature of the trunk. A second
efferent path, which appears very early, goes out directly to the periphery through
the oculomotor nerve. The first sensory influence to act upon this pool comes from
the optic tectum through the posterior commissure in the S-reaction stage. In subsequent stages it is entered by fibers from many other sources, including the basal
optic tract (fig. 14) and the olfacto-peduncular and strio-peduncular tracts (fig. 6).
In the adult animal, motor impulses issuing from this pool are probably concerned primarily with synergic activation of large masses of muscle, notably those concerned with locomotion and conjugate movements of the eyes. Control of the
movements directly involved in seizing and swallowing food is believed to be
chiefly in the isthmic tegmentum, and this apparatus matures later n ontogeny.
 
 
The chief synaptic connections of the great motor pool of the peduncle are in the
intermediate, deep, and periventricular layers of neuropil. External to these is a
ventrolateral band of dense neuropil extending from the root of the III nerve forward along the entire length of the peduncle. In former papers this has been termed
"area lateralis tegmenti" and "nucleus ectomamillaris," but both these names now
seem to me inappropriate ('4'-2, p. 233). This band receives at the anterior end all
the terminals of the large basal optic tract (figs. U, 94) and, at the posterior end,
terminals of the secondary and tertiary ascending ^'isceral sensory and gustatory
tracts (figs. 8, 23). The terminals of these two systems of fibers are intimately interlaced, and among them are dendritic arborizations of tlie underlying cells of the
peduncle into which optic, olfactory, and visceral systems of nervous impulses converge and through which the combined effect is transmitted in the outgoing motor
pathways. These seem to be the primary components of this neuropil, and to them
are added axonic terminals from a wide variety of sources, the most notal)le of which
are sketched in figure '23 (compare Necturus, '34, p. 103 and fig. 4).
 
 
The peduncular dendrites, which arborize within this neuropil, include some
from the nucleus of the oculomotor nerve (fig. 24; '42, p. 275), so that here fibers of
the basal optic tract coming directly from the retina may synapse with peripheral
motor neurons — one of the rare examples of a two-neuron arc witli only one synapse
between the peripheral receptor and the effector, though even here there are at
least two additional synapses in this arc within the retina. Other peduncular
neurons may transmit retinal excitations downward through the ventral tegmental
fascicles to all lower motor fields.
 
 
At its anterior end this neuropil is connected by fibers conducting in both directions with the dorsal (mamillary) part of tlie hypothalamus, as in Necturus
('346, fig. 3), and also with its ventral (infundibular) part (fig. 23; "42, pp. 226, 227).
This is an extension of the visceral-gustatory tract into the hypothalamus, and it
may be that some of the visceral fibers pass without interruption through the
peduncular neuropil to the hypothalamus, though this has not been satisfactorily
demonstrated. In some fishes such a direct connection is evident and large; in
mammals the course of the ascending visceral-gustatory path is still uncertain.
 
 
Other connections of this neuropil, as shown in figure 23, include terminals of the
olfacto-peduncular tract from the anterior olfactory nucleus, probably the nervus
terminalis (observed in Necturus) fibers from the tectum, pretectal nucleus, dorsal
and ventral thalamus, and terminals of the fasciculus retroflexus (p. 202 and fig. 20).
These terminals of fibers from surprisingly diverse sources are all closely interwoven
with one anotlier and with the terminal dendrites of peduncular neurons, a unique
arrangement occurring, so far as known, only in Amphibia. I have indulged in the
following speculations upon its possible physiological significance.
 
 
In the first place, it is clear that this curious tissue is either an undifferentiated
primordium of a number of structures which are separately differentiated in more
specialized brains, or else it is a retrograde fusion of several such structures. The
former supposition seems more probable, for the phylogenetic history of one of its
components is easily read ('25, pp. 443-49). In Necturus there are no cell bodies
directly associated with this neuropil; in Amblystoma a few cells have migrated
out of the gray layer to its border (fig. 24) ; and in the frog the optic component of the
neuropil is separate and surrounded by a spherical shell of cell bodies, which is a true
basal optic nucleus (Gaupp, '99, p. 54, fig. 19). This nucleus attains large size and complexity in some reptiles, as described by Slianklin ('3.'3) and others. In the mammals it retains its individuality as the chief terminus of basal optic fibers, though
other fibers of this system are rather widely spreatl in the surrounding tegmentum
(Gillilan, '41). The history of the visceral and other components of the amphibian
ventrolateral neuropil has not yet been written.
 
 
In my recent description ('42) of the optic system of Amblystoma, special attention was given to the central distribution of thick and thin fibers from the retina,
and this was followed ('42, p. 295) by some speculations about its physiological significance. In development the thick fibers appear first, and the number of thin
fibers is enormously increased in later stages, particularly at the time of metamorphosis. Thick fibers conduct more rapidly than thin fibers, and this time factor
may play an important part in the central analysis of mixed retinal excitation.
 
 
Both thick and thin fibers end in the thalamus, pretectal nucleus, and tectum;
and in each of these fields their terminals are mingled, not segregated. The optic
fibers to the basal peduncular neuropil are moderately thick; upon retinal stimulation this field, accordingly, is the first to be activated, and its excitation of the underlying peduncular neurons may precede any influence upon these cells from the longer
paths by way of the tectum and thalamus. Figure 22 shows in continuous lines the
major optic tracts and the motor paths from the peduncle, and in broken lines some
internuncial connections. The thick fibers which descend from the tectum and
thalamus are myelinated; some of them are crossed in the posterior commissure
and the commissure of the tuberculum posterius, and some are uncrossed. They
connect primarily with the descending pathway in the ventral tegmental fascicles
(f.r.t.). The thinner correlating fibers take other pathways, and they may make
synaptic connection with peduncular neurons in any one or all of the four layers of
the neuropil. The efl'erent path may be to low er motor centers through the ventral
tegmental fascicles or to the muscles of the eyeball through the III nerve.
 
 
Figures 24 and 93 are diagrammatic transverse sections at the level of the III
nuclei and the middle of the tectum, illustrating some of the tecto-peduncular connections. These fibers are all of medium or thin caliber and, for the most part,
unmyelinated. The dendrites of the peduncular neurons ramify widely throughout
the entire thickness of the brain wall, and few, if any, of them are in physiological
relation with any single one of the afferent systems of fibers. Each of them may be
activated by any or all of these systems. The only significant localized specialized
tissue here seems to be in the neuropil, where the texture is different in the four layers
and where all peduncular neurons spread their dendrites in all these layers. Since
the movements which are activated from this motor pool are not disorderly convulsions, it is evident that the discriminative and well co-ordinated responses which
follow its excitation are not ordered primarily by the arrangement in space of the
motor elements. There are differences in the structural arrangements of the synaptic
junctions, though these are not so pronounced as in most other animals, and there
may be chemical and other factors yet to be determined. As I have elsewhere
pointed out, a time factor can be recognized by physiological experiment, and its
structural indicator can be identified histologically because large fibers have a faster
rate of conduction than small fibers and the interpolation of synaptic junctions in a
nervous pathway retards transmission.
 
 
In the structural setup before us it may be inferred that the first result of a retinal
excitation is the activation of the entire tectum, pretectal nucleus, and dorsal thalamus through the tliick myelinated fibers of the optic nerve and tract and also of the
ventrolateral neuropil of the peduncle through the basal optic tract. This is presumably a generalized nonspecific effect, and it will come to motor expression,
first, through the basal tract, for this is the shortest path. The resting state is changed to a state of excitation in both the peduncular gray and the peripheral
musculature with which it is connected. This is immediately followed by volleys
from the tectum, pretectal nucleus, and thalamus tlirough the myelinated tectoand thalamo-peduncular tracts; and this may contribute a spatial factor determined
by the position of the exciting object in the visual field and the sector of the tectum
upon which this local stimulus is projected. The first overt movement, accordingly, is
an orientation of the body and the eyeballs with reference to the source of stimulus.
After an appreciable time the smaller fibers from the retina deliver their volleys, and
the small fibers of the correlating tracts are activated. These deliver to the peduncle,
not unmixed or purely visual impulses but discharges, fired or inhibited, as the case
may be, by the existing excitatory state of the correlating apparatus: and this, in
its turn, is determined by numberless nonvisual features of the total situation,
present and past. If, for instance, one of the visual or nonvisual components is
fatigued, this will affect the pattern of tectal discharge.
 
 
In salamanders the delay between the preliminary orientation of the body and the
consummation of the reaction may be, and commonly is, very long — a period of
tension, which in a man we would call "attention" and which Coghill called the
"regarding" reaction (p. 78; Coghill, '33, Paper XI, p. 334; '36). During this
period an inconceivably complicated resolution of forces is in process within the
central apparatus of adjustment. Inhibition plays an important role here, and it may
be that the chief function of the ventrolateral superficial neuropil of the peduncle is
control of the inhibitory phase of these activities comparable with tliat suggested in
chapter xiv for the specific interpeduncular neuropil. Of the details of these adjustments our knowledge is scanty, but some hints may be gathered from urther examination of the structure involved; and here, to simplify the problem, we shall confine tJie discussion to the superficial peduncular neuropil.
 
 
This neuropil is interpolated "in series" in the visual-motor path of the basal
optic tract, and this short circuit is connected "in parallel" with the longer visualmotor circuits by way of the tectum and thalamus. The latter are very much larger
and more complicated, and they evidently comprise the major part of the apparatus by which behavior is regulated by visual experience. The basal optic system
seems to be ancillary to the major system and to be related with it in two quite
different ways, first, as a nonspecific primary activator, as already explained, and,
second (and subsequently), as a device for modifying or "inflecting" (to borrow
Arnold Gesell's expression) the standard patterns of behavior by intercurrent influence of present activity in other fields, including, perhaps, conditioning and the
individuation of hitherto unaccustomed types of response. This second feature involves further consideration of the nonvisual components. These have already been
listed, and some of them are shown in figure 23.
 
 
The largest components of this peculiar neuropil are the optic and tlie visceralgustatory systems, and their fibers end exclusively here. This is why these are regarded as the primary components; all other systems of entering fibers are spread
more or less widely also in the deeper layers of peduncular neuropil. In the visceralgustatory system this neuropil is inserted in series in the ascending pathway
toward the hypothalamus, and there is probably a parallel system of conduction
with no synapse in the peduncle (fig. 8). As seen in tliis figure, peduncular neurons
activated from this neuropil send axons around the tuberculum posterius into the
hypothalamus; and there is a return path from both dorsal (mamillary) and
ventral (infundibular) parts of the hypothalamus to this neuropil and contiguous
parts of the peduncle (figs. 18, 'TIS). All visceral-gustatory influences which reach
the hypothalamus are, accordingly, previously modified or "inflected" in the superior visceral nucleus or in the peduncle. The excitatory state of the hypothalamus, in
turn, affects all activity in the peduncle.
 
 
This sort of circular activity is everywhere present in these urodele brains,
working through the diffuse periventricular and deep neuropil and in many places
also through specially differentiated tracts (p. 76). This is the primordial apparatus of integration, and in its more differentiated form it is part of the apparatus
by which individuated partial patterns of local reflexes are kept in appropriate
relationship with the larger total patterns of behavior.
 
 
In a recent survey ('44o) of tlie optic and visceral nervous circuits here under
consideration, several different patterns of linkage of the component units were
listed. These include direct activation of eye muscles through the basal optic tract,
similar activation of the skeletal musculature, indirect activation of either or both
of these sj^stems of muscles by visual stimuli through the tectum and thalamus,
direct activation of either or both systems of muscles through the visceral-gustatory
path, indirect visceral -gustatory action by way of the superior visceral nucleus,
with or without intercurrent influence of the tectum upon this nucleus by way of
the tecto-bulbar tract, and the variable effects of concurrent discharge of many
other systems of fibers into each of the centers of adjustment involved. Since eacli
of these patterns of linkage is complex and the structural units themselves are not
simple, it is evident that in actual performance the number of ways in which the
known units may be combined and recombined is practically unlimited. The simplest
possible activity of stimulus-response type involves a central resolution of forces in
an equilibrated dynamic system of inconceivable complexity. Oversimplification of the problem will not hasten its solution.
 
 
The preceding description illustrates the relations of a specific field of specialized
neuropil to other parts of the brain with known functions. These visible connections
exhibit a structural arrangement which can be interpreted as putative pathways of
transmission of the several components of a complex action system, some concerned with stable reflex patterns and some with more labile individually acquired components. The relations of these two classes of components of the action
system to each other and of local units to the integrated whole present the major
problems of neurology.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER IV REGIONAL ANALYSIS
 
SINCE the brain of Amblystoma presents a generalized structure
which is probably close to the ancestral type from which all
more highly specialized vertebrate brains have been derived, the
salient features of internal organization are here summarized in
schematic outline. Tlie accompanying diagrammatic figures 1-24
give the necessary topographic orientation, and the details may be
filled in by reference to the corresponding sections of Part 11. What
is here described may be regarded as the basic organization of the
brains of all vertebrates above fishes, that is, the point of departure
from which various specialized derivatives have been differentiated.
Amblystoma possesses the equipment of sensory and motor organs
typical for vertebrates at a rather low level of specialization and in
evenly balanced relations. All the usual systems are present, and none
shows unusual size or aberrant features. The great lateral-line system
of sense organs so characteristic of fishes is preserved, though somewhat reduced after metamorphosis. On the motor side the organs of
locomotion and respiration have advanced from the fishlike to the
quadrupedal form, but in very simple patterns. In early phylogeny
the specialization of the motor systems seems to lag behind that of
the sensory systems because the aquatic environment of primitive
forms is more homogeneous than that of terrestrial animals, and,
accordingly, fewer and simpler patterns of behavior are needed.
 
 
Our search in this inquiry is for origins of human structures and
for an outline of the history of their evolution. From this standpoint
it is evident that in the central nervous systems of all vertebrates
there is a fundamental and primary difference between the cerebrum
above and the rhombencephalon (and spinal cord) below a transverse
plane at the posterior border of the midbrain (for further discussion
of this see chaps, viii and xiii).
 
 
The spinal cord and rhombic brain contain the central adjustors of
the basic vital functions — respiration, nutrition, circulation, reproduction, locomotion, among others. This apparatus is elaborately
organized in the most primitive living vertebrates, as also no doubt
it must have been in their extinct ancestors. The cerebrum, on the other hand, except for the olfactory component, is a hiter acquisition.
This is suggested by what is seen in Amphioxus and by the retai-ded
development of the cerebrum in all vertebrate embryos, as illustrated
especially clearly in the early fetal development of the opossum.
 
 
At an early (and unknown) period of vertebrate ancestry a pair of
eyes was differentiated. These and the olfactory organs are the leading distance receptors, and as such they gave to the vertebrate
ancestors more information about their surroundings and hence
greater safety in moving about freely. The nose and eyes, with the
associated oculomotor apparatus, early assumed the dominant role
in the recognition of food, mates, and enemies, and their cerebral
adjustors were enlarged accordingly. The contact receptors are adequate for sedentary, crawling, or burrowing ancestors, and here the
response to stimulation follows immediately. But, as Sherrington
long ago pointed out, in a free-swimming animal there is a time lag
between reception of the stimulus from a distant object and the consummation of the response. The pregnant interval between the anticipatory and consummatory phases of the reaction gives the clue to an
understanding of the entire history of forebrain evolution. During
this interval there is a central resolution of forces, which eventuates
in appropriate behavior; and, with increasing complication of patterns of behavior, this central apparatus of adjustment assumes more
and more structural complexity and physiological dominance over
the entire bodily economy (chap. vii).
 
 
The details of these internal connections are not relevant here. It
suffices to present two summaries, one in this chapter in topographic
arrangement by regions from spinal cord to olfactory bulbs as conventionally described and one in the next chapter on a different plan,
i.e., an arrangement in longitudinal zones which are functionally defined. For the present purpose it is convenient to recognize seventeen
subdivisions of the central nervous system, each of which is characterized by special physiological activities, though these activities
are not localized here exclusively. This subdivision might be carried
further into detail indefinitely. Numbers 2-6 in the following paragraphs are in the rhombic brain; the others are in the cerebrum.
 
 
THE SUBDIVISIONS, SPINAL CORD TO PALLIUM
 
1. THE SPINAL CORD
 
The spinal cord is not described in this report except for some features closely related to the brain, to which reference is made in the
next paragraph. The cord segments are organized for the regulation of local reflexes of the limbs and the integration of these reflexes with
one another and with the action of the trunk musculature, as in
ordinary locomotion.
 
 
2. THE BULBO-SPINAL JUNCTION
 
The sector of the bulbo-spinal junction includes the upper segments of the spinal cord and the lower part of the medulla oblongata.
It is the first center of correlation to become functional in embryonic
development (Coghill, '14, Paper I). Its dorsal part around the
calamus scriptorius receives fibers from the entire sensory zone of the
bulb and cord, so that this gray of the funicular and commissural
nuclei is a general clearing-house for all exteroceptive, proprioceptive, and visceral functions of the body except vision and olfaction.
Here these functions are integrated in the interest of control of posture, locomotion, visceral activity, and other basic components of
mass-movement type. Some of these connections are shown diagrammatically in figures 3, 7, 8, 87; for details and discussion see chapter
ix and a recent paper ('446).
 
 
Efferent fibers from the dorsal nuclei are directed spinalward and
forward. Most of the latter connect with motor nuclei of the medulla
oblongata; some go farther forward to the cerebellum, tectum, and
thalamus; and there is a strong, ascending visceral-gustatory tract
to the isthmus and peduncle. The motor zone of this sector is occupied chiefly by fibers of passage. The moderately developed gray substance includes motor neurons for muscles of the neck region, for the
tongue muscles, and for special visceral motor elements of the accessorius component of the vagus.
 
 
3. MEDULLA OBLONGATA
 
The medulla oblongata, or bulb, includes all the stem between the
isthmus and the calamus scriptorius except the cerebellum, there
being no pons. Its dorsal field receives all sensory fibers from the
head except the optic and olfactory, fibers from lateral-line organs
widely distributed over the body, and general visceral sensory fibers
chiefly by way of the vagus. The general visceral sensory and gustatory root fibers are segregated from the others in the fasciculus
solitarius; and this group has its own system of secondary fibers,
which converge into the visceral motor nuclei of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. There is also a strong ascending secondary
visceral tract {tr.v.a.) to the isthmus, peduncle, and hypothalamus,
through which all cerebral activities may be influenced by visceral
and gustatory functions (fig, 8 and chaps, x, xi).
 
 
U'lie other afferent fibers of the V to X cranial nerves, upon entrance
into the brain, are fascicuhitetl according to the functional systems
represented, as outlined in the next chapter and shown in figures 7, 9,
88, 89, 90. The general cutaneous, lateral-line, and vestibular fibers
are arranged in a series of fascicles bordering the external surface;
the visceral sensory and gustatory fibers are assembled in a single
deeper bundle, the fasciculus solitarius. The marginal fascicles of
root fibers are arranged from ventral to dorsal in the following order :
general somatic sensory (chiefly cutaneous), vestibular, and, dorsally
of these, five or six fascicles of fibers of the lateral-line roots of the
VII and X nerves. The details of this arrangement are variable within the species and from species to species of urodeles. The fascicles of
vestibular and lateral-line roots, together with the underlying gray
and the intervening neuropil, comprise the area acusticolateralis.
The dorsal part of this, which receives only roots of the lateral-line
nerves, is lobulated on the ventricular side.
 
 
Most of these root fibers divide into ascending and descending
branches, and each fascicle spans the entire length of the medulla
oblongata. Some of the general cutaneous and vestibular fibers extend far down into the spinal cord and upward into the cerebellum
(figs. 3, 7). Terminals and collaterals of all these fibers end in a common pool of neuropil, from which secondary fibers go out to effect
local connections in the medulla oblongata, to enter the cerebellum,
to descend to the spinal cord, and to ascend in the lemniscus systems
to the tectum and thalamus. The physiological specificity of the root
fibers i.s largely, though not entirely, obliterated at the first synapse
in the neuropil of the sensory field, in sharp contrast with the mammalian arrangement (chap. xi).
 
 
From this arrangement of the sensory systems of fibers and their
central secondary connections it is clear that the bulbar structure is
so organized as to facilitate mass movements of total-pattern type,
which may be activated by any one of the exteroceptive or proprioceptive systems or by any conibination of these. There is some provision here for local reflexes of the muscles of the head, but the structure indicates that most of these are patterned from higher centers.
The central receptive field of the visceral-gustatory system is well
segregated from that of the general cutaneous and acousticolateral
systems; and this is the structural expression of the fundamental distinction between the visceral and the somatic sensory physiological
systems, to which further reference is made on pages G7 and 83.
 
 
 
Otherwise, there is httle histological evidence of precise localization
of function in the medulla oblongata. The visceral and somatic sensory fields are cross-connected within the sensory zone, and they
converge into a common sensory field at the bulbo-spinal junction.
Proprioceptive adjustments are made throughout the spinal cord,
medulla oblongata, cerebellum, and tectum; and each of these regions evidently plays a different role in the adjustments. Arcuate
fibers connect all parts of the sensory zone with the motor zone of the
same and the opposite side, and many of these divide into longdescending and ascending branches, thus activating extensive areas
of the intermediate and motor zones.
 
 
The motor field of the medulla oblongata and the intimately related reticular formation contain the complicated apparatus by
which the nuclei of the motor nerves are so interconnected as to act
in groups, each of which may execute a series of co-ordinated actions
in patterns determined by these connections. The tissues of the motor
tegmentum, which effect this analysis of motor performance, are so
intricately interwoven that it has not been possible to recognize the
components of the several functional systems, and further analysis
of this field is desirable.
 
 
4. CEREBELLUM
 
The cerebellum is small and very simply organized, but the chief
structural features of the mammalian cerebellum are present except
the pontile system, which is totally lacking. The urodele cerebellum
consists of three major parts: (1) the median body, activated from
the spinal cord, trigeminal nerve, and tectum (figs. 1, 3, 10); (2) the
lateral auricles, which are enlargements of the anterior ends of the
sensory zones of the medulla oblongata (figs. 7, 91); and (3), ventrally of the body of the cerebellum, a nucleus cerebelli, which is the
primordium of the deep cerebellar nuclei of mammals (figs. 10, 32,
91).
 
 
This analysis of cerebellar structure is based on the comprehensive
studies of Larsell ('20-'47) and Dow ('42), whose descriptions of
Amblystoma, published in 1920 and 1932, I have confirmed in all
respects. It should be noted that my definition of the amphibian
auricle includes more than Larsell's, for he includes in this structure
only the vestibular and lateral-line components. I find that these
terminals and the related field of neuropil are so intimately related
with the terminals of the trigeminus, the visceral-gustatory system,
and lemniscus fibers that their segregation is not practical anatomically. The auricle, accordingly, is here regarded as the common
primordium of several structures which in higher animals are diversely specialized for different functions. The most notable of these
are the superior or pontile nucleus of the trigeminus and the floccular
part of the flocculonodular lobe of the cerebellum. The primordia of
these structures are clearly evident, and the history of their further
differentiation in higher animals has been written.
 
 
Efferent fibers of tractus cerebello-tegmentalis leave all parts of the
cerebellar complex for the underlying gray; and one fascicle of
these — the brachium conjunctivum — passes forward to a ventral
decussation and distributes its fibers to the isthmic tegmentum of
both sides (figs. 10, 71). No primordium of the nucleus ruber or of the
inferior olive has been recognized.
 
 
This primitive cerebellum exhibits the typical vertebrate pattern
in very instructive form, with localization of the vestibular system
laterally and the other systems medially. It is an appendage added
to the basic sensori-motor systems; it supplements them, not as an
aid in determining the pattern of performance, but to insure efficient
execution. In species in which it is greatly enlarged, it contains
enormous reserves of potential nervous energy, which is released during motor activity to reinforce and stabilize the operation of the
effectors. For additional details see chapters x and xii.
 
 
5. ISTHMUS
 
The isthmus is unusually large in urodeles and is clearly circumscribed from surrounding parts. Dorsally it is small, containing in
and near the superior medullary velum a special segment of the
mesencephalic V nucleus and probably other peripheral connections
through the nerves of the chorioid plexuses and meninges. Below this
there is the superior visceral-gustatory nucleus (figs. 2B, 8, 23, 34).
The nucleus isthmi, which is large in the frog, is here undifferentiated.
The ventral part of the isthmus is very large, containing the nucleus
of the IV nerve and a mass of tegmental cells. This isthmic tegmentum is interpolated between the primary sensori-motor systems of the
medulla oblongata and midbrain, and it serves as an intermediary
between them. There is a large central nucleus of small cells which
receives fibers from a wide variety of correlation centers of intermediate-zone type. These enter by all the dorsal tegmental fascicles
and by several other paths (figs. 16, 17, 21). This nucleus is enveloped
by a group of larger cells, which is continuous posteriorly with similar
tegmental cells of the region of the trigeminus (figs. 29, 30, 91). The complex as a whole is believed to have two chief functions: (1) Here
are organized the patterns of the local reflexes of the musculature of
the head, particularly those concerned with feeding. (2) The smallcelled central nucleus is a special differentiation of the periventricular
gray, which serves, in addition to the specific functions just mentioned, a more general, nonspecific, totalizing function; that is, it is a
part of that integrating apparatus which appears in mammals as the
dorsal tegmental nucleus and the related fasciculus longitudinalis
dorsalis of Schiitz (p. 208). The details of structure are given in
chapter xiii.
 
 
The isthmic tegmentum occupies a strategic position between the
primitive bulbo-spinal mechanisms and the higher cerebral adjustors;
it plays a major role both in the patterning of local reflexes and in the
integration of all bodily activities. This mass of tissue, which in
urodeles is at a low level of differentiation, in higher animals is split
up and distributed so that in mammals the identity of the isthmic
tegmentum as an anatomical entity is lost in the adult brain, though
the isthmic sector is plainly marked in the early embryonic stages.
 
 
6. INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS
 
The interpeduncular nucleus also is unusually large in urodeles.
It is not interpeduncular but interisthmic, extending from the fovea
isthmi back to the level of the V nerve roots. The histological texture
is extraordinary. A well-defined, trough-shaped column of cells
borders the ventral angle of the ventricle, with dendrites extending
downward through the ventral commissure, to arborize with tufted
endings in a ventromedian band of neuropil (figs. 65, 66, 82, 83, 91).
The axonic components of this interpeduncular neuropil come from
various sources: (1) terminals of the fasciculus retroflexus, which
take the form of a flattened spiral (fig. 50); (2) terminals of tr.
tegmento-interpeduncularis from small cells of the overlying tegmentum with tufted endings, which join with the dendritic tufts of
the interpeduncular nucleus to form small glomeruli (figs. 60-66, 84) ;
(3) collaterals of thick fibers of tr. tegmento-bulbaris from the large
cells of the tegmentum with similar tufted endings in the glomeruli
(fig. 68); (4) collaterals of tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris, which also
enter glomeruli (figs. 83, 84) ; (5) terminals of tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis with dispersed free endings (figs. 60, 61); (6) similar
terminals of tr. olfacto-peduncularis (fig. 59); (7) less numerous
terminals from several other sources. The slender, unmyelinated
axons of the interpeduncular cells branch freely in the interpeduncular neuropil and continue from the nucleus in two strands (figs. 83,
84). The ventral interpedunculo-bulbar tract descends beyond the
nucleus for an undetermined distance in the lip of the ventral fissure.
The dorsal tract descends dorsally of the fasciculus longitudinalis
medialis and turns laterally to end in wide arborizations in the
tegmentum as far back as the IX nerve roots. Associated with these
dorsal fibers are interpedunculo-tegmental fibers, which end in the
neuropil of the isthmic tegmentum. The dorsal and interpedunculotegmental fibers are regarded as comparable with the isthmic and
bulbar parts of the mammalian f. longitudinalis dorsalis of Schiitz.
 
 
The physiological problems suggested by this peculiar structure
are puzzling. In the light of such scanty experimental evidence as we
possess, I have ventured to suggest that the interpeduncular complex
provides both activating and inhibitory components of reflex and
general integrative activities, the actual patterns of which are elsewhere determined.
 
 
Topographically, this nucleus lies in the motor zone, but its functions clearly are of intermediate-zone type. It is present in all vertebrates at the anteroventral border of the isthmus, that is, at the
boundary between cerebrum and rhombencephalon. Most of its
afferent fibers come from the cerebrum, and evidently it serves chiefly
as an intermediary adjustor between the sensory and intermediate
zones of higher levels and the motor zone of the rhombic brain (for
details see chap. xiv).
 
 
At this point in our analysis we. cross the boundary between
rhombencephalon and cerebrum. The radical differences in structure
and physiological properties of these two chief parts of the brain are
masked and in large measure overruled, especially in higher animals,
by ascending and descending connectives, of which the interpeduncular system is a typical illustration.
 
 
7. TECTUM AND PRETECTAL NUCLEUS
 
The tectum and the pretectal nucleus, as sectors of the sensory
field, together with the dorsal thalamus, form a physiological unit
within which all exteroceptive sensory systems are integrated in the
interest of cerebral control of all lower sensori-motor systems involved in the operation of the skeletal musculature. This unit is
intimately related with the cerebral peduncle and ventral thalamus.
In the most primitive vertebrates and in early embryonic stages of
all vertebrates, these structures might appropriately be united as a
middle subdivision of the brain, which serves as the dominant center of cerebral control of all somatic activities. But in the adult animal
the parts of this natural subdivision have so many distinctive connections and physiological properties that it seems preferable to
treat them separately.
 
 
In vertebrates below the mammals the tectum opticum is the chief
central end-station of the optic nerve; and, since the eyes are the
chief distance receptors in most of these animals, fibers of correlation
of all other sensory systems concerned with external adjustment
naturally converge to this station. The tectum, accordingly, becomes
the dominant adjustor of all exteroceptive systems. The tectum
mesencephali of Aml^lystoma has a larger optic part — the superior
colliculus — and a small, poorly differentiated nucleus posterior — the
primordial inferior colliculus. The latter is interpolated between the
tectum opticum and the cerebellum, and its connections suggest that
its most primitive functions are proprioceptive. It receives a small
primordial lateral lemniscus and evidently also serves such generalized auditory functions as this animal possesses (chap. xv). The
development of the optic nerve and adult tectal structure and connections have been described in detail ('41, '42). Chapter xvi is devoted to the visual system ; for the arrangement of the mesencephalic
nucleus and root of the V nerve see page 140 and figure 13.
 
 
Optic and lemniscus tracts and smaller numbers of fibers from
various other sources all terminate in a broad sheet of intermediate
neuropil, which is spread through the entire tectum and is nearly
homogeneous in texture (figs. 11, 93). The tectum is not definitely
laminated, though separation of the layers, which are conspicuous in
the frog, is incipient. Fibers diverge from it in all directions (figs. 12,
18, 21-24, 93). It is inferred from this structure that movements
activated directly from the tectum are of total-pattern type. Such
local visual reflexes as this animal possesses are probably patterned
elsewhere — in the thalamus and dorsal and isthmic tegmentum. Conditioning of reflexes is probably effected in these areas and perhaps
also in the ventrolateral peduncular neuropil (p. 38). Experiments
upon Triturus and anurans (Stone and Zauer, '40; Sperry, '43, '44,
'45, '456) demonstrate anatomical projection of retinal loci upon the
tectum opticum. This is true also in Amblystoma (Stone, '44; Stone
and Ellison, '45), though the nervous apparatus employed has not
been described.
 
 
The pretectal nucleus (figs. 2B, 35, 36, nuc.pt.) receives fibers directly from the retina and from the tectum, habenula, and cerebral hemisphere. Its efferent fibers go to the tectum, thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebral peduncle (figs. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23).
Its functions are unknown, but, by analogy with mammals, this may
be part of the apparatus for regulation of the intrinsic musculature of
the eyeball. Doubtless other functions are represented also. This area
is the probable precursor of the mammalian pulvinar and neighboring
structures.
 
 
The thalamus receives many fibers from the retina, and it is broadly connected with the tectum by uncrossed fibers passing in both
directions in the brachia of the superior and inferior colliculi (figs. 11,
12). There are also systems of tecto-thalamic and hypothalamic and
thalamo-hypothalamic tracts which decussate in the postoptic commissure ; some of these crossed fibers take longer courses to reach the
peduncle and isthmic tegmentum (figs. 12, 15). This intimate
thalamo-tectal relationship is radically changed in higher animals,
where the thalamo-cortical connections are highly elaborated.
 
 
8. DORSAL THALAMUS
 
I have separated the dorsal thalamus into three sectors: (1) anteriorly, the small nucleus of Bellonci of uncertain relationships ; (2) a
well-defined middle part, an undifferentiated nucleus sensitivus,
which is the primordium of most of the sensory nuclei of the mammalian thalamus; and (3) a vaguely delimited posterior sector, which
apparently contains the undifferentiated primordium of both lateral
and medial geniculate bodies (chap. xvii).
 
 
The middle and posterior sectors receive numerous terminals and
collaterals of the optic tracts, terminals of the general bulbar and
spinal lemnisci, and, through the brachia of the superior and inferior
colliculi, these sectors are broadly connected with the tectum by
fibers running in both directions. There is a similar, but much
smaller, connection with the habenula.
 
 
From the middle sector a small, well-defined tr. thalamo-frontalis
goes forward to the hemisphere (figs. 15, 71, 72, 95, 101, tr.th.f.);
this is the common primordium of all the thalamo-cortical projection
systems of mammals, though here few, if any, of its fibers reach the
pallial area. Other efferent fibers go to the ventral thalamus, hypothalamus, peduncle, and tegmentum. These thalamic reflex connections antedate in phylogeny the thalamo-cortical connections,
and they persist in mammals as an intrinsic paleothalamic apparatus,
an important part of which is the periventricular thalamic contribution to the f. longitudinalis dorsalis of Schiitz. The largest pathways of efferent discharge from the dorsal thalamus go backward to the
peduncle and tegmentum by both crossed and uncrossed tracts (figs.
15, 18, 21, 23). The peduncular connection puts all the primary systems of total-pattern type under some measure of thalamic control.
The connections with the dorsal and isthmic tegmentum probably
co-operate in the patterning of local reflexes, particularly supplying
the visual component of the feeding reactions.
 
 
0. PEDUNCLE
 
The "peduncle" described here is not the equivalent of the human
cerebral peduncle (p. 21). The intimate relations of this field with
the overlying tecto-thalamic field have been commented upon in the
preceding paragraphs. This ventral field is a well-defined column of
cells, differentiated at the anterior end of the basal plate of the
embryonic neural tube. It is the head of the primary motor column
(of Coghill), which in all vertebrates, from early embryonic stages to
the adult, contains the nucleus of the oculomotor nerve and a much
larger mass of nervous tissue, which activates the primitive mass
movements of locomotion. It maintains cerebral control of the lower
bulbo-spinal segments of the latter systems, and some other motor
functions also are represented here. Into it fibers converge from all
other parts of the cerebrum (figs. 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20-24), and from
it efferent fibers go out in four groups: (1) Ventromedial tracts go
to the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. The longest of these fibers
are in the f. longitudinalis medialis (fig. 6). (2) The oculomotor nerve
supplies intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the eyeball (figs. 22, 24).
Associated with these peripheral fibers are central connections with
the nuclei of the IV and VI nerves, so arranged as to execute conjugate movements of the eyes. The details of the apparatus employed
are unknown. (3) Visceral sensory and gustatory fibers enter the
peduncle (fig. 8), and with these are related efferent fibers to the hypothalamus and to lower levels of the motor zone, The pathways
taken by the latter in the amphibian brain have not been clarified.
(4) From both ventral thalamus and peduncle, fibers diverge to
various surrounding parts, notably to the hypothalamus and isthmic
tegmentum. These probably provide for co-ordination of various
local reflex activities with the basic peduncular functions.
 
 
At the ventrolateral border of the peduncle there is an area of
superficial neuropil, which is the terminus of the basal optic tract,
large secondary and tertiary visceral-gustatory tracts, some fibers of
the f. retroflexus, and fibers from several other sources (figs. 22, 23, 24). This is an undifferentiated primordium of the basal optic nucleus
and some other structures of the mammalian brain (pp. 35, 221).
It is related with the olfacto-visceral functions of the hypothalamus
and probably also with conditioning of the fundamental peduncular
activities.
 
 
10. VENTRAL THALAMUS
 
There are anterior and posterior sectors of the ventral thalamus
which differ in embryological origin (p. 239) and in certain connections of intermediate-zone type. Both sectors are here included in the
motor zone because their chief efferent connections resemble those of
the "peduncle," of which the posterior part is physiologically an
anterior extension. The ventral thalamus is the primordium of the
motor field of the mammalian subthalamus. The anterior sector contains a nucleus specifically related to the stria medullaris and
amygdala and, above this, the eminentia thalami, which is a bednucleus of tracts related to the primordium hippocampi (chap, xviii;
figs. 16, 17, 19, 20, 96).
 
 
The ventral thalamus and peduncle of urodeles form a single massive column, which is anatomically well defined. The specialized
structures derived from it in mammals are dispersed among large
masses of tissue of more recent phylogenetic origin; but in the human
brain this region still retains cerebral control of the primordial coordinated movements of the musculature of the eyeballs and of the
trunk and limbs.
 
 
11. THE RETINA AND ITS CONNECTIONS
 
In early embryonic stages the retina is part of the brain, and, as
development advances, it absorbs much of the diencephalic sector of
the early neural tube. This precociously accelerated development results from the dominance of vision in exteroceptive adjustment from
the time that the larva begins to feed. For further details of this
development and of the organization of the visual-motor apparatus
see chapter xvi.
 
 
12. IIABEN(jL.\
 
As described in chapter xviii, this specialized part of the epithalamus receives fibers from almost all parts of the telencephalon and
diencephalon and from the tectum (fig. 20). The habenular commissure connects the two habenulae, and it also contains two commissures of pallial parts of the hemispheres — commissura pallii posterior
and com. superior telencephali. The chief efferent path from the habenula is the f. retroflexus (chap, xviii), which terminates in the
cerebral peduncle and interpeduncular nucleus. In the brains of lower
vertebrates the habenular complex is one of the most widely spread
and physiologically important members of the central correlating
apparatus. Its primary function seems to be to integrate the activities of all parts of the brain that are under olfactory influence with
the exteroceptive functions of the tectum and thalamus in the interest of higher cerebral control of the feeding reactions of the skeletal
muscles.
 
 
13. HYPOTHALAMUS
 
In the large preoptic nucleus and hypothalamus, olfactory connections dominate the picture, as they do in the habenular system; but
here the nonolfactory functions represented are interoceptive instead
of exteroceptive. All parts of the cerebral hemisphere are connected
with the hypothalamus by fibers passing in both directions in the
medial forebrain bundles (p. 273), stria terminalis (p. '^55), and
fornix (p. 254) systems. The visceral-gustatory afferent paths are
shown in figure 8. Large tracts from the thalamus and tectum also
end here, so that all kinds of sensory experience of which the animal
is capable are represented in the hypothalamus. This experience is
here organized in terms of visceral responses. The efferent tracts go
to the peduncle, tegmentum, interpeduncular nucleus, and descending fibers in the deep neuropil which are precursors of the f. longitudinalis dorsalis of Schiitz. There is a large tract to the hypophysis
for nervous control of endocrine activity. There is also evidence that
some neuro-endocrine functions are performed in the hypothalamus
itself (Scharrer and Scharrer, '40). The structure of the hypothalamus has been described ('21a, '27. ''^5a, '36, '42, and in the embryological papers, '37-'41). It is similar to that of Necturus, of which more
detailed descriptions have been published ('336, '346). For the composition of the postoptic commissure see chapter xxi.
 
 
14. STRIO-AMYGDALOID COMPLEX
 
The primordial corpus striatum occupies the thickened ventrolateral wall of the cerebral hemisphere and, like all the rest of the
hemisphere, is under olfactory influence. This is stronger at its anterior and posterior ends. Anteriorly, it is divided by a striatal sulcus
into dorsal and ventral parts (fig. 99), and posteriorly it is much enlarged as the amygdala (figs. 1, 96, 97), which has the typical mammalian connections (fig. 19).
 
 
The ventral sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus is interpolated
between the olfactory bulb and the corpus striatum, as in Necturus
(figs. 6, 86). This is the primordium of the tuberculum olfactorium
('27, p. 290), which is enormously enlarged in the lungfishes (Rudebeck, '45). Posteriorly of this nucleus is a poorly defined field, which
embraces the ventral angle of the lateral ventricle and is regarded as
the probable precursor of the head of the caudate nucleus (fig. 99)
It is intimately connected with the rest of the striatum and the
septum. The chief efferent path is the olfacto-peduncular tract to the
dorsal hypothalamus, ventral border of the peduncle, and interpeduncular nucleus.
 
 
The middle sector of this complex is the undifferentiated primordium of the mammalian lentiform nucleus, as shown by its
fibrous connections. It is characterized by very dense, sharply circumscribed neuropil in the white substance (p. 96; figs. 98, 99, 108,
109) and has the typical striatal connections with the overlying pallium and the thalamus, including a small sensory projection tract
from the dorsal thalamus (fig. 15, tr.th.f.). The chief efferent path is
the lateral forebrain bundle (f. lateralis telencephali, /.Za^./.), which
contains strio-thalamic, strio-peduncular, and strio-tegmental fibers
comparable with the corresponding components of the mammalian
extrapyramidal system. There is also a strio-tectal and strio-pretectal
connection (figs. 11, 14, 101). The separation of the lentiform nucleus
into globus pallidus and putamen is incipient (p. 97).
 
 
15. SEPTUM
 
The septum complex occupies the ventromedial wall of the hemisphere between the anterior olfactory nucleus and the lamina terminalis and hippocampal area (figs. 4, 98, 99) . Its position and connections are similar to those of mammals. It is directly connected
with the olfactory organ by the nervus terminalis, and it receives
fibers from the olfactory bulb, anterior olfactory nucleus, pallium,
and hypothalamus. The chief efferent paths are by the medial forebrain bundle (f . medialis telencephali, f.med.t.) and to the overlying
pallium by the f. olfactorius septi ('27, p. 291). There is also a broad
connection across the ventral aspect of the hemisphere with the
amygdala and the piriform area, the diagonal band of Broca (figs. 96,
97, 98, d.b.), and a connection with the habenula by tr. olfactohabenularis anterior and tr. septo-habenularis (chap, xviii).
 
 
 
16. OLFACTORY BULB AND ANTERIOR OLFACTORY NUCLEUS
 
The olfactory bulb is very large, embracing the anterior end of the
lateral ventricle and extending back in the lateral wall for about half
the length of the hemisphere (figs. 1, 3, 4, 85, 100, 105, 110; '246, '27).
All peripheral olfactory fibers end in the glomeruli of the bulb.
Fibers of the second order pass in large numbers to the anterior
olfactory nucleus, and they enter longer olfactory tracts with wide
distribution (fig. 6), The olfactory tracts are mixtures of fibers from
the bulb and the anterior nucleus, as in Necturus ('336, figs. 6 16).
They reach all parts of the cerebral hemisphere, the habenula, and
the hypothalamus. Some of these decussate in the ventral part of the
anterior commissure and some in the habenular commissure (com.
superior telencephali).
 
 
The histological texture of the olfactory bulb is more differentiated
than that of Necturus ('31), but more generalized than that of higher
vertebrates. I have contrasted this with the mammalian pattern and
added a theoretic interpretation of probable differences in physiologic
properties of the tissue ('246). In brief, this tissue is interpreted as
illustrating several transitional stages in the differentiation of polarized nervous elements from an unpolarized or incompletely polarized
matrix. In Necturus ('31) the transitional character of this tissue is
still more clearly evident. The granule cells, in particular, give no
structural evidence of physiological polarity, i.e., of differentiation
of dendrites from axon, though the connections of these cells in
Amblystoma suggest that they have a transient and reversible polarity. In connection with this description ('246, pp. 385-95) there are
some speculations regarding possible phylogenetic stages in the differentiation of permanently polarized neurons from an unspecialized
nonsynaptic nerve net or neuropil.
 
 
In Amblystoma there is a moderately developed accessory olfactory bulb, but no other evidence of local specialization in the primary
olfactory center. (There are hints of this in some mammals, e.g., the
mink, Jeserich, '45, and references there cited). In 1921, I described
the peripheral and central connections of the accessory bulb of
Amblystoma and compared these with the more specialized structures of the frog. The anatomical connections there described are, I
believe, correct, but the theoretic interpretation of the relationships
in vertebrates generally between the vomeronasal organ, accessory bulb, and amygdala is less secure and awaits confirmation or correction.
 
 
The anterior olfactory nucleus is a zone of relatively undifferentiated cells interpolated between the bulbar formation and the more
specialized areas posteriorly of it (figs. 6, 86B and C, 105, 109; '27,
p. 288). In higher animals much of this tissue seems to be specialized
and added to the adjoining fields ('24(/). A very large proportion of
the fibers of the olfactory tracts, arising from both the bulbar formation and the anterior nucleus, are assembled in a dense superficial
sheet of fibers in the medial sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus,
which I have named the "fasciculus postolfactorius" (figs. 5, 100,
105, 110, /./JO.). Here these fibers take a vertical course and then are
distributed to all the olfactory tracts. In chapters vii and xix there
is further discussion of the significance of the olfactory system in the
morphogenesis of the hemisphere.
 
 
17. PALXiIUM
 
The pallial part of the hemisphere can be distinguished from the
stem part, though there is no laminated cortex. There are three sectors (figs. 96-99) — the dorsomedial primordium hippocampi {p.hip.),
the dorsolateral primordium piriforme {p.pir., or nucleus olfactorius
dorsolateralis, nuc.oLd.L), and between these a dorsal sector of uncertain relationships (p.p.d.). The gray, as elsewhere in these brains,
is confined to a thick periventricular layer except in the hippocampal
sector, where the cell bodies are dispersed through the entire thickness of the wall and are imbedded in dense neuropil. This is evidently
a first step toward differentiation of superficial cortex. The homologies of the hippocampal and piriform sectors with those of mammals
are clear, as shown by substantially similar nervous connections.
Further discussion will be found in chapter vii and the references
there given.
 
 
THE COMMISSURES
 
Throughout the length of the central nervous system all parts of
the two sides are broadly connected by systems of commissural and
decussating fibers. These are in two series, dorsally and vent rally of
the ventricles. Their composition is summarized in chapter xxi, with
references to more detailed descriptions. In the aggregate they make
provision for the co-ordinated action of the motor organs on right and
left sides of the body.
 
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
The preceding outline of a regional analysis is framed in very general terms. The evidence upon which it is based is assembled in Part
II of this work and references there given. This evidence, though far
from complete, is regarded as adequate for the anatomical arrangements described. The physiological inferences drawn from these arrangements and the general theory expressed in the following chapters rest on a less secure basis. The correctness of these conclusions
can be tested experimentally, and the hope that this will be done has
motivated the labor expended upon this program of histological
study.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER V FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS, CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL
 
THE brain of Amblystoma performs three general classes of functions, with corresponding local differentiation of structure. We recognize, accordingly, three zones on each side — a dorsal receptive
or sensory zone; a ventral emissive or motor zone; and, between
these and infiltrating them, an intermediate zone of correlation and
integration.
 
 
THE LONGITUDINAL ZONES
 
Figures 4 and 5 are sketches of longitudinal sections of the cerebrum of adult Amblystoma tigrinum to illustrate the areas included
in the motor and sensory zones as here arbitrarily defined. The zones
of the medulla oblongata as seen in transverse section are shown in
figure 9. The sensory zone includes those parts of the brain which
receive afferent fibers from the periphery, together with more or less
closely related tissue of correlation. The motor zone includes those
parts from which efferent fibers go out to the periphery, together
with related apparatus of motor co-ordination. Both these zones
contain some areas which, though not directly connected with the
periphery, are nevertheless primarily concerned with specific types
of sensory or motor adjustment. What is left over is assigned to the
intermediate zone, and whether a particular area will be included
here depends on one's estimate of its preponderant physiological
character. The body of the cerebellum and the pallial part of the
cerebral hemispheres are excluded from the zones as supra-segmental
structures.
 
 
The lines drawn in this analysis are frankly arbitrary, chosen primarily for convenience of description; but, as will appear, this functional analysis contributes to an understanding of the meaning of the
structure, and, moreover, it has morphological justification as well.
These zones are not autonomous units when viewed either structurally or physiologically. Their interconnections are intimate and
complicated. The more important of these connections are shown in
a number of diagrams, some in this contribution and some in previous
papers.
 
 
This analysis of the more obvious structural features of an amphibian brain in terms of physiological criteria is an artificial schematization of a complicated fabric, the several parts of which are so
intimately connected that there is an over-all integration of their
activities. The main highways of through traffic have been mapped,
with signboards pointing the way at the crossroads. Selected examples of some of the lines of fore-and-aft through traffic are illustrated in the diagrams ; but this kind of analysis does not take us to
our destination. It does not tell us how mixed traffic is actually
sorted out and so reorganized as to give the body as a whole efficient
adjustment to the momentarily changing exigencies of common experience. These problems are discussed in subsequent chapters, but,
first, the schematic outline will be summarized here.
 
 
Each zone is structurally diversified, and many of these local differentiations are directly correlated on the sensory side with the
modalities of sense represented in the end-organs with which they
are connected and on the motor side in a similar way with synergic
systems of muscles. Each sensory and motor system of nerves has a
local primary central station in direct connection with the periphery,
and each of these stations has widely spread connections within its
own zone and with other zones, thus insuring efficient correlation of
sensory data, co-ordination of motor responses, and integration of
the action system as a whole. In this summary the sensory systems
are given special attention because these are the most useful guides
in the analysis of the structure of this brain.
 
 
THE SENSORY ZONE
 
The sensory zone is defined as those parts of the brain that receive
fibers from peripheral organs of sense. In some fields the number of
such fibers is large, in others it is very small; and some parts of the
brain, like the cerebral peduncle, have both sensory and motor
peripheral connections. Within the sensory zone there is a complicated apparatus of correlation, and in lower vertebrates the receptive
areas and surrounding tissues dominated by them are so large that
most of the mass of the brain can be blocked into fields appropriately
designated "nosebrain," "eyebrain," and so on ('31a, p. 129). This
feature is due to the fact that in these animals the sense organs are
well developed and highly specialized, but the motor apparatus is more simply organized, chiefly for co-ordinated mass movements.
The sensory zone with its own apparatus of correlation, accordingly,
bulks larger than the motor zone.
 
 
Though the peripheral sensory apparatus in Amblystoma differs
from the human in many details, yet the general principles of its
organization are similar; the structural organization of the central
apparatus of adjustment, on the contrary, is so radically different
that comparisons are difficult. Here the several functional systems of
peripheral nerve fibers enter the brain in fascicles of the nerve roots,
which are physiologically as specific as are those of mammals ; but at
the first synapse this specificity may almost completely disappear, in
so far as it has visible structural expression. The root fibers of all
sensory systems (except, perhaps, the olfactory) terminate by wide
arborizations in a few common fields of neuropil, in each of which
several of these systems are inextricably mingled. This neuropil is a
common synaptic pool for all entering systems. The several pools are
interconnected with one another and with similar pools in other
parts of the brain stem, and there is no supreme cortical regulator.
The translation of sensory experience into adaptive behavior and the
integration of this behavior are somehow accomplished within this
interplay of the local activities of the brain stem.
 
 
The sensory zone is continuous from the dorsal gray colunm of the
spinal cord to the olfactory field, comprising the dorsolateral part of
the medulla oblongata, the auricle in the cerebellar region, the anterior medullary velum and a small amount of contiguous tissue, the
tectum of the midbrain, pretectal nucleus, dorsal thalamus, olfactory
bulb with the adjoining anterior olfactory nucleus, and optionally the
septum and some other parts of the hemisphere, a portion of the
hypothalamus, and the ventrolateral neuropil of the peduncle. The
fields optionally included receive terminals of the nervus terminalis
(p. 267); the hypothalamus has a small but significant connection
with the optic nerve, the basal root of which also connects with the
peduncle. In some vertebrates the epithalamus receives fibers from
the parietal eye, but in Amblystoma these have not been seen, and in
this animal the predominant functions of the "optional" areas are of
intermediate-zone type. The body of the cerebellum and the pallial
part of the cerebral hemisphere might be assigned to the sensory zone
as here defined anatomically; yet, as previously mentioned, they are
excluded from this zone because of their distinctive physiological
characteristics and their remarkable specialization in higher animals.
 
 
 
In the sensory zone of the medulla oblongata there are two elongated synaptic pools of neuropil, into which terminals of the sensory
root fibers converge (chap. xi). One of these receives terminals of all
somatic sensory systems; the other lies more ventrally and internally
in the visceral lobe and receives terminals of the visceral sensory and
gustatory systems (figs. 9, 89). The secondary fibers which emerge
from these pools are distributed locally to the motor zone of the
medulla oblongata, downward to the spinal cord, and upward to
higher levels. The last take different courses, some to the cerebellum,
some to the tectum and thalamus, and some to the hypothalamus.
Each of these pathways discharges into a higher synaptic pool of
neuropil, where its terminals are in physiological relation with terminals of other related sensory systems. The relations to which reference has just been made are in terms of the types of response to be
evoked. Thus the tectum becomes the dominant regulator of somatic
adjustments to exteroceptive stimulation, the hypothalamus becomes the regulator of visceral responses to olfacto-visceral stimulation, and the cerebellum provides regulatory control of the action of
the skeletal muscles. The dorsal thalamus is ancillary to the tectum
and shows a very early stage in the evolution of the ascending sensory projection systems to the cerebral hemispheres.
 
 
These local differentiations, each with characteristic structure and
connections, are receptive fields for the several systems of peripheral
sensory fibers, though some of them receive few peripheral fibers and
are concerned chiefly with sensory correlation.
 
 
THE MOTOR ZONE
 
The motor zone as here defined includes the peripheral motor
neurons and those areas of the brain stem concerned with the organization of motor impulses in patterns of synergic action. It includes the following histologically different parts: (1) corpus striatum
(paleostriatum); (2) anterior part of the ventral thalamus; (3) posterior part of the ventral thalamus; (4) nucleus of the tuberculum
posterius ("peduncle" in the restricted sense); (3) isthmic tegmentum; (6) trigeminal tegmentum; (7) a poorly defined tegmental field
extending farther posteriorly through the length of the medulla
oblongata into continuity with the ventral gray column of the spinal
cord.
 
 
The floor plate of the embryonic neural tube probably ends anteriorly at the fovea isthmi (fig. 2B, f.i.), and the adjacent basal plate, which is the primordial motor zone, extends forward of this to
include the whole of the peduncle and probably more or less of the
hypothalamus and ventral thalamus. This primordial zone contains
not only nervous elements with peripheral connections, like the
sensory zone, but also an elaborate apparatus of central co-ordination
of the neuromotor systems.
 
 
Anteriorly of the peduncle the motor zone has no peripheral connections, but the apparatus of motor co-ordination extends forward
through the thalamus into the lateral wall of the hemisphere. Since
the present analysis is based primarily on physiological criteria, this
anterior extension of the motor field is included in the motor zone.
The anterior boundaries of this zone are, of course, arbitrarily drawn ;
that they are artificial is emphasized by the fact that the large basal
optic root terminates in the peduncle, which is in the motor zone as
here defined. Efferent fibers have been described as leaving the brain
in many places outside the motor zone, even as here broadly defined.
Vasomotor and other visceral efferent fibers have been reported in
various animals associated with the nervus terminalis and the olfactory and optic nerves and in other places for distribution to meninges
and chorioid plexuses. We have nothing new to report about Amblystoma in this connection.
 
 
In the spinal cord and medulla oblongata the peripheral motor
neurons are so mingled with the co-ordinating neurons of the tegmentum and reticular formation and they are so similar in form that it is
often impossible to distinguish the peripheral neurons except in cases
where their axons are seen to enter the nerve roots. The cells of the
nuclei of the eye-muscle nerves are fairly clearly segregated, and in
some reduced silver preparations they react specifically to the chemical treatment (fig, 104); but even here their dendrites are widely
spread and intertwined with those of tegmental cells, so that both
kinds of neurons would appear to be similarly activated by the
neuropil within which they are imbedded. The cell bodies are locally
segregated; but their dendrites, where most of the synaptic contacts
are made, are not segregated.
 
 
In the medulla oblongata the motor tegmentum contains small and
large cells in an endless variety of forms, but these elements are not
segregated in accordance with either size or morphological type. It
is true that the arrangement of their cell bodies may show some
rather ill-defined local segregation, but their dendrites and axons are
so intimately intertwined in the neuropil that nothing comparable with the localized nuclei of higher brains can be recognized. Farther
forward in the isthmus and peduncle the tegmental tissue of coordination is much increased in amount and somewhat more differentiated. In some of my former papers (e.g., '30, p. 76) the term
"nucleus motorius tegmenti" was used loosely (and inaccurately)
to include a tegmental zone defined topographically. This seemed to
be justified in the case of Necturus by the lack of localization of the
large motor elements which characterize this region; but this justification is inadequate, both factually and morphologically — see the
discussion by Ariens Kappers, Huber, and Crosby ('36, pp. 653, 666).
 
 
It is obvious that most of the tissue of the motor zone is concerned
with co-ordination of the action of the peripheral elements, so that
synergic groups of muscles are activated in appropriate sequence;
but, with the technic available, it has not been possible to analyze
this complex so as to reveal the mechanism employed. In the medulla
oblongata this organization is chiefly for local control of bulbar and
spinal reflexes, the intermediate zone participating. In the isthmus
and peduncle the number of peripheral elements is relatively small
and the co-ordinating apparatus larger, giving these areas control
over all motor fields spinal ward of them. This intrinsic motor apparatus is supplemented by a segregated band of correlating tissue in
the intermediate zone, the subtectal dorsal tegmentum. In mammals
both these zones are further specialized into separate nuclei distributed in the tegmentum.
 
 
The primary patterns of somatic movements are predetermined by
the course of central differentiation within the motor and intermediate zones in premotile stages of development. After connection
with the peripheral musculature is established, each of these muscles
seems to exert some sort of distinctive reciprocal influence upon that
motor field of the central nervous system from which its innervation
is derived. The nature of this influence is unknown, but its reality is
well attested by experiments of Paul Weiss ('36, '41) and colleagues
upon "myotypic response" and "modulation."
 
In later stages the primary motor patterns may be modified, or
"inflected," by sensory experience and practice. Influence of use or
some other functional factors seem to be essential for maintenance of
motor efficiency, as graphically shown by Detwiler's observations
('45, p. 115; '46) on the behavior of decerebrate larvae of Amblystoma (to which further reference is made on p. 118). In young
larvae of stage 37, swimming movements may be perfectly executed after transection immediately below the auditory vesicle under control of the lower medulla oblongata and spinal cord (Coghill, '26,
Paper VI, p. Ill; '29, p. 15); but, subsequent to Harrison's stage 40,
Detwiler finds that sustained motor activities, including swimming,
fail rapidly if the influence of the midbrain is blocked in prefunctional stages, though feeding reactions are preserved after complete
ablation of hemispheres and visual organs. The midbrain evidently
supplies a factor essential for maintenance of motor efficiency.
 
 
The motor field of this brain is smaller and more simply organized
than the sensory field because most of the activities are mass movements of total-pattern type. Within this larger frame of total behavior, the partial patterns of local reflexes are individuated with
more or less capacity for autonomous action. The number of these
local partial patterns is smaller than in higher animals, and all of
them are far more closelj^ bound to the total patterns of which they
are parts. The segments of each limb, for instance, may, upon appropriate stimulation, move independently; but in ordinary locomotion they move in a sequence related to the action of the entire limb,
the other limbs, and the musculature of the trunk.
 
 
The peripheral motor nerves (omitting the general visceral components of preganglionic type not here considered) are in three
groups: (1) the spinal nerves; (2) the eye-muscle nerves. III, IV, and
VI pairs of cranial nerves, which are somatic motor; and (3) the
special visceral motor nerves of the V, VII, IX, and X pairs, innervating the striated musculature of the visceral skeleton of the
head. The primary movements of trunk and limbs are organized for
locomotion in the motor zone of the spinal cord. This organization is
under exteroceptive and proprioceptive control locally throughout the
length of the cord and more especial!}^ at the bulbo-spinal junction;
it is under additional proprioceptive control from the labyrinth and
the cerebellum; there is further control from the cerebrum — optic,
olfactory, and the related apparatus of higher correlation. The bulbar
group of special visceral motor nerves is primarily concerned with
movements of the head, notably those of respiration and feeding.
The feeding reactions are under visual, olfactory, somesthetic, gustatory, and general visceral afferent control, and the pattern of performance seems to be organized in the large isthmic tegmentum.
The very large and complicated interpeduncular nucleus is an isthmic
structure which is physiologically of intermediate-zone type (chap.
xiv) . Details of the structure and connections of the various parts of
 
 
 
64 THE BRAIN OF THE TIGER SALAMANDER
 
the motor zone are in Part II, and the pecuhar features of its forward
extension in the cerebral hemisphere are discussed in chapter vii.
 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE ZONE
 
The characteristics of this zone are imphcit in the preceding account of the sensory and motor zones. It is more elaborately developed and its boundaries are more clearly defined in parts of the
cerebrum than in the rhombencephalon. These boundaries are necessarily arbitrary, for all parts of the brain are involved in correlation
and integration of bodily activities ; but throughout the length of the
spinal cord and brain there is a band of tissue between the sensory
and motor zones primarily concerned with these adjustments. At
lower levels I have termed this tissue the "reticular formation," and
here it infiltrates the other zones with no clear boundaries (for details
see chap. xi). At higher levels it increases in amount and is more
clearly segregated. It would be appropriate to include in this zone
most of the diencephalon and telencephalon except the specific optic
and olfactory terminals ; but, for reasons mentioned above, a different
subdivision has been adopted, primarily for convenience of description. The dorsal tegmentum, or subtectal area, is a typical representative of this zone in position and physiological connections. In the
isthmic and bulbar tegmentum the characteristics of the intermediate and motor zones are inextricably mingled. The habenula, hypothalamus, and interpeduncular nucleus, as elsewhere described,
clearly belong physiologically to the intermediate zone; and the
whole cerebral hemisphere, except the olfactory bulb, might appropriately be so classified in all Ichthyopsida.
 
 
In the most primitive vertebrates the intermediate zone is scarcely
recognizable as an anatomical entity. As the action system becomes
more complicated in higher animals, this zone shows corresponding
differentiation. This specialization is more directly dependent upon
complication of the peripheral motor apparatus than upon sensory
differentiation, for, so long as the action system is largely confined to
mass movements, the patterning of these total activities is effected in
the sensory and motor zones. In tetrapods and birds more complex
central adjustors are required, and these are differentiated between
the two primary zones and anteriorly of them. With the appearance
of more autonomy of the local reflex systems, more efficient apparatus of integration is demanded. The final result is that in the human
brain the apparatus of intermediate-zone type has increased so much that it comprises more than half the total weight of the brain, for
both cerebral and cerebellar cortices are derivatives of this primordial matrix, as will appear in the ensuing discussions.
 
 
THE FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS
 
The preceding physiological analysis of the brain obviously rests
upon the peripheral relations of its several parts. The two primary
functions of the nervous system are, first, the maintenance of the
integrity of the individual, with efficient co-operation of parts among
themselves and with the total organization, and, second, the analysis
of experience and the translation of the sensory data into appropriate
behavior. The peripheral nerves are key factors in both these domains. Our knowledge of the functional analysis of the cranial nerves
has been greatly increased during the last fifty years, largely by the
work of the so-called American school of comparative neurologists,
which I have recently reviewed ('43).
 
 
Before I discuss the components of these nerves, a few definitions
are in order. In the attempt to envisage the nervous system from the
operational standpoint, distinctions have been drawn between sensory correlation, motor co-ordination, and those central processes
that provide integration, and some measure of spontaneity of action
which might be grouped under the name "association" ('24c, p. 235;
'31a, p. 35). This classification is necessarily artificial, for all these
processes are interrelated. They interpenetrate, and they are not
sharply localized in the structural fabric. Nevertheless, these several
types of action are recognizable components of the unitary dynamic
system, and there are local differentiations of the structural organization correlated with preponderance of one or another of them, more
clearly so in higher vertebrates than in lower.
 
 
Sensory correlation, as the term is here employed, refers to interaction of afl^erent impulses within the sensory zone, that is, within the
field reached by terminals oi peripheral sensory fibers. The interplay
of these diverse afi'erent impulses takes two forms: (1) in fields of
undifferentiated neuropil, the activation of which results in alterations of the central excitatory state or in mass movements of large
numbers of synergic muscles; (2) in more restricted areas (nuclei),
which activate the neuromotor apparatus of local reflexes. The members of both groups are interconnected by systems of internuclear
fibers like the lemniscus systems, all within the sensory zone, so that
all activities of this zone interact one with another. These internuncials are so arranged that functional systems of afferents, which
normally co-operate to effect a particular type of motor response, are
more intimately associated. Thus the tectum opticum receives most
of the lemniscus fibers of all somesthetic systems and minimum numbers of olfactory and visceral systems. This basic pattern as seen in
Ambly stoma is changed in mammals, where higher associational centers have taken over most of the functions of correlation.
 
 
Motor co-ordination is effected primarily in the motor zone, which
is so organized as to activate synergic groups of muscles in appropriate sequence with inhibition of their antagonists. This grouping
may be adapted for mass movements or for local reflexes. Internuclear tracts connect the various parts of the sensory zone directly
with appropriate parts of the motor zone. More refined analysis and
conditioning of motor responses are effected through the intermediate zone, and the tissues of the latter group are greatly enlarged and
complicated in higher brains.
 
 
The activities of stimulus-response type which have just been considered are so interconnected with internuclear tracts and the interstitial neuropil as to facilitate the integration of all local activities in
the interest of the requirements of the body as a whole. Every local
part of the brain is a component of the apparatus of general integration, and some of these parts have this association as their dominant
function. In Ambly stoma most of this suprasensory and supramotor
tissue is dispersed as interstitial neuropil. In mammals, higher types
of associational tissue have been differentiated locally, notably in the
cerebral cortex and its dependencies, with corresponding enhancement of those synthetic functions which are manifested as conditioning, educability, and reasoning. Parallel with these changes there is
an enormous increase in accumulated reserves of potential nervous
energy, which come to expression as spontaneity, memory, and creative imagination.
 
 
A survey of the nerve fibers of Amblystoma as a whole in view of
the principles just expressed shows that they may be classified in four
groups: (1) the peripheral afferent systems and associated internuclear correlating tracts within the sensory zone (lemniscus systems, etc.) ; (2) the peripheral efferent systems and the related coordinating fibers of the motor zone; (3) the central internuclear systems intercalated between the preceding two and so interconnected
as to yield appropriate responses to ordinary recurring stimuli; and
(4) infiltrating these mechanisms of stimulus-response type, a different sort of adjusting apparatus which insures general integration of
these systems, with provision for conditioning of reflexes and other
forms of individually acquired behavior and for release of accumulated reserves of nervous potential as needed. These four groups
intergrade but, in general, are recognizable.
 
 
The peripheral fibers are grouped in functional systems, each of
which is defined as comprising all nerve fibers and related endorgans, which are so arranged as to respond to excitation in a common mode, either sensory or motor. These functional systems are
convenient anatomical units also, for all fibers of each sensory system, regardless of variations in the peripheral distribution of their
end-organs and regardless of the particular nerve trunks or roots
through which they connect with the brain, are segregated internally
and converge into local areas or zones. In higher vertebrates (but less
so in lower) the secondary connections of these terminal stations tend
to retain their physiological specificity. From this it follows that the
peripheral systems of sensory analyzers are extended into the brain
as far as related central pathways are separately localized — in the
human brain it may be even up to the projection areas of the cerebral
cortex. Accordingly, we include in the sensory zone as here defined
not only the terminal nuclei of peripheral sensory nerves but also
their related nervous connections, so far as these are with other parts
of the sensory zone and not directly with the motor zone. The neuromotor apparatus can be similarly analyzed into functional systems, each of which is concerned with the synergic activation of some
particular group of muscles.
 
 
This anatomical segregation of the functional systems is not carried to perfection, even in the human nervous system. The various
modalities of cutaneous and deep sensibility, for instance, are not
completely segregated and localized either peripherally or centrally.
Yet this differentiation has gone so far that it provides our most useful guide in the analysis of the structure of the brain.
 
 
The activities of the body may be divided into two major groups;
(1) those concerned with adjustment to environment, the somatic
functions, and (2) those concerned with the maintenance and reproduction of the body itself, visceral functions. These, of course, are not
independent of each other; nutrition, for instance, involves somatic
activity in the search and capture of food and visceral activity in its
digestion and assimilation. Nonetheless, these types of function are
so different, especially in the responses evoked, that this strictly physiological criterion marks also the most fundamental structural
analysis of the nervous system. Anatomically, the somatic systems
of peripheral organs and nerves and central adjustors, including the
proprioceptors, are, in general, rather sharply distinguished from the
visceral. The systems are cross-connected by internuclear tracts, and
some sensory systems, like the olfactory, may serve, on occasion,
either somatic or visceral adjustments.
 
 
A phylogenetic survey of these systems reveals remarkable plasticity in their interrelationships. Thus, taste buds, which in most vertebrates are typical interoceptors, may in some fishes be spread over
the external surface of the body, where they serve exteroceptive functions, with corresponding changes in the anatomical pattern of the
central apparatus of adjustment (chap, x; '446). On the motor side
the apparatus of feeding and respiration exhibits still more remarkable transformations. In fishes this musculature is connected with the
visceral skeleton — jaws, hyoid, and gill arches — and the functions
performed are obviously visceral, though the larger part of this
musculature is striated. The related parts of the nervous system are
classified as special visceral motor. With suppression of the gills in
higher animals, some of these muscles undergo remarkable transformations. Those which are elaborated to form the mimetic facial
musculature of mammals become physiologically somatic ('22, '43).
 
 
The classification of peripheral end-organs and their related nerves
which has proved most useful grew out of the analysis of these nerves
into their functional components, to which reference has just been
made, by histological methods. Serial sections through the entire
bodies of small vertebrates differentially stained for nerve fibers
enable the investigator to reconstruct not only the courses of the
nerves but also the arrangement of the functional systems represented in each of them and to follow these components to their
peripheral and central terminals, a result that cannot be achieved by
ever so skilful dissection. The first successful application of this
method was Strong's analysis of the nerve components of the tadpole
of the frog in 1895, a fundamental research which provided the generalized pattern which prevails, with endless modifications of details,
throughout the vertebrate series, as has been abundantly demonstrated by numerous subsequent studies by many workers.
 
 
This was followed in 1899 by my Doctor's dissertation on the nerve
components of the highly specialized teleost, Menidia. From these and subsequent studies the peripheral nervous system of the head
was analyzed into functional systems as follows:
 
1. Somatic sensory fibers of two groups. — (1) Exteroceptive systems, including (a) the specialized olfactory (in part), optic, auditory, and lateral-line nerves with differentiated end-organs, and (6)
the nerves of general cutaneous and deep sensibility with simple free
endings, these entering chiefly in the V nerve root with some in the
VII, IX, and X roots. (2) Proprioceptive fibers from specialized endorgans of the internal ear and (probabljO lateral-line organs and also
fibers from muscles, tendons, and other deep tissues. Here belongs
also the peculiar mesencephalic root of the V nerve. See chapter x for
further comments on the proprioceptive system.
 
 
2. Visceral sensory fibers of two types. — (1) With specialized endorgans, viz., the olfactory organ (in part) and the taste buds, the
latter entering by the VII, IX, and X nerve roots. (2) Fibers of general visceral sensibility with free endings, entering in the same roots
as the preceding and mingled with them.
 
 
3. Somatic motor fibers. — Somatic motor fibers which supply striated muscles derived from the embryonic somites, those in Amblystoma being limited to the nerves of the extrinsic muscles of the eyeball in the III, IV, and VI nerves.
 
 
4. Visceral efferent fibers of two types. — (1) Special visceral motor
fibers of cranial nerves supplying striated muscles, not of somitic
origin, related with the visceral skeleton, jaws, hyoid, branchial
arches, and their drivatives (in the V, VII, IX, and X roots).
(2) Preganglionic fibers of the general visceral (autonomic) system,
terminating in sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia, where they
activate postganglionic fibers distributed to unstriated and cardiac
muscles and glands (in the III, VII, IX, and X roots). The last system is not further considered in this work. For application of this
analysis to the human nervous system see my Introduction to Neurology ('31a, chaps, v and ix).
 
 
This analysis has yielded our most useful clues for resolution of the
complexity of both peripheral nerves and brain. Descriptions of the
peripheral end-organs and the courses of the nerves do not lie within
the scope of this work. Some of these details which are significant for
understanding their central connections are included in chapter x.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VI PHYSIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS
 
APPARATUS OF ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS
 
IN A primitive brain like that of Amblystoma the stable framework
of localized centers and tracts performs functions that are primarily analytic. The sense organs are analyzers, each attuned to
respond to some particular kind of energy. The sensory systems of
peripheral nerves and the related internal sensory tracts are parts
of the analytic apparatus, in so far as their functional continuity
with the peripheral organs of the several modalities of sense can be
traced.
 
 
On the motor side similar conditions prevail. The neuromotor
apparatus is organized in functional systems, each of which is
adapted to call forth the appropriate sequence of action in a particular group of synergic muscles. These units are as truly analyzers
as are those of the sensory systems, though in an inverse sense. Out
of the total repertoire of possible movements, those, and only those,
are selected which give the appropriate action. The efferent fibers are
grouped, the members of each group being so bound together by
central internuclear connections that they act as a functional unit
adapted for the execution of some particular component of behavior,
such as locomotion, conjugate movements of the eyeballs, seizing and
swallowing food, and so on.
 
 
The several sensory systems are so interconnected within the sensory zone as to react mutually with one another. They form a
dynamic system so organized that all discharges from this zone are
resultants of this interaction. This interplay has pattern. The various
modalities of sense are not discharged into a single common pool of
equipotential tissue. The sensory components of the nerves are segregated, more or less completely, so that related systems converge into
dominant centers of adjustment— exteroceptors in the tectum, proprioceptors in the cerebellum, olfacto-visceral systems in the hypothalamus, olfacto-somatic systems in the habenula, and so on.
 
 
A review of the internal architecture of the adult brain of Amblystoma suggests that the specifications of the general plan are drawn in terms of current action. The elaboration of the analytic apparatus
on the sensory side is carried only so far as is requisite to facilitate
responses to any combination of sensory stimuli in patterns determined by the appropriate use of such motor equipment as the animal
possesses. In species with simpler action systems the central analytic
apparatus is less elaborate; in species endowed with more complicated motor organs the central architecture is more elaborate. In all
species the peripheral sensory equipment determines the architectural plan of the primary centers of the sensory zone; internally of
this level the details of the plan are shaped by two additional factors :
first, the motor equipment available and, second, the amount and
quality of the apparatus of correlation and integration required for
the most efficient use of such sensory excitations as the animal experiences. The cross-connections between the sensory and motor
zones are quite direct and simple in early embryological stages, so
arranged as to provide uniform stereotyped responses to oft recurring
situations. But as development advances these connections become
more and more complicated, an intermediate apparatus of correlation
is interpolated, and, correlated with this, the behavior becomes more
diversified and unpredictable.
 
 
In the sequence of development of behavior patterns this change
can be accurately dated. For instance, in Amblystoma between the
early swimming and early feeding stages, at about Harrison's stage
40, the swimming movements, which in younger stages are perfectly
co-ordinated by the bulbo-spinal central apparatus alone, lose this
autonomy, and participation of the midbrain is essential for the
maintenance of efficient swimming, as was mentioned on page 62 in
describing experiments by Detwiler ('45, '46). It is during this period
that tecto-bulbar and tecto-spinal connections of essentially adult
pattern are established ('39, p. 112). In human fetal development
there is a similar critical period at about 14 weeks of menstrual age
(Hooker, '44, p. 29). At this time the upper levels of the cerebrum
acquire functional connections with the lower brain stem, and the
behavior shows a corresponding change. "The fetus is no longer
marionette-like or mechanical in the character of its movements,
which are now graceful and fluid, as they are in the new-born."
 
Synthesis and integration may be effected in various ways. The
most evident nervous structures employed here are the internuclear
tracts which form a complicated web of conductors, which interconnect the analytic units with one another so that the entire complex forms an integrated equilibrated system. This is the apparatus
of the stable heritable components of the action system — the reflexes
and instincts. A second integrating apparatus is found in the allpervasive neuropil, and a third in specialized derivatives of the latter,
the associational tissues locally differentiated in the brain stem and
reaching maximal development in the cerebral cortex.
 
 
The total behavior of neuromuscular type emerged within a preexisting bodily organization, which maintained the unity of the individual by nonnervous apparatus. The nervous system is from its first
appearance a totalizing apparatus. Local differentiations of tissue
for the analysis of sensory experience and of motor responses arise
within this integrated structure, and local reflexes similarly emerged
within a total neuromuscular pattern of action adapted to maintain
the unity of the organization. As development advanced, the mechanisms of the local reflexes acquired increasing autonomy, but they
are never completely emancipated from some control in the interest
of the behavior of the body as a whole. The organic unity of the
whole is preserved while local specificity is in process of development,
and this unitary control is never lost during the normal life of the
individual.
 
 
THE STIMULUS-EESPONSE FORMULA
 
The stimulus-response formula has wide application and great
usefulness as a basic concept in physiology and psychology, but its
apparent simplicity is illusory and has tended to divert attention
from essential features of even the simplest patterns of behavior.
This I have illustrated ('44a) by an examination of the simplest reflex
connection known in Amblystoma — from retina to ocular muscles by
way of the basal optic tract.
 
 
The late G. E. Coghill, during a productive period of foi'ty years,
studied the development of the action system of Amblystoma and
the correlated processes of bodily growth. These researches have
demonstrated beyond question that in this animal the neuromuscular
system is so organized in prefunctional stages that, when first activated from the sensory zone, the resulting movement is a total response of all the musculature that is mature enough to respond to
nervous excitation. These "total patterns" of activity are not disorderly, and they become progressively more complicated while the
apparatus of local reflexes ("partial patterns") is slowly differentiated within the larger frame of the total pattern. The development
of both the total pattern and the partial patterns is initiated centrally, and throughout Hfe all of them are under some measure of unified central control so that the body acts as an integrated whole with
diverse specialization of its parts (Coghill, '29; Herrick, '29). Coghill's contributions of factual observations and the principles derived
from them have been critically reviewed by the writer in a book
('48), to which the reader is referred.
 
 
The patterning of these orderly movements is determined by the
intrinsic structure of the nervous system. This structural pattern is
not built up during early development under the influence of sensory
excitations, for in the embryo the motor and sensory systems attain
functional capacity independently of each other; and when central
connection between the sensory zone and the motor zone is made, the
first motor responses to excitation exhibit an orderly sequence, the
pattern of which is predetermined by the inherited organization then
matured (Coghill '29, p. 87; '30, Paper IX, p. 345; '31, Paper X,
pp. 158, 166). This early structural differentiation goes on independently of any stimulus-response type of activity, though the
latter may modify the pattern of subsequent development. This is a
principle of wide import, applicable not only in lower vertebrates but
in higher forms as well (Coghill, '40), including man (Hooker, '44).
The stimulus-response mechanism is not a primary factor in embryogenesis; it is a secondary acquisition.
 
 
REFLEX AND INHIBITION
 
It has been pointed out that the functions of the sensory and
motor zones are fundamentally analytic — analysis of environmental
influences and analysis of performance in adjustment to those influences. How the units of the analytic apparatus are actually related so
as to insure the appropriate correlated action of the separate parts is
the key problem, which must be resolved before animal (and human)
behavior can be approached scientifically in other than a descriptive
way. Good progress has been registered. The sensory and motor
analytic apparatus has been exhaustively studied and well described;
and this was the appropriate place to begin, for these organs are most
accessible to observation and experiment. Because these systems of
peripheral end-organs and the related pathways of conduction and
centers of control are, in the human nervous system, obviously interconnected in stable and definitely localized patterns, it was natural
to use this structural framework as the point of departure in the
elaboration of the hypothetical superstructure of current doctrines of reflexology. But reflexes can be conditioned, and this name for a
well-known physiological fact is for the neurologist scarcely more
than a symbol of complete ignorance of the mechanisms actually
employed.
 
 
The several reflexes have been so closely colligated with specific
details of central architecture that the reflex arc came to be regarded
as the primary unit of nervous organization, and it was assumed that
the increasing complexity of the upper levels of the brain in higher
vertebrates has been brought about by progressively more intricate
interconnections among these elementary units. The integrative action of the nervous system was conceived in terms of the definition of
mathematical integration — "the making up or composition of a
whole by adding together or combining the separate parts or elements." This conception leaves unexplained how any additive process of this sort can result in such a unique centrally controlled unitary
organization as we actually observe, capable of conditioning the
reflexes in terms of individual experience (learning), of abstracting
some common features of mixed experience and synthesizing these
into quite original patterns of response, and of maintaining some
measure of "spontaneous" or self-determined directive control.
 
 
A far more serious charge against traditional doctrines of reflexology is the observed fact that in the development of Ambly stoma
the early responses to external stimulation are not local reflexes but
total movements of the entire available musculature. The integrated
total pattern precedes in time the appearance of the partial patterns.
These are individuated within the total pattern; they are integral
parts of it, and for an appreciable time they are subordinate to it.
Even in the adult animal the local partial patterns are not completely
emancipated from control by the body as a whole. It is, indeed, impossible to find in this brain any sharply defined, well-insulated reflex
arcs.
 
 
What happens during the emergence of specific reflexes from the
total reactions is, first, the development of an increasing number of
collateral branches of the primary axons and the central linkage of
sensory and motor pathways in ever more complicated patterns.
Then, second, in the adjusting centers additional neurons are differentiated, the axons of which take longer or shorter courses, branching freely and participating in the formation of a nervous feltwork of
extraordinary complexity. These neurons are not concerned primarily with specific reflexes but with the co-ordination and Integration of all movements. Some parts of this intricate fabric, generally
witli thicker fibers, more or less well fasciculated, activate mass
movements of primitive type, and other parts control local reflexes
as these are individuated. But these systems of fibers are not segregated in comjjletely insulated reflex arcs. They are interconnected by
collateral branches with one another and with the interstitial neuropil. There are lines of preferential discharge, but whether any one
of them is actually fired depends on numberless factors of peripheral
stimulation and central excitatory state.
 
 
The phylogenetic history is parallel. The further down we go toward the primitive ancestral vertebrates, the less clear evidence do
we find of definitely localized reflex arcs, and the overt behavior
tends more toward mass movements of total-pattern type.
 
 
It must be borne in mind that the development of the individual
does not exactly recapitulate the phylogenetic development (Hooker,
'44, pp. 15, 33). The pattern of the sequence of structural changes'
which take place during prefunctional stages of growth is determined
by the organization of the germ plasm and the interaction of the
genetic factors with one another. This organization, in turn, has been
determined during preceding evolutionary history in adaptation to
the environment and habitus of the species in question. In broad
lines the history of ancestral development is repeated in the growth
of the embryo, but cenogenetic modifications of it may appear in
adaptation to changing conditions, as illustrated, for instance, by the
appearance of some local reflexes earlier in mammals than in amphibians.
 
 
The structural organization of the brain sets off in sharp relief a
few important general physiological principles. First, it is to be noted
that the "resting" nervous system is not inert. The body acts before
it reacts. There is always some spontaneous — that is, centrally excited — activity, and the importance of this factor increases as we
ascend the phylogenetic scale. There is always intrinsic activity, as
demonstrated, for instance, by the Berger rhythms, and it is always
acted upon by numberless extrinsic agencies. When an excitation is
received from the periphery, there results a change in the central
excitatory state both locally and diffusely, which involves both activation and inhibition.
 
 
Another general principle may be mentioned here. The flow of
nervous impulses from receptor to effector is not one-way traffic.
 
 
The excitation of a peripheral sense organ may be followed by an
efferent discharge back to the receptor. An instructive illustration of
this is seen in the auditory apparatus of mammals. Excitation of the
cochlea is followed by an efferent return to the tensor tympani and
stapedius muscles and also to the cochlea itself (the latter pathway
recently demonstrated by Rasmussen, '46). Almost all contracting
muscles report back to the center by a system of proprioceptive
fibers. The central nervous system is full of similar reciprocating systems. Many of the fasciculated tracts of Ambly stoma are two-way
conductors, transmitting in both directions, and there are numberless illustrations of a circular type of connection, efferent fibers of one
center activating another, which has a return path, perhaps by a
devious route, back to the first center. A neuropil may be interpolated in any of these types of circuit. The thalamo-cortical connections of the human brain are of this sort, exhibiting what Campion
and Elliot Smith ('34) have aptly named a "thalamo-cortical circulation," a circulation not of blood but of nervous transmission. All
parts of the cerebral hemispheres are in similar reciprocal interconnection, as has recently been emphasized and illustrated by Papez
('44).
 
 
Here reference may be made to Dewey's ('96) stimulating analysis
of the reflex-arc concept or, as he prefers to say, the "organic circuit"
concept. This he elaborated in terms of psychology, and nearly
twenty years later I made this comment about it ('13«) :
 
"Let us see how it may be applied to biological behavior. The simple reflex is
commonly regarded as a causal sequence: given the gun (a physiologically adaptive
structure), load the gun (the constructive metabolic process), aim, pull the trigger
(application of the stimulus), discharge the projectile (physiological response), hit
the mark (satisfaction of the organic need). All of the factors may be related as
members of a simple mechanical causal sequence except the aim. For this in our
illustration a glance backward is necessary. An adaptive simple reflex is adaptive
because of a pre-established series of functional sequences which have been biologically determined by natural selection or some other evolutionary process. This gives
the reaction a definite aim or objective purpose. In short, the aim, like the gun, is
provided by biological evolution and the whole process is implicit in the structurefunction organization which is characteristic of the species and whose nature and
 
origin we need not here further inquire into The aim (biological purpose) is
 
so inwrought into the course of the process that it cannot be dissociated. Each step
is an integral part of a unitary adaptive process to serve a definite biological end, and
the animal's motor acts are not satisfying to him unless they follow this predetermined sequence, though he himself may have no clear idea of the aim. These reactions are typically organic circuits Always the process is not a simple sequence of distinct elements, but rather a series of reactions, each of which is shaped
by the interactions of external stimuli and a preformed or innate structure which has been adapted by biological factors to modify the response to the stimuli in
accordance with a purpose, which from the standpoint of an outside observer is
teleological, i.e., adapted to conserve the welfare of the species."
 
This apparent teleology is commented upon in chapter viii. Since
the passage just quoted was written, control of gunfire by radar has
been perfected, thus reinforcing our analogy at one weak spot. In
the reflex the "aim" does not precede the stimulus that pulls the
trigger; it is automatically adjusted to the stimulus as in radar. But
this automatism in both cases is dependent upon the presence of a
preformed structure adapted to provide it.
 
 
Our analysis of the adult structure of the brain of Amblystoma
confirms and supplements the conclusions reached by Coghill from
his study of the development of the same species. His major contribution, as I see it, was the demonstration of the primacy of the
integrative factors in the development of behavior patterns and of
some of the features of structural growth during the individuation of
local partial patterns within the larger total pattern. The adult
structure of the brain of Amblystoma is in perfect conformity with
the conclusions to which he was led. One of these conclusions should
receive special emphasis here, for it clarifies our conception of what
the reflex is in general, and in particular it helps us over some hard
places in our attempt to discover the actual mechanisms involved in
the individuation of local reflex patterns within the frame of the
total pattern.
 
 
In the central resolution of forces which eventuates in some particular pattern of overt movement there is always an inhibitory factor (Coghill, '36, '43). In discussing the individuation of partial patterns (local reflexes) from the total pattern, he wrote ('40, p. 45):
 
"Individuation is obviously the result of organized inhibition
 
The major division of the total pattern must be under inhibition
when a part acquires independence of action, and the same part can
be inhibited while the major segment of the total pattern acts. So
that the whole individual probably acts in every response, either in
an excitatory or inhibitor}^ way," This he generalized in the following
statement ('30, p. 639):
 
"For an appreciable period before a particular receptor field acquires specificity
in relation to an appropriate local reflex its stimulation inhibits the total reaction.
Inhibition, accordingly, through stimulation of the exteroceptive field, begins as a
total pattern. It is then in a field of total inhibition that the local reflex emerges.
The reflex may, therefore, be regarded as a total behavior pattern which consists of two components, one overt or excitatory, the other covert or inhibitory. The essential anatomical basis for this is (1) in the mechanism of the total pattern of action,
or primary motor system, and (2) in the mechanism of the local reflex, or secondary
motor system; the mechanism of the total pattern being inhibited and that of the
reflex excited. But since inhibition is not a static condition but a mode of action,
the mechanism of the total pattern must be regarded as participating in every local
reflex."
 
This conception of the reflex as involving a factor of inhibition of
the total pattern Hnked with excitation of the partial pattern is
fruitful. Total inhibition plays a more obvious role in the overt behavior of amphibians than in most other animals, not only in embryogenesis of behavior but also in the adult. This was emphasized
by Whitman ('99) in his classic description of the behavior of Necturus. In my manuscript notes of a conference with Dr. Coghill on
January 1, 1929, I find a record of his remarks which is here transcribed.
 
 
"The first neurons to differentiate in Amljlystoma are in the floor-plate. These
and others adjacent form the primary motor column, the dominant function of
which is activation of muscles of the same side for mass movement of the trunk and
limbs and inhibition of the musculature of the opposite side which is in the same
phase of locomotor movement. In later stages, when mechanisms of specific local
reflexes emerge, residual neurons in the region of the floorplate maintain their functional importance for mass movements as activators of the whole somatic motor
apparatus. They may prime this neuromotor system, putting it into a subliminal
excitatory state in advance of its patterned activation.
 
 
"At an age which immediately precedes the first feeding reactions and before it is
possible to open the mouth and swallow, the larva will react to a moving object in
front of the eyes by a total reaction, a leap forward. It cannot seize the object. The
general activator mechanism here comes to overt expression before the specific local
reflex patterns are mature enough to function. After feeding activities have matured
there is a similar general activation, accompanied by inhibition, as illustrated by the
'regarding' reaction [p. 38]. A larva which had been feeding for several days was
stimulated by moving a hair slowly across the field of vision. The animal responded
by moving the head slowly following the hair. The head is bent to the side, with
rotation of the eyes, movement of the fore limbs, and adduction of both hind limbs.
When the hair was not too far distant, the animal finally, at the end of this 'regarding' reaction, jumped after it. Here there is a clear distinction between what Sherrington calls the anticipatory phase and the consummatory phase of the reaction,
and evidently in the anticipatory phase inhibition plays the major role. This is
obvious also in almost all adult behavior of these animals."
 
The mechanism of central inhibition is still obscure. There is some
evidence that a nervous impulse impinging upon a central neuron
may, on occasion, activate the element, or under other conditions of
central excitatory state, strength, or timing of the afferent flow it
may inhibit activity ui process. Whether or not this is true, it is well
known that a central neuron may exhibit a large variety of types of synaptic junctions, differing in histological structure, electrical properties, and perhaps also in chemical reactivity. These afferent fibers
may come from widely separated regions with diverse functions, and
the impulses delivered may differ in intensity and temporal rhythm.
Bodian's description ('37, '4'2) of axon endings on Mauthner's cell
of the medulla oblongata shows four main types of synaptic contact
which vary from 0.5 to 7/i in extent, with a wide variety of arrangements. There are between four and five hundred of these endings on a
single cell, and the presumption is legitimate that these diverse
structures are correlated with significant differences in electrical and
chemical properties, including the timing of the pulses of transmission. It has been suggested that some of the influences transmitted
across the synaptic junctions are excitatory and that others are inhibitory. Synaptic junctions on dendrites are in some cases structurally different from those on the axon hillock or axon, and they
may be activated from different sources. Some observers believe that
excitation of dendrites is excitatory and of axons is inhibitory, a
supposition supported with physiological evidence by Gesell and
Hansen ('45, p. 156). In their theory of the electronic mechanism of
activation and inhibition, these functions are viewed as basically
similar, activation being associated with an increasing, and inhibition
with a decreasing, intensity of the electronic current. The connections of horizontal cells of the retina as described by Polyak ('41, p.
385) suggest to him a different inhibitory apparatus. The horizontal
cells may exert an inhibitory influence upon the synapses between
the rods and cones and the bipolar cells, that is, the synapses of the
horizontal cells may function as "countersynapses" to the photoreceptor-bipolar synapses.
 
 
Whatever may be the mechanism employed in central inhibition,
it is clear that in some parts of the brain excitatory functions predominate, in other parts inhibitory functions. Noteworthy examples
of the latter are (1) the head of the caudate nucleus (Fulton, '43, p.
456) ; (2) a region in the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata
explored by Magoun ('44) ; and (3) certain specific zones of the cerebral cortex (areas 4^, ^s, 19s, and some others) which are known as
"suppressor bands." In all these cases, excitatory and inhibitory
fields are intimately related physiologically in such a way as to secure
appropriate balance of activation and inhibition of the members of
synergic systems of muscles in proper sequence.
 
 
The role of general inhibition in the patterning of behavior has been under investigation for several years by Beritoff and his colleagues. The first half of the fifth volume of the Transactions of his
institute is devoted to studies on the nature of general inhibition and
its role in the co-ordination of cortical activity and reflex reactions
of the spinal cord. Beritoff believes that the neuropil possesses an inhibitory function — slow changes in voltage, expressing the active
state of the neuropil, show an anelectrotonic effect on the cellular
bodies, lowering excitability in them and weakening the excitation.
The evidence is drawn from both somatic and visceral stimulation.
He writes ('43, p. 142) : "Thus, during each reflex reaction in the
visceral organs, taking place in response to a stimulation of the interoceptors and of visceral afferent fibers, just exactly as during
somatic reflexes, the spinal cord acts as a whole, making the given
reflex local and every spinal reflex reaction entire by means of general
inhibition." This is essentially the same as Coghill's position as stated
in the preceding quotations. In other articles in the same volume the
role of the neuropil in a great variety of spontaneous and stimulated
activities of the brain is emphasized by Beritoff.
 
 
The neuropil as a whole is not, in my view, a specific inhibitor. It
may partipciate on occasion in either excitation or inhibition, and in
the inhibitory phase it acts as part of the covert component of the
reflex or of mass action, as the case may be, in Coghill's analysis as
quoted above. In my discussion of the habenular system (chap, xviii)
and the interpeduncular nucleus (chap, xiv) I have ventured to suggest a possible mechanism through which general inhibition effected
in the interpeduncular neuropil may operate in the facilitation of
both mass movement and local reflexes. On this hypothesis this local
band of neuropil must be able to act as a specific inhibitor in Beritoff's sense.
 
 
The amphibian neuropil in its various forms . is structurally
adapted for a considerable variety of functions of different grades
of specialization. There is generally a diffuse spread of terminals, so
that a single incoming fiber may activate many neurons of the second
order. If the receptive tissue is homogeneous, this provides for simple
central summation. If the receptive tissue is heterogeneous, as in
most sensoiy fields, this arrangement facilitates mass movement of
the musculature or total patterns of action. If many fibers converge
upon a single neuron, the threshold of central excitation is lowered,
as in the mitral cells of the olfactory bulb and in the *'motor pool," as this concept has been developed by Sherrington. If the activated
motor pool is large, with wide distribution of the efferent fibers, complicated integrated mass movement may result. If the pool is small,
with a single final common path, a local reflex may follow. If the outlet comprises a number of open channels with different connections
and physiological properties, there is provision for discriminative
response, the selection being made (presumably) in terms of the
central excitatory state of the components of the system ('42, p. 295).
 
 
It has been objected that the preceding comments on the limitations of current doctrines of reflexology are based upon the amphibian organization, which is aberrant and degenerate and therefore not
typical or significant in the interpretation of the behavior of higher
animals. But, even so, the Amphibia live well-ordered lives, and their
behavior conforms in basic patterns with that of other vertebrates.
We want to know how they behave as they do. Accepting the current view that Amblystoma is a retrograde descendant of some more
highly specialized ancestor now extinct and that some of its characters are aberrant, yet the evidence seems to me adequate that such
retrogression as may have occurred has been toward a generalized
form ancestral to modern amphibians and mammals.
 
 
Conclusion. — I have assembled in these pages some factual description of observed structure, together with speculative interpretations of its probable physiological significance. The organic structure here under consideration is not something vague and ill-defined.
Its anatomical distribution, histological organization, and fibrous
connections can be described with precision. Not until this has been
done can our imperfect knowledge of its functions be advanced by
experiments designed to reveal its physiological properties.
 
 
In a discussion of "localized functions and integrating functions"
more than a decade ago ('34a), the significance of neuropil in the
evolution of cerebral structure was summarized in these words :
 
"The neuropil is the mother tissue from which liave been derived both the specialized centers and tracts which execute the refined movements of the local reflexes and the more general web which binds these local activities together and
integrates the behavior. It retains something of embryonic plasticity and so is available as a source of raw material for two very dift'erent lines of specialization — first,
toward the structural heterogeneity requisite for the execution of localized reflex
and associational functions, and, second, toward the more generalized and dispersed apparatus of total or organismic functions of tonicity, summation, reinforcement, facilitation, inhibition, 'spontaneity,' constitutional disposition and temperament, and extra-reflex activities in general."
 
 
 
PRINCIPLES OF LOCALIZATION OF FUNCTION
 
The gi-eat advances that have been made in the diagnosis and
treatment of nervous diseases have been due in large measure to the
more accurate mapping of the structural features of the nervous system and recognition of the specific functions of its several parts.
Before a disorder can be successfully treated we must know what it
is and where it is. The most notable triumphs in this medical field
have been registered with those diseases whose situs can be recognized and then subjected to appropriate therapy or surgery. Even a
systemic disorder like anemia has localization in blood corpuscles
and blood-forming organs; and a general infection, like poliomyelitis,
spreads in preferential paths determined by the histochemical structure of the tissue. The stable heritable tissues of the nervous system
are most accessible to this kind of inquiry, of diagnosis, and of treatment; conquest of the unlocalized disorders has been retarded.
 
 
Some kinds of disorder, particularly those of primary concern to
psychiatrists, have resisted all attempts at localization in accordance
with conventional principles, and in the field of physiology the concept of local reflex arcs has limited application. The various attempts
to elaborate a comprehensive account of animal and human behavior
in terms of conventional reflexology have broken down. These conspicuous failures have led some competent authorities to question
the over-all significance of localization in space of nervous functions
and to search for other principles in the realm of pure dynamics or
chemical interaction or some as yet unknown factors which operate
quite independently of stable structural patterns. But no nervous
tissue is structurally homogeneous or physiologically equipotential.
In this connection it is interesting to note that Lashley, the leading
advocate of the equipotentiality of the nervous tissues, has given us
clear demonstration of point-to-point projection of retinal loci upon
the lateral geniculate body and the cerebral cortex of the rat (Lashley,
'34, '34a). This is the most refined anatomical localization of function known. In a later communication ('41) he demonstrated a very
precise projection of the thalamic nuclei upon the cerebral cortex and
added: "A functional interpretation of the spatial arrangement of
the thalamo-cortical connections is not justified on anatomic grounds
alone for any sensory system."
 
Somewhere between the extreme views of rigid localization in spatial patterns and a labile physiological equipotentiality a practicable
working conception of the meaning of the structural configuration will be found. Clearly, the nervous system does not operate, even in
the case of the simplest known reflex, on the mechanical principles
of an automatic telephone exchange. We get only confusion by oversimplification of the problem. On the other hand, there are no disembodied functions, and the apparatus that performs functions has
locus in space and time. Our problem is, first, to observe what is done
and then to find out wliere and when it is done and how.
 
 
The observed spatial arrangements are not meaningless, and their
functional interpretation is possible and fruitful, as evidenced by
their practical utility in medical diagnosis and treatment. These
structural patterns are stable and heritable. Their phylogenetic development can be traced, and in broad outline this has been done.
But as these patterns are followed backward in the evolutionary
series they become, not more simple and sharply defined, but less so,
until in the most primitive and generalized vertebrates they tend to
disappear in a more nearly homogeneous matrix. This would seem to
support the view that localization of function is a secondary acquisition, derived from a primitive equipotentiality. With certain important qualifications, this is probably true; and if we follow in phylogeny the differentiation of local centers and their connecting tracts
in correlation with types of function performed, the significance of
localization appears. The problems of cerebral localization have
usually been attacked in mammals and especially in man, where
clinical applications are vitally important. Let us approach the subject from the other end of the phyletic series and look for the inception of localization patterns in primitive animals.
 
 
In the simplest known organisms localization of function is minimal and transient. In ameba any part of the cytoplasm may on occasion perform any function of which the organism is capable. There
is a local differentiation of nucleus from cytoplasm, but in some bacteria even this localization disappears. A surface-interior pattern is
always present, but the physical substance may shift from one to the
other of these zones. In primitive multicellular species, ectoderm and
entoderm were early differentiated — a specialization which persists
throughout the animal kingdom as manifested in the basic distinction between somatic and visceral organs, a structural differentiation
that has physiological meaning. Further specialization advanced
more rapidly in somatic organs than in visceral, and in the former
more rapidly on the sensory side than on the motor side. This again has physiological significance because the acute problems of subsistence involve adjustments to surroundings. The primitive motor responses are mass movements, but the surface of the body is exposed
to a manifold of diverse stimuli which must be analyzed, and, accordingly, diverse organs of sense were locally differentiated. The course
of this differentiation followed this rule: from the generalized and
equipotential to the special and local. Thus in some primitive eyeless forms the entire skin is sensitive to light, in others only the most
commonly exposed surfaces of it; and in the leech, Clepsine, Whitman ('92) found that a single animal exhibited all transitions from a
series of segmentally arranged sense organs of generalized function in
the posterior part of the body to well-formed eyes at the anterior end.
 
 
As I have elsewhere pointed out ('29), in the most simply organized vertebrates, the hagfishes, as described by Jansen ('30) and
Conel ('29, '31), the brain is organized around two dominant sensory
systems — olfactory and cutaneous — and the other special senses are
in various stages of arrest or degeneration in correlation with a semiparasitic habit. Without eyes, jaws, or limbs, the visible behavior is
reduced to a simple system of mass movements. Within the brain
there is little local differentiation except for the primary sensory and
motor fields directly connected with the peripheral end-organs, and
yet this brain is the adjusting mechanism of a very rigid system of
simple movements.
 
 
Larval Amblystoma is similar, though here the specialization of
tissue is further advanced, and there is progressive advancement in
representatives of later phylogenetic stages. The principle of progressive transformation from the general and dispersed to the specific and
local applies throughout phylogenetic development; it is a general
principle of embryogenesis (Weiss, '39, p. 288) ; it is clearly exemplified in human development, as has been demonstrated on the physiologic side by Hooker ('44) and on the structural side by Humphrey
('44, p. 39); and it appears in the course of conditioning reflexes
(CoghiU, '30).
 
 
In the phylogenetic history of vertebrates the basic pattern of
sensory equipment was apparently laid down very early, with no
radical changes except at the transition from aquatic to terrestrial
life. And at this period of transition from fish to tetrapod the neuromotor apparatus experienced even more radical transformation, with
elaboration of local reflexes which supplement and largely replace the
more primitive mass movements.
 
 
In amphibian development this history is recapitulated in the long
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS 85
 
period which cidminates at metamorphosis; and during this period
the texture of the brain undergoes two divergent Hues of differentiation of tissue in correlation with the expansion of two types of activity, the analytic and the synthetic, as described in the pi-eceding
section. The structural arrangement of the analytic apparatus is, in
its main features, predetermined in the hereditary organization; it is
stable and approximately the same in all members of the species. The
intervening synthetic and integrating apparatus, on the other hand,
is less rigid and is more labile in function. The pattern of its performance will vary from moment to moment in adjustment to every
change in sensory and motor activity and every fluctuation of central excitatory state. But in even the most primitive vertebrates
some cross-connections between sensory and motor zones, which are
interrupted in the intermediate zone of correlation, are laid down in
the stable, heritable structure. These serve the standardized ("instinctive") patterns of behavior, and the arrangement of these connections is determined more by the motor equipment of the animal
than by the sensory equipment (Crosby and Woodburne, '38; Woodburne, '39).
 
 
From these considerations it follows that the concept of localization of function must not be formulated in static terms. It is localization of action, and the spatial pattern of this localization reflects
every change in the character of the action. The structural pattern
of this localization is more stable at the afferent and efferent endpoints of the system, and it becomes less so as we pass inward from
these fixed points. The apparatus of standardized behavior like reflex is more rigidly localized than is that of more labile individually
modifiable behavior.
 
 
Two types of structure which have just been contrasted may be
characterized as unspecialized or generalized, and locally differentiated in specific stable and heritable patterns. The second was probably derived phylogenetically from the first, and in higher animals
both of them exhibit progressive differentiation of structure in divergent directions. Some examples of these two types of cerebral architecture will next be cited, beginning with the second, which has been
investigated in more detail.
 
 
SPECIFIC LOCALIZED STRUCTURE
 
An early stage in the evolution of localized conductors of specific
sensory systems is illustrated by the connections of the lemniscus
systems described in chapter xi. These tracts of Ambly stoma are not well separated, and in the aggregate they comprise a rather dispersed
collection of ascending fibers loosely assembled in several tracts,
which are distinguished more by their general fields of origin and
termination than by the functions which they serve. It is to be borne
in mind that this low level of functional specificity of the secondary
tracts is not correlated with a corresponding generalized structure
and function of sense organs and related peripheral nerves. These
organs, though different from those of higher animals, are highly
specialized and as sharply localized. The correlation, on the contrary,
is with the generalized character of the motor responses evoked. In
higher animals with a wider range of motor capacities the functional
specificity of the lemniscus tracts becomes more precise.
 
 
During the process of differentiation of these more specific tracts
they retain collateral connections along the entire course, so that
they continue to perform integrative functions similar to those of the
less specialized ancestral pattern. In this connection we quote a passage from Dr. Papez ('36) :
 
"In tracing the central connections of any one of the main afferent systems in the
vertebrates one gains the impression that there is a progressive pliyletic tendency of
each system to enter into connections with all the important segments of the central
organ. In this way there arises a totally integrated anatomical pattern common to
all the receptorial systems in spite of the wide diversity of the receptors, their individual pathways and their interpolated centers. This central integration is not
essentially of a reflex nature and cannot be appropriately described as a chain of
reflex connections insomuch as each level has a highly individual structural organization designed primarily for the production of distinctive organic functions."
 
Papez appropriately emphasizes the integrating action of these
long conductors; it seems to me, however, that his conception of "a
progressive phyletic tendency of each system to enter into connections
with all the important segments" in the interest of integration is a
reversal of the actual course of phyletic history. These collateral connections are more numerous and more dispersed in lower forms than
in higher. The integration is primary, and the analysis is secondary.
It is true that the primary integration is not subordinated in the
course of phylogeny; it is accentuated; but the apparatus employed
is radically changed. Dispersed nonspecific connections are progressively replaced by localized specific structures, which are so interrelated as to work together harmoniously in the performance of
standardized patterns of behavior. And, in addition to this, higher
centers are elaborated, notably in the cortex, which progressively acquire dominant control of the total action system.
 
 
The phylogenetic history of the differentiation of the visual-motor
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS 87
 
system also illustrates the principle just stated. In most vertebrates
the eyes are the dominant organs concerned with the orientation of
the body and its members in space. The visual apparatus within the
brain, accordingly, exhibits the most precise localization of function,
and the refinement of this localization increases progressively in the
phyletic series.
 
 
In Amblystoma the fibers of the optic tracts are widely spread in
the brain stem, in marked contrast with those of other sensory systems, which tend to converge into a single receptive field. There is
no evidence that this dispersal of fibers of retinal origin to the tectum, pretectal nucleus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebral peduncle is correlated with any specificity of visual function. The explanation of this central spread of retinal fibers is to be sought on the
motor side of the arc, that is, it is determined primarily by the nature
of the response to be evoked.
 
 
In the Amphibia all these visual areas are centers of correlation,
for in all of them optic terminals are mingled with those of other systems. Within this class, however, as we pass from generalized urodeles to specialized anurans, there is a conspicuous trend toward
segregation of some terminals of the optic nerve in the tectum and
lateral geniculate body of the thalamus. This trend culminates in
mammals and is correlated with the differentiation of the visual area
of the cerebral cortex, until in primates, as pointed out by Clark
('43), the retinal-geniculate-cortical pathway provides a very precise point-to-point projection of the visual field upon the cerebral
cortex, and "there is no possibility that these impulses can be disturbed and modified 'en route' by other, unrelated, types of nervous
 
impulse In other words, the cerebral cortex receives retinal
 
impulses in a remarkably pure and unadulterated form."
 
The highly specialized optic tecta of some lower vertebrates exhibit two types of specific localized structure, which differ in form
and physiological significance. There is, first, an arrangement of
sensory terminals spread superficially in mosaic pattern. This provides for point-to-point projection of retinal loci upon the tectum and
perhaps for other forms of sensory localization. In the second place,
there is a pattern of lamination at different depths from the surface.
These laminae differ somewhat in their sensory connections, and the
sensory influence is stronger in the moi-e superficial members of the
series. The arrangement of the deeper layers seems to be determined
primarily by the directions taken by their efferent fibers. The mosaic
pattern is primarily in terms of sensory analysis, the lamination pattern in terms of sensory correlation superficially and of motor
analysis in the deeper layers. The cerebral cortex of mammals also
exhibits both mosaic and laminated patterns of localization and in
far more complex designs (Huber and Crosby, '33, '34).
 
 
Specific structure of this analytic type, with well-defined localization in both gray and white substance, increases in amount as we
pass from lower to higher animals in the phyletic series; and this
increment progresses from the sensory and motor periphery inward
toward the upper cerebral levels, where the apparatus of integration
and synthesis is most elaborately developed. In submammalian
brains the amount of myelin present at successive levels of the brain
stem is a rough indicator of the relative mass of tissue of this analytic type.
 
 
GENERALIZED STRUCTURE
 
This type of tissue, as pointed out above, predominates in the most
primitive vertebrate brains. With advancing differentiation, we observe specialization of this tissue in three directions. (1) Some of it
retains its primitive generalized structure with little change. In urodeles this is true of a large proportion of it; in mammals it survives
in the periventricular system of cells and fibers of the diencephalon
and mesencephalon and in some other regions. (2) A progressively
larger proportion of this tissue is transformed into specifically localized structures, as just described. (3) Another large proportion of it
is transformed into the relatively unspecialized tissues of the intermediate zone of correlation and its highly elaborated derivatives in
the suprasegmental apparatus of the cerebellar and cerebral cortex.
 
 
Doubtless all parts of the body participate in the total integration
and the determination of general attitudes and types of response,
but the brain exercises dominant control over overt behavior and
orders it in the interest of the welfare of the body as a whole. The apparatus of these totalizing functions evidently includes many diverse
components, of which one of the most obvious is the neuropil, which
in primitive vertebrates pervades the entire brain, so that activity in
any part of it may affect the whole fabric, as elsewhere described.
This dispersed tissue 's not homogeneous, and it is not equipotential.
It is doubtless always active and in diverse ways in different places
at different times. Such localization of function as it exhibits can best
be conceived in dynamic terms, that is, in terms of what intercurrent nervous volleys act upon it in momentarily changing places,
rhythms, and intensities. We are dealing here with an equilibrated
dynamic system comprising many activated fields in interaction, and
 
 
 
PHWSIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS 89
 
this interplay is in patterns quite different from those of the stable,
locally differentiated centers and tracts. It is more labile, and the
patterns of performance are not stereotyped. Nevertheless, these
fields are not structurally identical, and each one has distinctive
physiological properties correlated with these histological differences.
 
 
Each field of neuropil differs from others in internal texture, in the
source of afferent fibers, and in the distribution of efferents. A local
field may be sharply segregated, as in the ventrolateral neuropil of
the peduncle and the ventral interpeduncular neuropil, or it may
interpenetrate tissue of the specific localized systems, as in the corpus
striatum and optic tectum. The pattern of this localization is different structurally and physiologically from that of the specific systems
of cells and fibers, and the two patterns of localization may both be
present in the same block of tissue in primitive brains. In higher
vertebrates these local differences are accentuated, the segregation
of the synthetic apparatus is carried further, and its tissue is locally
differentiated in a radically different way from that of the analytic
apparatus, as is best exhibited in the associational tissue of the human cerebral cortex.
 
 
The "field" concept has been much exploited of late in several contexts, and it is fruitful, as applied, for instance, by Weiss ('39, p. 289)
in general embryology and by Agar ('43, chap, ii) in general biology.
As applied psychologically in Gestalt it has been difficult for the
structurally minded neurologist to transfer the dynamic formulations into the biological frame of reference; but there is a structural
"ground" within which every "configuration" of experience is set,
and the primitive neuropil, together with its specialized derivatives,
is one important component of the organic substrate of the "gestalt
qualities." The "field" as here conceived is an organized living structure in action, some components of which we recognize as stable
architecture and some as fluctuations in the excitatory state of the
structural fabric. This structure has visible organization, and its
properties are open to investigation anatomically and physiologically
('34a; '42, p. 293).
 
 
TWO CONCEPTS OF LOCALIZATION
 
The two kinds of structure which have just been considered perform functions which are localized according to different principles,
a distinction which has been generally ignored. The specialized analytic structures have stable arrangement in space, and their functions
have corresponding localization in three-dimensional mosaic patterns. The functions of the generalized structures are, in the main,
 
 
 
90 'IIIE IJHAIN OF THE TKiEK SALAMANDER
 
syntlu'tic rtillicr than Jiiuilylic, and they arc usually descrihod in
dynamic terms in which a fourth dimension a time factor — plays
an important pail. Yet this ef|nilil)rated dynann'c system is not disembodied, and its component parts have locus in space and time.
These loci, or fields, may have some degree of permanence with characteristic structural organization, as in the so-called "association
centers" of the cortex, or they may fluctuate as ever changing patterns of linkage of the o})erating neui-ons. As Papez ('44) expresses
it: "The anatomical structures are stable, the function is labile, depending on numbers of cells and their excitable or refractory states
at any particular time." Many of these synthesizing patterns are
repetitive, as in habit and memory. Though the actual structures
involved may not be identical in successive repetitions, the i)attern
of performance is similar, that is, it recurs in conformity with an
enduring "schema" (to employ Henry Head's term), or the engram
of conventional teiininology. Doubtless the engram has a structural
(or chemical .f*) counterpart, but we do not know what it is.
 
 
The stable localization of the structural fields is contrasted with
the evanescent localization of the i)attern of their combination at
each repetition of the schema. It is possible to find out where the
tissue is that yields these dynamic schemata and to delimit it; but
these limits cannot be circumscribed on the surface of the brain in
simple mosaic patterns. "^I'he manifestation of any schema at a particular time is always a function of a configuration of nervous elements, which has location in space. But a very similar schema may at
another time be exhibited by a different structural configuration,
whose locus in space is by no means identical with the first ('30a).
 
 
It has recently been shown by Lashley and Clark ('46) that cortical structure is variable to a degree not hitherto appreciated in
different individuals of the same species of monkey, and it is probable that the range of this variability will be found to be still greater
in any human population. They conclude that "marked local variations in cell size and density among individuals of the same species
may constitute a basis for individual difi'erence in behavior"; but
they challenge the validity of the criteria in current use for parcellation of the cortex into functionally specific areas, except for rather
large areas of projection. This is supported by the experiments of
Murphy and Gellhorn ('45) and the observations of Bailey and von
Bonin ('4(5).
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VII
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF
CEREBRAL CORTEX
 
THE PROBLEM
 
THE human brain is the most complicated piece of mechanism
that we know, and the products deHvered by this thinking
machine are, for us, the most interesting. Detailed descriptions of it
and some of its operations have been written, but where and how it
fabricates its unique wares is still the basic problem of science and
philosophy. Thinking is a part of our living, and apparently we think
all over, just as we live in all parts of our bodies. Yet it is evident
that some parts of us play crucial roles in our mental life, just as other
parts do in our movements, our digestion, and so on. That the
cerebral cortex as a whole is a specific organ of much of our mental
life is as well established empirically as anything in biology, but how
thinking is done and where the critical processes are carried on are
still mysterious.
 
 
Study of origins and early stages of embryologic and phyletic development has resolved many biological and psychological problems,
but essential features of the inception of cerebral cortex remain obscure. Interest in this theme instigated my program of research upon
the amphibian nervous system. All reptiles possess well-organized
cortex, that is, superficial laminae of gray substance in the pallial
part of the cerebral hemisphere, simple in pattern but obviously comparable with, and ancestral to, the human cortical complex. They
also exhibit enormous enlargement of some subcortical parts of the
hemisphere, notably the strio-amygdaloid complex. In birds these
subcortical areas are still further enlarged and complicated, with
reduction in the amount and specialization of the cortical tissue. In
mammals the subcortical parts of the hemisphere are relatively
smaller, some of their functions apparently having been taken over
by the progressively expanding cortex ('21, p. 452; '26, p. 122).
Correlation of these structural peculiarities with the characteristic
modes of life of these several classes of animals gives some clues to
the significance of the cortex in the vital economy.
 
As already pointed out, structural differentiation of cortex is incipient in the hippocampal sector of the pallium in all Amphibia;
more clearly defined primordia of cortex are seen in adult lungfishes
and in embryonic stages of some other fishes (Rudebeck, '45) ; but
well-differentiated cortex of typical structure first appears in reptiles.
The problem set is : What morphogenic agencies were operative during the emergence of cortex from a noncorticated matrix?
 
Early in the attack upon this problem it became evident that the
key factors were to be sought, not in the pallial field, but in its
environs. What comes into this field and what goes out of it at successive stages of morphogenesis and how are these factors related
one to another in both subpallial and pallial territory.^ This requires
in the upshot a histological analysis of the entire nervous system
directed toward the physiological interpretation of all visible structure. In my Brains of Rats and Men ('26) the available evidence
regarding the origin of cerebral cortex was surveyed. Since that time
additional evidence has been recorded, and in the present work the
results of a renewed examination are summarized. The problems
centering in corticogenesis have not been solved, but some progress
has been made. The conclusions reached can, at best, be only tentative, pending physiological control; and for such experiments exact
information about the anatomical arrangements of parts is indispensable.
 
 
MORPHOGENESIS OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
 
There is reason to believe that in the early ancestors of vertebrates
the central nervous system was a simple tubular structure comparable with that of living Amphioxus. Accompanying enlargement
of the dominant sense organs — nose and eye — the anterior part of
this tube was expanded in four places, which became cerebral hemispheres, hypothalamus, epithalamus, and tectum opticum. In most
lower vertebrates the olfactory system is very large and has played
a dominant role in the earlier stages of the morphogenesis of the
hemispheres. In fishes this differentiation took a wide variety of
forms, some of which were surveyed in two papers ('21, '22a). These
diverse forms and patterns of internal structure were shaped in
adaptation to various modes of life which employed different equipment of sensory and motor organs.
 
 
It has been mentioned that the more sluggish fishes, and especially
mudfishes living in stagnant water, have enormously enlarged and
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 93
 
highly vascular chorioid plexuses, the ventricles are dilated, and the
walls of the brain are thin. This insures a supply of oxygen to the
brain which is adequate for their quiescent existence. The more
active fishes living in well-aerated water lack these features and cannot survive in stagnant water. Their brains have solid masses of
tissue in great variety of forms and are sensitive to asphyxiation.
 
 
The fossil record shows that amphibians were derived from generalized fishes similar to the living lungfishes. These are mudfishes
with enlarged chorioid plexuses and thin-walled widely evaginated
hemispheres. There is geological evidence that in early Devonian
time, when the amphibians emerged from the water, there was general continental desiccation. The lakes and streams were drying up,
and over extensive areas the freshwater fishes were faced with the
alternative of adaptation to drought or extinction. The more highly
specialized species perished, but some generalized and sluggish types
of mudfishes made successful adjustment. Their extensive chorioid
plexuses and widely expanded thin-walled hemispheres had survival
value, for so they were tided over the critical period of oxygen deficiency during phyletic metamorphosis. These characteristics persist
today in all urodeles, most of which have retained the ancestral mode
of life.
 
 
In later evolutionary stages the expanded hemispheric vesicles had
the further advantage that space is available for further differentiation, and especially for spreading out the correlation tissue in thin
sheets, an arrangement which seems to be requisite for refinement of
adjustment to the spatial relations of things and for high development of labile, individually modifiable behavior as contrasted with
stable, heritable behavior of instinctive type. The interested reader
will find further details about the origin and significance of the evaginated form of cerebral hemispheres in the two papers cited ('21,
'22a) and in chapter xvi of my Neurological Foundations ('24c).
 
 
From the beginnings of differentiation of the evaginated hemispheres, their medial and lateral walls have shown striking and interesting differences. The telencephalic connections are variously arranged in the different groups of fishes; but in the Amphibia the
cerebral hemispheres have acquired the definitive form with connections that are not fundamentally changed in the higher groups.
There is no evidence that this arrangement is due to differences in
the quality of the olfactory impulses transmitted from the olfactory
 
 
 
94 THE BRAIN OF THE TIGER Sx\LAMANDER
 
bulb, except for the possibility suggested (p. 54; '21a) that specific
impulses pass from the vomeronasal organ to the accessory bulb and
amygdala. The nervus terminalis is more evidently specific, but of its
functions nothing is known. All other descending olfactory impulses
seem to be physiologically homogeneous. From this it follows that
local differentiations in the hemispheres are due mainly to differences
in the distribution of the various systems of ascending nonolfactory
fibers or to differences in the destination of descending fibers arising
from various parts. Evidently both factors are involved.
 
 
The connections between the hemispheres and the lower levels are
assembled in the basal forebrain bundles and the stria medullaris
thalami. The former are roughly comparable with the subcortical
components of the mammalian extrapyramidal systems plus large
numbers of ascending fibers, and the details of their connections are
given in chapter xx. The analysis of these systems of fibers provides
the key to the interpretation of the hemispheres of Amblystoma; and
similar analysis in reptiles, birds, and mammals is essential for an
understanding of the history of cortical evolution.
 
 
The fibers of the stria medullaris system are efferent or commissural, passing from all parts of the hemisphere to the habenula or
decussating in the habenular commissure and returning to the hemisphere. The arrangement of the components of the stria is shown in
figure 20, and this is essentially similar to that of mammals. The
stria medullaris, in fact, is remarkably similar in all vertebrates; and
these fibers evidently belong to a different category from those of the
basal bundles, which contain ascending and descending fibers in arrangements that vaiy widely from species to species as we pass from
lower to higher vertebrates. These variations seem to be especially
significant for interpretation of morphogenesis. In this section, accordingly, attention will be directed to the latter systems, and the
reader is referred to chapters xiv and xviii for the interesting details
of the habenular connections.
 
 
The basal bundles comprise three groups of fascicles, the descending components of which are shown diagrammatically in figure 6:
(1) dorsally and laterally the lateral forebrain bundles (f.lat.t.) ; (2)
ventrally and medially the medial bundles (f.med.t.) ; (3) the olfactopeduncular tract (tr.ol.ped.), lying between the two preceding and
with connections which are intermediate between them at both ends.
Fibers ascend in these bundles from two sources: (1) from the
somatic sensory field of the dorsal thalamus, by way of the thalamo
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 95
 
frontal tract (figs. 19, 111, tr.ih.f.) in the lateral forehrain bundle,
and (2) from the visceral field of the hypothalamus, by way of the
medial bundle (fig. 113). The first of these bundles connects with the
lateral wall of the hemisphere, the second with the medial wall. In
conformity with this, the descending path from the lateral wall goes
by way of the lateral forebrain bundle to the somatic motor field in
the peduncle, and the path from the medial wall goes by way of the
medial bundle to the visceral field in the hypothalamus (figs. 6, 11,
111, 112, 113). These connections inaugurated the different types of
differentiation seen in lateral and medial walls of the hemisphere, a
difference in type which becomes more pronounced in higher animals. The amygdala is of intermediate type, with somatic and
olfacto-visceral connections of both afferent and efferent fibers
(fig. 19). . _
 
All parts of the hemisphere are under olfactory influence, with
olfacto-visceral correlations effected medially and olfacto-somatic
laterally. The motor responses are radically different, and this difference is probably the basic determining factor in shaping the structural plan, not only of the olfactory connections, but of the organization of the hemisphere as a whole.
 
 
The hypothalamus is disproportionately large in lower vertebrates
as compared with higher, and the olfacto-visceral functions of the
hemisphere are correspondingly magnified. This doubtless accounts
for the fact that differentiation in the pallial field is further advanced
on the medial (hippocampal) side than elsewhere (fig. 99) and also
for the fact that efferent projection fibers from this part of the
pallium (fornix system, p. 254) appear in large numbers very early in
phylogeny.
 
 
Fibers ascend from the dorsal thalamus to the hemisphere in fishes
and in all higher animals. In Amblystoma these thalamo-frontal
fibers arise in the generalized nucleus sensitivus, ascend in the lateral
forebrain bundle, and end in the amygdala and middle part of the
corpus striatum (figs. 19, 111, tr.th.f.). They are comparable with
thalamo-striatal fibers of mammals and are precursors of mammalian sensory projection fibers, though in urodeles none have been
seen to reach the pallial part of the hemisphere. This tract is small,
and there is no evidence that different sensory systems are separately
localized within it; its terminal nucleus, the corpus striatum, is correspondingly small and simply organized. The thalamo-frontal system is larger in reptiles and birds, where the striatal complex is magnified; but only in mammals are the several functional systems well
segregated and separately localized, and here this localization is correlated with the differentiation of the sensory projection areas of the
neopallium and the related nuclei of the dorsal thalamus. The course
of the evolutionary differentiation of the cerebral hemisphere has
been determined, in its main features, by the penetration of these
nonolfactory fibers into its medial and lateral walls and the elaboration of related centers for the reception and correlation of these sensory impulses and appropriate motor discharge.
 
 
The entire ventrolateral wall of the hemisphere of Amblystoma is
an olfacto-striatum. Its anterior end is under strong olfactory influence and is regarded as the primordium of the head of the caudate
nucleus (figs. 98, 99). Posteriorly, the large amygdala (fig. 97) also
receives many olfactory fibers. The middle sector receives fewer
olfactory fibers and is a terminal station of the thalamo-frontal tract.
From it fibers descend to the ventral thalamus and peduncle. It is,
accordingly, regarded as paleostriatum, or somatic striatum, primordium of the mammalian lentiform nucleus.
 
 
The striatal gray of the middle sector is obscurely divided into
dorsal and ventral nuclei, separated by a shallow sulcus striaticus
(fig. 99, s.st.). Small cells of putamen type and larger cells of globus
pallidus type are mingled in both nuclei, so that these structures are
not separated as in mammals; yet their connections, as described in
chapter xx, suggest that the ventral nucleus is the precursor of the
globus pallidus. Both these nuclei receive fibers from the overlying
piriform area, some of which descend into the lateral forebrain bundle
(figs. 6, 111). The ventral nucleus is continuous with and intimately
connected with the primordial caudate ('27, p. 298), and its efferent
fibers go chiefly to the cerebral peduncle. The dorsal nucleus receives
thalamo-frontal fibers and is in intimate relation with the amygdala
and the piriform area. Its descending fibers have wide distribution to
the tectum, thalamus, dorsal part of the peduncle, and dorsal,
isthmic, and bulbar tegmentum as far back as the V nerve roots (fig.
QJ.lat.t.d.). In Necturus (fig. HI; '336, p. 197; '33e) there is a complicated system of associational connections between the striatum
and the piriform area; these are present also in Amblystoma, but the
details have not been described.
 
 
Most of the white substance of the striatal field is occupied by a
very dense and sharply circumscribed intermediate neuropil of peculiar texture (p. 53 and figs. 98, 99, 108, 109, 113; '27, p. 300; '42,
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 97
 
p. 'iO'^Z; Necturiis, '336, p. 149). There is a web of interlaced branches
of ependymal elements and among these a still more densely woven
tangle of dendrites and slender, contorted, unmyelinated axons. The
thicker descending axons of the dorsal and ventral fascicles of the
lateral forebrain bundle are assembled within this neuropil (figs. Ill,
113). I have seen similar texture in Golgi impregnations of the head
of the caudate in the opossum ('24c?, p. 342), a structure adapted for
diffusion and summation of all nervous impulses entering it.
 
 
The urodele type of striatal structure could be transformed into
that of mammals by reduction of the olfactory component; further
differentiation of the caudate nucleus and amygdala; segregation of
the large efferent neurons in the ventral nucleus, which becomes the
globus pallidus; and segregation of the smaller elements in the putamen. In Ambly stoma these changes are only dimly foreshadowed.
The ventral fascicles of the lateral forebrain bundle connect with the
primary motor field of the ventral thalamus and peduncle and are
comparable with those of the ansa lenticularis. The connections of
the dorsal nucleus suggest relations with the reptilian neostriatum
and the mammalian putamen. Here are probably to be found the
earliest indications of those formative agencies which in later phyletic
stages led to the differentiation of neopallium. In the still more primitive hemisphere of Necturus, these indications were recognized and
discussed ('33e).
 
 
The strio-amygdaloid complex as a whole is the highest center of
dominance in the control of the skeletal musculature, a role which is
enormously enlarged in reptiles and birds. In mammals, parallel with
the elaboration of cortex, the part which the striatum plays in the
patterning of behavior is progressively reduced, but it retains important functions of co-ordinating and stabilizing motor performance.
Just as the cerebellum is added to the sensori-motor systems for
facilitation of muscular co-ordination, so in mammals the striatal
complex is interpolated in the efferent cortical systems as an accessory facilitating mechanism. ^
 
In the Amphibia we find a critical stage in the morphogenesis of
the cerebral hemisphere. The definitive major subdivisions are here
blocked out in recognizable form, and the pallial part is incompletely
segregated from the stem part ; yet the most distinctive feature of the
pallium — its superficial cortex — has not yet appeared. We want to
know more about the agencies which are in operation here to initiate
the separation of pallium from stem and what further changes led to the migration of the palHal gray from deep to superficial position and
its subsequent compHcations. A beginning has been made, and I have
at various times reported progress in this analysis and some discussion of its meaning ('24c, chaps, xv, xvi; 'Md, p. 354; '26; '27, p. 315;
'33a; '336; '33e; '34a). Yet much remains to be done before we can
fill in those finer details of structure which the physiologist needs to
know in order to plan crucial experiments. Frogs are probably better
adapted for such experiments than are salamanders, and to this end a
more detailed analysis of the histological structure and connections
of the forebrain of the frog is urgently needed. Sufl5cient knowledge
of this structure is now available to enable the physiologist to explore
the instrumentation of some components of the behavior pattern, as
illustrated by a recent study by Aronson and Noble ('45).
 
 
THE CORTEX
 
More than thirty years ago I published some reflections under the
title given to this chapter ('13a). Though parts of that paper require
revision in the light of subsequent research, yet it sketches the background of the present discussion. Attention was called to Dewey's
('93) concept of the organic circuit as a substitute for the classical
formulation of the reflex arc, as mentioned in the preceding chapter.
Some illustrations of these organic circuits were given in my article.
Here we need only to emphasize the fact that all behavior is the
resultant of their interplay, for which provision is made in the cerebral mechanisms, such as are described in this and other works devoted to neuroanatomy. These are all circular reactions between
receptor and effector organs or the related internal adjustors. In the
course of phylogeny, cerebral cortex has been differentiated as the
culminating member of a series of progressively more complicated
integrating mechanisms adapted to make more efficient use of the
preformed circuits of the brain stem in the interest of more flexible
behavior in terms of individually acquired experience, as contrasted
with the stereotyped patterns of the stem (for a convenient summary
of the human connections see Papez, '44).
 
 
In this connection two sentences may be quoted from von Bonin
('45, p. 52) : "It is of the essence of cortical organizations that sensory and motor areas become divorced more and more from each
other — are pulled farther apart as it were — as evolution proceeds As we ascend the evolutionary scale, the cortex assumes
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 99
 
increasingly a structure which may be interpreted as leading to increased degrees of indeterminacy."
 
A fundamental feature of cortical functions is that they are delayed
reactions (p. 78; '!24r, p. 271); there is, first, the arrest or inhibition
of some lower and more primitive patterns of behavior of reflex or
instinctive type. This allows time for cortical reorganization of the
component factors of the situation, conditioning of reflexes, or other
modifications of the stereotyped patterns of response. The cortex,
accordingly, is lifted up away from the lines of through traflic in the
brain stem, and the dorsal convexity of the evaginated cerebral hemisphere is conveniently located, with ample space for indefinite enlargement.
 
 
During the phylogenetic development of cortex, ascending and
descending pallial projection fibers are added to the pre-existing systems of the underlying stem. They do not entirely supplant them, for
even in mammals, where cortical projection systems are highly developed, the subpallial parts of the hemisphere retain their own
diencephalic connections.
 
 
Primitively, as in cyclostomes, the entire cerebral hemisphere is
little more than an olfactory bulb and a secondary olfactory nucleus.
In Amblystoma the hemispheric evagination is more extensive, and
there is a large increment of ascending nonolfactory fibers; yet here
the pallial part of the hemisphere receives the largest olfactory tracts,
and all of it is essentially an olfactory nucleus.
 
 
The olfactory reflexes seem to be adequately provided for in the
stem portion of the hemisphere. I have suggested ('33) that here, and
especially in the corticated mammals, the olfactory sense, lacking
any localizing function of its own, co-operates with other senses in
various ways, including a qualitative analysis of odors (desirable and
noxious) and also the activation or sensitizing of the nervous system
as a whole and of certain appropriately attuned sensori-motor systems in particular, with resulting lowered threshold of excitation for
all stimuli and differential reinforcement or inhibition of specific
types of response. The olfactory cortex (and its predecessors in lower
vertebrates) may, then, serve for nonspecific facilitation of other
activities, in addition to its own specific olfactory functions. This
facilitation may involve both general excitatory action and general
inhibition. That the latter is present is indicated by the observation
of Liggett ('28) that anosmic rats are more active than the normal
controls. The organization of the olfactory system as a whole in all animals seems consonant with this interpretation; and in Aronson
and Noble's study of the sexual behavior of frogs this facilitating
action of the olfactory field is clearly demonstrated.
 
 
In primitive vertebrates the dominance of the entire anterior end
of the brain by the olfactory apparatus implies more physiological
homogeneity than in higher brains, where this tissue is invaded by
larger numbers of nonolfactory fibers with more diverse specificities.
The case is somewhat like the invasion of a hitherto isolated continent with homogeneous and primitive population by immigrants of
numerous other races with very diverse cultural standards. When
European peoples colonized North America, in some regions the
newcomers intermarried with the natives and the two races amalgamated; in other places the indigenous population was driven farther
and farther back or exterminated altogether. Something analogous
to these processes has taken place during the invasion of the olfactory
area by nonolfactory functional systems. In some regions there is
blending of the old and the new, as in the amygdala, septum, and
olfactory tubercle; in other places the indigenous olfactory system
has more nearly retained its unmixed character, as along the margin
of the olfactory bulb; and in other extensive regions of the hemisphere the indigenous elements have been almost entirely displaced
by nonolfactory systems, as in part of the corpus striatum and the
neopallial cortex. In the Amphibia this invasion of the olfactory field
by nonolfactory systems is extensive, but the invading forces are not
sufficiently diversified and localized to invoke the differentiation of
cortical tissue in the pallial part of the hemisphere. This is probably
correlated with the fact that amphibian behavior, by and large, is
mass movement, with relatively little refined analysis into partial
patterns.
 
 
The primitive differentiated cortex of reptiles has three welldefined sectors. These are spread, respectively, on the dorsomedial,
dorsolateral, and dorsal convexities of the hemisphere. The first is
archipallium, the precursor of the mammalian hippocampal formation. The second is paleopallium, or piriform cortex, represented in
man by a relatively small area at the lower border of the temporal
lobe and including the uncus and some adjoining areas. The third
sector, the dorsal cortex, is of uncertain relationships. It occupies the
position of the neopallium, which comprises the larger part of the
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 101
 
human cortex, and probably is its precursor, though this apparently
is not its only relationship.
 
 
In all amphibian brains these sectors of the pallial field can be
identified, though no superficial cortical gray is present in any of
them, as illustrated in figures 96-99. On the lateral aspect thepiriform
area (figs. 85, 86, 111, p.pir.) shows no evidence of cortical differentiation; it is, in fact, the chief secondary olfactory nucleus (nuc.ol.d.L);
nevertheless, its location and connections identify it unmistakably
as the primordium of the piriform cortex of reptiles and lower mammals. Its neurons are small, simple, and similar to those most commonly seen in the brain stem (figs. 98, 99, 105). On the dorsal convexity there is an undifferentiated and poorly defined field (p.p.d.),
which is the precursor of the reptilian dorsal cortex.
 
 
The medial sector — primordium hippocampi (p.hip.) — shows a
first step toward cortical differentiation, for here the compact central
gray layer is dispersed by outward migration of the cells throughout
the thickened wall, and these are imbedded in dense neuropil. These
neurons vary from small to quite large and, in general form, resemble
those of other parts of the pallium, though they are evidently more
specialized (figs. 97, 98, 99, 105). One to several thick and thorny
dendrites arise from the cell body and spread widely, some reaching
the external limiting membrane. The axon may arise from the cell
body, but usually from the base of one of the dendrites, It may
divide, sending one branch into the dorsal pallium and one to the
septal nuclei or medial forebrain bundle (fornix). Some axons are
short, branching freely within the area of spread of the dendrites
(fig. 105; '396, fig. 44), but most of them send one or more long
fibers from this arborization into tracts which leave this field. Close
to the surface are a few tangential neurons which at one time I regarded as precursors of the reptilian cortical cells. Similar cells are
found also throughout the brain stem, and in the. pallium (fig. 98)
their axons take short courses as correlation fibers. They are more
numerous in the frog (P. Ramon y Cajal, '22, figs. 6, 7). The differentiation of the hippocampal cells is further advanced in Amblystoma than in Necturus ('33a, p. 183) and less so than in anurans.
The hippocampal neuropil increases in density and complexity as we
pass from Necturus to Amblystoma and the frog.
 
 
The four layers of neuropil characteristic of the brain stem (p. 30)
are very unequally developed in the amphibian hemisphere (Necturus, '336, p. 176). The periventricular neuropil is everywhere abundant. The deep neuropil of the alba contains an elaborate system of association fibers, which has been described in detail (figs.
Ill, 113; '336, p. 194; '33e). The intermediate neuropil contains
many of the recognizable long tracts, and in the striate area it is
elaborately developed, as already described. Superficially of the striate neuropil is a strio-amygdaloid neuropil, which is continuous
dorsally with the piriform and dorsal neuropil. This sheet as a whole
is evidently the synaptic field of the pallial associations. It receives
the dendrites of the underlying gray substance but contains no cell
bodies. In higher animals this synaptic zone seems to exert a neurobiotactic influence, so that in embryonic stages all the neurons of the
pallial field migrate outward and are incorporated within it, thus
producing the laminate cortex.
 
 
In the amphibian primordium hippocampi, this movement has begun but is not consummated. The deep gray layer has been broken
up, and its elements are dispersed. The periventricular neuropil of
the grisea and the neuropil of the alba merge, so that the entire area
is pervaded by a dense entanglement of dendrites and axons, within
the meshes of which the cell bodies are imbedded. This neuropil is
denser in two places — rostrally and ventrally, where subpallial connections predominate, and dorsally, where pallial associations predominate. In the reptiles, with differentiated cortex, the corresponding two parts of the hippocampal cortex are structurally different.
 
 
In Necturus the most rostral fascicles of the strio-pallial association go far forward and dorsally above the posterior end of the
olfactory bulb to reach the dorsolateral sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus and territory adjacent to it (fig. 111). This is clearly a
secondary olfactory nucleus of subpallial type, adjacent to the olfactory bulb and traversed by the great dorsolateral olfactory tract,
from which it receives numberless terminals and collaterals. Its principal discharge is. backward into the primordium pirif orme, a pallial
area (fig. Ill, tr.ol.pal.L). These connections would, perhaps, have
no special significance in themselves, but comparison with reptiles
shows that there the corresponding region exhibits remarkable peculiarities. In urodeles the area in question is one of the least differentiated parts of the hemisphere, except for the strong fascicles of
the strio-pallial association, and perhaps this lack of specialization
favors the role which it seems to play as germinative tissue for
neopallial cortex.
 
 
Cortex of simple pattern is present in turtles in each of the three
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 103
 
pallial fields seen in Amphibia; and the dorsal and lateral cortex
(general cortex and piriform cortex) are related to a massive subcortical thickening of the lateral wall of the hemisphere, which was
called the "dorsal ventricular ridge" by Johnston and "hypopallium" by Elliot Smith. The thalamic radiation, comparable with the
amphibian tractus thalamo-frontalis, is large in turtles. It ends
chiefly in the rostral part of the hypopallium, but some of these fibers
pass through without synapse into the dorsal or general cortex. The
latter fibers are true thalamic sensory projection fibers with connections of neopallial type. In front of this region there is a "pallial
thickening," from which motor cortical projection fibers go out to the
cerebral peduncle — again a neopallial type of connection — and this
part of the cortex is electrically excitable (Johnston, '16).
 
 
In the alligator the topographic relations are very different. The
dorsal, or general, cortex has no contact with the hypopallium except
at its rostral end in the region of the pallial thickening of turtles,
which Crosby ('17, pp. 358, 381, figs. 5, 6) calls "primordial general
cortex." This primordium she regards as the germinal tissue or focal
point in the differentiation of the general cortex, and she gives a clear
statement of the factors which probably were operative in the differentiation of this general cortex.
 
 
The dorsolateral sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus of Necturus, together with some adjoining tissue, is just such an area of
basal, i.e., subpallial, type as Crosby postulated; it is in the exact
position with reference to other parts of the hemisphere as her primordial general cortex; and it receives especially strong fascicles of
the strio-pallial association, which turn far forward to reach it. It is
significant that in the alligator this primordium is the only region
where both projection fibers of the lateral forebrain bundle and
shorter fibers from the hypopallium and corpus striatum can connect
with the general cortex (Crosby's figs. 5-9, 12-19, 37). Bagley and
Langworthy ('26) have shown that in the alligator this area and
parts of the cortex adjoining are electrically excitable, thus furnishing experimental proof that true motor projection fibers of neopallial
type arise from it. The underlying hypopallium was tested and found
to be unexcitable. Ariens Kappers ('29, p. 140) accepts Crosby's interpretation of the reptilian primordial neopallium and states that in
the lizard, Varanus, a small number of thalamic projection fibers
ascend directly to this area. This, he says, is the source of the neopallium of mammals, not the more differentiated general cortex
of the dorsal convexity of the hemisphere.
 
 
The dorsolateral sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus and the
rostral end of the primordial piriform area of Necturus may, accordingly, be regarded as critical points in further search for the earliest
primordium of the neopallium. This region is related with the primordial general cortex of reptiles, which may be regarded as the
precursor of the subiculum and other transitional fields rather than
of neopallium, sen.su stricto. The preceding account of the probable
history of cortical evolution is drawn largely from Crosby's graphic
and discerning analysis published in 1917.
 
 
The structure of the pallial field of Amblystoma and its connections were described in 1927 and subsequently in greater detail in
several papers devoted to Necturus ('336, '336?, '34, '34a). In these
papers and some earlier publications I commented on the fact that
the first well-differentiated cortex appears in reptiles in three clearly
defined areas; and the opinion was expressed that a prerequisite for
this differentiation is the penetration into the pallial field of thalamic
projection fibers in separately localized tracts with different physiological properties. This minimal localization of function in the projection systems goes hand in hand with local differentiation in the pallium and amplification of the cortical associational connections of
these areas. This process of local cortical differentiation continues to
advance in complexity of pattern in proportion as the systems of
thalamic projection fibers are amplified and diversified.
 
 
This principle of cortical morphogenesis receives its first and clearest exemplification in the obvious difference in the subpallial connections of the medial and lateral parts of the pallial field, hypothalamic
connections predominating medially and thalamic connections laterally. In Ichthyopsida the hypothalamic influence is much stronger
than the thalamic, a relation which is strikingly reversed in higher
vertebrates. These diencephalic influences are not sufficient to cause
cortical differentiation in the amphibian pallium, though there are
some local differences in the three recognizable pallial areas and
Soderberg ('22) found clearer evidence of cortical incipience in some
early larval stages. Holmgren ('22) found evidence of cortical differentiation in developmental stages of selachians and some other
fishes, and in adult lungfishes a primitive cortex is clearly delaminated externally of the central gray (Rudebeck, '45).
 
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 10.3
 
In none of the fishes and amphibians do we find so well-differentiated cortex as in reptiles. Why is this? The answer seems to be that
in all Ichthyopsida the entire forebrain is dominated by the olfactory
system to such an extent as to retain a measure of physiological
homogeneity, which is not favorable for cortical differentiation. The
basic feature of cortical function is the association of diverse components of the action system with separate localization of the functional systems involved. In fishes and amphibians this localization of
function in the forebrain is incipient, but it is not sufficiently advanced to evoke cortex of definitive type. In reptiles, on the other
hand, the great increase in the system of somatic sensory exteroceptive thalamic radiations is correlated with enlargement of the corpus
striatum complex, including an extensive area quite free from olfactory and hypothalamic connections and the extension of some of the
fibers of the thalamic radiation to the dorsal pallial field without
interruption in the striatum. Thus the pallial field is subdivided into
three well-circumscribed areas, each with a physiological specificity
different from those of the others and one of which is emancipated
from dominance of the olfactory system. Now for the first time in
phylogenetic history the pallium possesses an intracortical system of
association fibers adapted for the specific cortical type of function
('26, pp. 78, 123; '27, pp. 315 ff.; '33e; '34a).
 
 
In a survey of the history of cortical evolution the birds occupy an
anomalous position. They are much more highly differentiated than
reptiles, but in an aberrant direction, with no mammalian affinities.
In most of them the olfactory system is reduced almost to the vanishing-point, and the optic system is greatly enlarged. There is extensive
local differentiation of thalamic nuclei, but not in the mammalian
pattern. The system of ascending thalamic pi-ojection fibers is larger
than in reptiles, and most of these fibers end in the enormously enlarged and complicated corpus striatum. Correlated with the latter
point is the striking fact that, despite the great increase in thalamic
projection fibers, the cortex of many birds is scarcely more extensive
than in reptiles and in some species is less well differentiated (Craigie,
'40) . Birds are more highly specialized in both structure and behavior
than are the lower mammals, and yet their cerebral cortex is rudimentary in comparison with even the most primitive mammals. The
explanation for this is that the bird's more diversified behavior is
largely stereotyped in instinctive patterns, adequately served by
subcortical apparatus, while the patterns of mammalian behavior,
 
 
 
106 THE BRAIN OF THE TIGER SALAMi\NDER
 
even in the lowest members of the class, are in larger measure individually learned. And enhancement of learning ability goes hand in
hand with cortical differentiation.
 
 
It is impossible to define a primordial boundary between pallial
and subpallial territory ('27, p. 316; '33a). There is apparently no
primitive (palingenetic) distinction between the pars pallialis and the
pars subpallialis of the cerebral hemisphere; cortical types of structure and function may be differentiated out of such raw materials as
are available, and the locations of these indefinite boundaries will
vary from species to species. Even in the human brain the boundary
is in some places obscure and controversial.
 
 
This, in outline, seems to be the history of the origin and evolution
of the cerebral cortex. The details have not yet been filled in, and this
can be done only by experimental methods, checked and controlled
at every step by accurate histological analysis of the tissue operated
upon. When the facts about the sequences of the evolution of cortical
structure and function are colligated with experimental studies of
behavioral capacities of the animals in question, we shall have a
secure foundation upon which to build a sound comparative psychology, and this, in turn, will clarify much that is now obscure in human
experience.
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY
 
Returning, now, to a general survey of the factors involved in the
differentiation and normal operation of the central nervous system,
we find that these fall into two categories. Some of them conform
perfectly with well-known laws of traditional mechanics of the inorganic realm, as formulated in the Newtonian system and its modern derivatives. Others have not been successfully fitted into this
frame of reference. From the beginning of inquiry into this problem,
there has been a tendency to set these refractory components apart
from the natural order in some mystic realm of vitalism. To the naturalist this solution is not acceptable, for the two classes of phenomena are empirically indissociable.
 
 
That the operations of nature are not bound by the man-made
rules of Newtonian mechanics is now evident. It has been shown that
the formulas of Newtonian mechanics, Euclidean geometry, and
Aristotelian logic are not universals. They are valid in a restricted
field but not in the realm opened up by current conceptions of relativity and quantum mechanics. In view of this situation, the field of
neurological inquiry is immeasurably enlarged and complicated.
 
 
 
 
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEREBRAL CORTEX 107
 
In our search for the laws of growth and normal action of the
nervous S3^stem, we naturally and properly look, first, for those features which can be fitted into the conventional formulations of inorganic mechanics. Up to the present time the science of neurology
has been concerned almost exclusively with this aspect of the problem, with eminently successful results. Mechanical stress and tension, pressure and movements of fluids, local chemical action, surface
tensions and permeabilities, electrical phenomena of many kinds —
these and other physical factors now under investigation are bringing
to light many basic principles of nervous action. In a wider field
D'Arcy Thompson's great work. On Growth and Form ('44), does not
trespass beyond these boundaries, for he says (p. 15) : "When we use
physics to interpret and elucidate our biology, it is the old-fashioned
empirical physics which we endeavour, and are aloije able, to apply."
A useful general summary of Medical Physics, edited by Otto Glasser
('44), has recently been published. But this line of attack sooner or
later reaches limits beyond which it has not yet been possible to go.
 
 
In human neurology the major problem of all times has been the
relation of these physicochemical processes to the conscious experience which emerges from them. The normal subjective life is not disorderly, but the laws of this order as revealed by introspective psychology seem to be incommensurable and disparate with those of the
underlying physicochemical system as known objectively. This gap
has not been bridged by any acceptable formulation in terms of
Newtonian mechanics, and more and more of the experts in this field
are coming to believe that this cannot be done. This does not imply
any appeal to mysticism. Quantum mechanics takes its place in the
order of nature along with Newtonian mechanics, and it may well be
that the solipsistic qualities of that "private" conscious experience
which is not objectified are related to the events of the objectively
known "public" physicochemical world in accordance with principles as different from those of Newtonian mechanics as the latter
are from quantum mechanics. If so, these principles of the mind-body
relationships have not yet been formulated, and we live in hope that
some day this will be done. Just as quantum mechanics has added a
time dimension to the three Cartesian co-ordinates of space and additional dimensions beyond our range of experience in theoretic mathematical physics, so it may well be that introspective experience and
objective or extraspective experience are related in terms of dimensions not yet recognized and given scientific expression, defining a dimension as "any manifold which can be ordered," as Reiser ('46,
p. 89) does in an interesting discussion of this problem.
 
 
The theories of mind-body relationships are mentioned here because I regard mentation as a vital process as truly as are muscular
contraction and glandular secretion. The laws of operation of these
three processes are different, their products are different, and the
apparatus employed is different. All these operations have locus in
place and time. The organs which perform them have been slowly
differentiated and matured during embryonic and phyletic history.
We have reason to believe that mind is not an exclusive prerogative
of mankind. Mental capacity has developed parallel with the growth
of its organs. The genetic and phylogenetic approach to the mindbody problem has already yielded significant data; and, as this study
is carried backward toward earlier stages (embryonic and phyletic),
the unresolved problems of human psychophysics do not disappear.
Something akin to the mental as we experience it may be a common property of all living things and even of the cosmos as a whole,
as some suppose. Or it may be that, just as life emerged on our planet
from the nonliving in some as yet undiscovered way, so mind appeared as an emergent at some unknown stage of organic evolution.
If so, the naturalist must assume that the emergence in both cases
occurred in lawfully ordered ways within the frame of the natural.
In the present state of knowledge an open-minded skepticism on this
question is the only safe attitude.
 
 
More intensive study of the properties of the nervous tissues seems
to be the most promising approach to these unsolved problems. In
the past, escape from mystery has too often been sought through
verbalisms and mysticism. Rigid adherence to scientific method —
accepting as evidence not wishful thinking but verifiable experience — will avoid this pitfall. Obviously, conventional methods of
inquiry must be pushed to the limit of their availability, and in the
meantime new formulations of problems must be sought with all the
resourcefulness that scientific imagination can command, not neglecting the possibility that some of these formulations may lie outside
the frame of current Newtonian and quantum mechanics.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VIII
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS
 
THROUGHOUT the preceding descriptions and interpretations,
some general morphological principles are implicit. Since these
are moot questions, it is fitting that these assumptions be explicitly
stated and clarified. Several years ago in a discussion of the morphogenesis of the brain ('33a) , some of these principles were critically
examined, and a part of what follows is condensed from that essay.
 
 
MORPHOGENIC AGENCIES
 
A century and a half ago the German Naturphilosophie elaborated
the mystic and poetic conception of an archetypical form, which was
popularized by Oken and Goethe and culminated with Sir Richard
Owen and Louis Agassiz. As Professor Owen wrote in 1849: "The
archetypal idea was manifested in the flesh under diverse such
modifications, upon this planet, long prior to the existence of those
animal species that actually exemplify it." These geistige Krcifte were
conceived as enduring morphogenic agencies which shape the course
of all animal and plant differentiation.
 
 
After the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859, a new
school of morphologists arose under the leadership of men like Gegenbaur, Haeckel, and T. H. Huxley, the guiding principle being a search
for phylogenetic relationships as key factors in morphogenesis. The
mystic enduement of the earlier archetype was replaced by a sound
biological principle of progressive change effected by verifiable internal and environmental agencies.
 
 
This conception of morphology as the visible record of phylogenetic history has stood the test of time. It is dynamic, not static; and
our search is for the natural agencies which have operated to produce
the observed modifications of form and correlated behavior during
the course of evolutionary change. This century of progress has, however, witnessed a curious relapse, with resurgence of the ancient predilection for rigid categories and artificial systems of logical analysis,
which yield in the end a formulation of inflexible, and therefore obstructive, morphological principles. Ancient and heritable patterns, such as metamerism, germ layers, and so on, were formalized, and the
tendency was to regard them as stable and immutable factors in
morphogenesis. The problems were thus simplified in terms of misleading logical categories, resulting in a static, rather than a dynamic,
analysis of development and evolution. These formal and rigid concepts have too often retarded, rather than facilitated, a true understanding of the structure.
 
 
The dialectic of some current "form-analytic" programs of research on morphogenesis of the brain seems to postulate a predetermined primordial pattern of the neural tube, which is preserved
throughout all stages of differentiation and which can be recognized
by the arrangement in space of cellular areas and their relations to
one another independently of their functional connections or of any
dynamic agencies in morphogenesis other than cellular proliferation.
The result is an oversimplified, logically consistent, morphological
schema uncontaminated by functional or other complicating factors;
but this has little interest for the working anatomists and physiologists, for it has no obvious relation with the structural forms with
which they are practically working. Nerve fibers are quite as important as cell bodies in cerebral organization and as elements in cerebral
forms. By what right does the morphologist ignore them in his study
of form? We have ample evidence that the growth of nerve fibers and
the migration of cells may be determined by functional requirements,
which differ from species to species in correlation with different
modes of life. Are forms which have physiological meaning of no significance in morphology, and can they safely be ignored by morphology.^
 
My paper of 1933 cites several illustrations from my own experience and that of others of the seductive influence of rigid categories of
morphological concepts, which simplify analysis by neglect of other
significant factors in morphogenesis. In modern morphology the
search is for genetic relationships, and homologies are defined in
terms of such relations. In all phylogenetic study we must constantly
keep in the foreground of attention two main classes of morphogenetic agencies. These are, first, the conservative factor of stable
genetic organization and, second, the more labile influence of the
specific functional requirements. Both factors are always present,
and one important task of the morphologist is the analysis of his
material so as to reveal the parts played by each of them. A sound
and fruitful morphology will take both into account. For the practical
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 111
 
purposes of descriptive anatomy and experimental physiology an
analysis in terms of functional efficiency is indispensable, and a morphology which ignores the dynamic factors of tissue differentiation in
terms of physiological adaptiveness lacks something and is sterile, as
I have repeatedly emphasized ('08, '10, '13, '226, '25a, '33a).
 
 
This does not imply that in either embryonic or phylogenetic development the pattern of structural differentiation is determined primarily by peripheral influences, which, acting directly on the germplasm, produce heritable changes in its structure. Whether such inheritance of acquired characters ever occurs is in controversy. Certainly it is the general rule that adaptation of structure to physiological requirements is effected by indirection — natural selection or
some other principle — but that it is acquired in some way is evident,
and these physiological requirements are key factors in morphogenesis. This is more evident in the nervous system, perhaps, than in
other organs of the body, for one of the prime functions of nervous
tissue is adjustment of the body to its environment.
 
 
The analysis of morphogenic factors is best accomplished experimentally, as is well illustrated by Holtfreter's recent study ('45).
This paper sets out in sharp relief the contrast between growth and
differentiation. The relation between intrinsic and extrinsic factors
and between nuclear and cytoplasmic influences in morphogenesis is
discussed in two recent books by W. E. Agar ('43, chap, v) and R. S.
Lillie ('45, chap. x). The reciprocal relations between genes and
cytoplasm are now under active investigation.
 
 
There is decisive evidence that in embryogenesis the pattern of
differentiation of both sensory and motor systems is determined
largely by intrinsic agencies and that it proceeds more or less autonomously up to functional capacity. These structural patterns are
laid down in the inherited organization, and that organization has
been elaborated in the course of phylogenetic development in adaptation to the physiological needs. of the species in question. Morphology
here ties in with ecology.
 
 
The last point carries with it the necessary implication that the
intrinsic agencies which initiate and shape the course of embryonic
differentiation are not strictly autonomous and that even the hereditary factors have arisen ab initio as responses of the protoplasmic
organization to environmental influences. It is this point of view
which has been emphasized by Child ('41) in his search for more
 
 
 
112 THE BRAIN OF THE TIGER SALAIVIANDER
 
general morphogenic agencies which antedate the speciaHzed features
of ontogenetic differentiation. The old controversies about preformation versus epigenesis are outmoded and may well be ignored, for
both factors are present in all development. It can no longer be
claimed that "the basis of developmental pattern is an inherent
property of protoplasm and therefore continuously present and independent of external conditions" (Child, p. 6), for at no period in
the life of any organism is it independent of its environment. The
vital process is fundamentally an interaction between the protoplasmic organization and its surroundings— respiration, nutrition,
and all the rest. But when a given heritable pattern of internal organization has once been established, then the several components of
this organization may acquire a large measure of autonomy in both
further development and adult function. This specialization has obviously taken place; and when, in the course of development of
vertebrate neuromuscular organs, they are approaching functional
capacity, the patterns of this performance, though not independent
of internal and external environment, clearly are not directly determined by any specific influences acting upon them from receptor
organs. In this restricted sense these patterns are initiated intrinsically, and their performance is autonomous. But throughout development there is a complicated interaction of the inherited factors with
one another, and this intrinsic interplay of moiphogenic agencies is
an important feature of developmental mechanics.
 
 
The widely current belief that heritable variations sometimes occur
in progressive series set in a definite direction rather than always in
accordance with the probability curve of chance deviations around
fixed unit characters has been strongly supported by many independent lines of evidence. It has been pointed out that the progressive
senescence of tissue in both ontogenetic and phylogenetic series involves a fixation or stabilization of originally undifferentiated plastic
tissue into permanent structural patterns. So far as this differentiation is heritable and irreversible, the future course of evolution is thereby intrinsically determined, for variations will be distributed around the new pattern as a mode in accordance with a different frequency curve than would be shown if the inherited structural pattern were different. The process of differentiation is therefore itself a natural cause of limitation of the future course of evolution within boundaries set by the efficient working of the established
pattern. The nervous systems of arthropods, teleosts, reptiles, birds,
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 113
 
and mammals furnish illustrations of the effect of such irreversible
differentiation on the course of animal evolution. The significance of
this principle in the evolution of the nervous system was briefly discussed in my paper on orthogenesis in liHO, and more fully subsequently ('21, '22a, '24c, '26, '33rt, '48).
 
 
In the embryo, as soon as connection is made between the sensory
zone and the motor zone in the central nervous system, specific
peripheral influences begin to operate to a much greater degree, and
these may modify the subsequent course of development of the already fabricated sensory and motor apparatus and "inflect" the pattern of performance. The nature and degree of this modification by
use is, however, limited to the range permitted by the pre-existing
intrinsic organization (Coghill, '29, p. 86; Weiss, '41, p. 59). That this
range is very restricted in the Amphibia has been made clear by much
recent experimental work. The intrinsic growth factors which predetermine appropriate patterns of nervous organization in embryological development are operative also in the regeneration of peripheral nerves in the adult animal (see the experiments of Sperry cited
on p. 228).
 
 
With progressive increase in the complexity of adjustment to the
external and internal environment, there has been a corresponding
differentiation of structure. The genetic organization determines the
primary pattern, and this pattern is modified by use and the personal
experience of the individual. The first of these factors yields that
stable organization of tissue which is common to all members of the
species and which forms the subject matter of most of the literature
of neuroanatomy. The structural changes effected during growth by
the second factor are harder to recognize, and this critical field is
largely unexplored. In our examination of Ambly stoma we are
searching for primordia of both these kinds of tissue — the stable
heritable structure and the more labile, individually modifiable tissue
involved in conditioning of reflexes and other adjustments to personal experience. Both components are at a low level of differentiation in this animal, but their characteristic structure is recognizable,
and the successive steps of their further evolutionary development
can be followed.
 
 
Most species of urodeles apparently are reversals from more highly
differentiated ancestral forms. This, however, in its main features is
not a dedifferentiation but an arrest of development, so that adult
characteristics of the descendants resemble larval features of their ancestors. Such reversals and the accompanying instances of actual
degeneration doubtless are brought into being by changes in the
mechanism of heredity, involving rearrangement of the complicated
pattern of the genes (Emerson, '42, '45). Evolution is an irreversible
process, with divergent ramifications in inconceivable variety and
many instances of approximate parallelism. The apparent repetitions, when viewed in time, are not circular but spiral in form; and
apparent retrogressions are never exact reversals of the preceding
historical sequence. When a mammal returns to the water, it does not
become a fish. The amphibians present conspicuous illustrations of
recapitulation in individual development of some features of the
phylogenetic history, and most of the apparent retrogression is really
an arrest of development, which does not go back so far as the piscine
ancestry. Their limbs are not fins, and their gills are not fishlike.
There is another functional factor in morphogenesis to which too
little attention has been given— a greater or less capacity for socalled "spontaneous" activity, that is, behavior initiated internally
and manifested in patterns determined by the intrinsic structure.
All protoplasm is active as long as it is alive, and the essential vital
properties are inherent in protoplasmic organization. This behavior
is not a mere reflection of external influences, for the living stuff
transforms the energies which impinge upon it and recombines them
in original designs. Reserves are accumulated, and these are expendable on occasion in accordance with need, with or without external excitation. In the central nervous system this intrinsic "spontaneous" automaticity attains maximum potency, and it is exhibited
by even isolated fragments of it in characteristic patterns, of which
oscillographic records can be made. In the intact brain the interplay
of these intrinsic activities is always going on, and as we pass from
lower to higher animal types it becomes progressively a more and
more important factor in determining patterns of behavior. The
enormous reserves of potential nervous energy in the brain are
evoked and manifested as stabilizing influences (cerebellum, corpus
striatum, etc.) and also in that spontaneity, initiative, and inventiveness which culminate in cortically directed human behavior. These
capacities are shown in some measure by all animals, and a search for
the apparatus employed in even so lowly a creature as a salamander
may be fruitful (see '48, chap, xv, for discussion of Coghill's contributions on automatism, spontaneity, and motivation).
 
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 115
 
It has been pointed out by von Bonin ('45) that the logical foundations of the concept of morphology based on phylogenesis as developed by T. H. Huxley, Gegenbaur, and others of their time are insecure. The mathematical argument need not here be examined, for
it is based on certain restricted postulates, and in animal evolution
there are many variables not embraced by these postulates. It certainly does not follow that "the task of understanding structures on
the basis of their phylogenetic history" is "an insoluble problem."
Though neither cultural history nor phylogenetic history has been
reduced to mathematical formulation, there is general agreement
that history, judiciously interpreted, is an accredited guide for understanding the present and prognosticating the future. Phylogenetic
history is not a sealed book, and Dr. von Bonin assures me that he
would be the last to deny a positive value to the historical approach
to problems of morphogenesis and that such studies have actually
contributed much toward an understanding of human cerebral structure and function. The positive paleontological evidence regarding
the phylogeny of the brain is more extensive and illuminating than
is generally recognized. Though fossilized brains are unknown, the
very large number of casts of skull cavities, when skilfully interpreted, yield a surprising amount of reliable information about the
nervous organs which once occupied those cavities, as illustrated, for
instance, by Stensio's studies ('27) of fossil ostracoderms. It must be
freely granted, of course, that conclusions reached are tentative, to
be accepted only as checked against other lines of evidence, particularly the known sequence of evolutionary history as revealed by fossilized skeletal remains.
 
 
No single mode of attack upon problems of morphogenesis is adequate. Experimental methods yield the most decisive evidence, and
these require adequate knowledge of anatomical structure. This last
is the contribution of comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, and both of these must be functionally interpreted to be
fruitful. The anatomist should recognize the limitations of his method. His task is to lay foundations — stable and adequately broad —
and to suggest fruitful working hypotheses. The Amphibia occupy a
strategic position here for the same reason that the experimentalists
find them so useful.
 
 
 
MORPHOLOGICAL LANDMARKS
 
Comparative study shows that some general features of structural
plan run through the vertebrate series with remarkable constancy
and that other features undergo amazing transformations. The discovery of the laws in accordance with which these transformations
are effected is the goal toward which we are working. We are confronted with a similar, but not parallel, series of problems in the
study of embryological development. In so far as we succeed in our
search for these laws, we advance our understanding of fundamental
vital processes.
 
 
The stable structural features of the nervous system are the most
useful landmarks for the comparative anatomist. They are expressions of the conservative hereditary factor in morphogenesis ; but this
stability cannot safely be interpreted as the simple manifestation of
some primordial archetypical pattern, for these features are retained
during the course of phylogenetic history only in so far as the fundamental features of the peripheral connections and their internal relationships are constant, that is, because they are parts of an apparatus
of adjustment to environment which is common to all vertebrates.
Other parts of the brain are more variable because, with complication of the behavior pattern in higher species, more elaborate and
diversified mechanisms of adjustment and integration are requisite.
 
 
In all vertebrate brains the most fundamental structural landmark is the transverse plane separating the spinal cord and rhombencephalon below from the cerebrum (as defined in the BNA)
above. In Amblystoma this plane is marked externally by the fissura
isthmi and internally by the sulcus isthmi. The zonal arrangement as
described in chapter v is well defined in the rhombic brain and the
midbrain, rostrally of which it is obscured by various secondary
modifications which become more complicated as we pass from lower
to higher members of the vertebrate series. A second important landmark is the transverse plane separating the diencephalon from the
telencephalon, marked externally by the deep stem-hemisphere
fissure.
 
 
These two planes also mark the positions of two strong flexures of
the neural tube in early embryonic stages, caused by inequalities of
growth of the dorsal and ventral zones of the neural tube. The first
of these flexures to appear is a ventral bending of the neural tube in
the mesencephalic region, caused by precocious enlargement of the
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 117
 
tectum. This is followed by a flexure in the reverse direction at the
di-telencephalic junction (p. 212). These flexures are less obvious in
adult brains because they are somewhat straightened in later stages
and masked by growth of interstitial tissues; but the site of each of
them is a zone of transition between major divisions of the brain
with distinctive physiological characteristics.
 
 
The foundations of the current anatomical analysis of the brain were laid by
Wilhelm His in terms of human embryological development. The early neural tube
was divided into a linear series of blocks separated by transverse planes, and a
longitudinal sulcus limitans on each side marks the boundary between a dorsal
sensory alar plate and a ventral motor basal plate. The adult derivatives of this
embryonic mosaic are the primary anatomical units. The nomenclature derived from
this analysis as officially adopted (the BNA), or modifications of it, is now almost
universally employed, to the great advantage of human descriptive neurology. But
this scheme has its limitations. Some features of it are quite inapplicable to the
brains of lower vertebrates; for, though the embryonic neural tube is similar in most
of them, its adult derivatives vary so widely in adaptation to diverse modes of life
that no inflexible formula is applicable. Since the brain of Amblystoma is generalized,
few of these difficulties arise here.
 
 
There is difference of opinion about where the sulcus limitans ends anteriorly.
If the embryonic floor plate ends at the fovea isthmi (Kingsbury, '30), it is evident
that the basal plate extends farther forward to include the mesencephalic cerebral
peduncle and probably more or less of the adjoining parts of the hypothalamus and
ventral thalamus. The remainder of the mesencephalon and diencephalon (including
the retina) and the whole of the telencephalon are derived from the expanded anterior part of the alar plate and the related neural crest. The adult derivatives of
alar and basal plates include much tissue that is specifically neither sensory nor
motor; and this intercalated associational fabric crosses the boundaries of the primitive embryonic mosaic in ways which difi^er from species to species. Each species
must be analyzed in terms of its own mode of life and distinctive action system.
 
 
C. von Kupffer ('06) put special emphasis upon two deep transverse sulci in the
ventricular wall of the neural tube in early embryonic stages of a series of lower
vertebrates, including Necturus and Salamandra. These were termed sulcus intraencephalicus anterior and posterior. Study of later stages of developing urodele
brains shows that this emphasis was well placed, for these sulci mark the positions
of the two transitional sectors of the brain to which reference was made above —
the first, the diencephalic, and the second, the isthmic sector.
 
 
In our specimens of Amblystoma, von Kupffer's anterior sulcus in early motile
stages (Harrison's stages 33-36) is a sharply defined groove, which extends dorsally
from the lateral optic recess in front of the chiasma ridge to the region of the velum
transversum. Its dorsal part is varikble, but clearly the primary course is into the
posterodorsal initial evagination of the hemispheric vesicle, as described b.y von
Kupffer and by Rudebeck ('45). This is clearly the case also in A. jeffersonianum, as
shown by Baker and Graves ('32) in their five stages from 5 to 17 mm. long. My
published references to this sulcus and its adult derivatives have been successively
modified, as more material was examined ('10, pp. -119, 43:2; '£7, p. 238; '33b, p.
240; '35a, p. 252; "38, p. 212; '38b, pp. 401, 402; '39a, p. 262). These differences in
interpretation are doubtless due in part to the natural variability of the specimens
and in part to lack of a sufficiently close series of well-preserved stages to reveal the actual sequence of the changes. In our Amblystoma material the ventral part of this
sulcus seems to shift its position and to be transformed directly into the sulcus
preopticus, and it was so described ('39a, p. 262). Rudebeck finds in dipnoans,
Necturus, and Triturus that the sulcus intraencephalicus anterior passes from the
lateral optic recess dorsalward to the posterodorsal hemispheric ventricle and that
the definitive sulcus preopticus arises as a secondary outgrowth from this primary
groove. Our specimens of Amblystoma have not revealed this secondary origin of
the sulcus preopticus but resemble that of the anuran, Pelobates, as described by
Rudebeck ('45, p. 53).
 
 
In Amblystoma the posterior intraencephalic sulcus of von Kupffer persists as the
sulcus isthmi of the adult. In the 6-mm. Ammocoetes (von KupflFer's fig. 47) it
extends transversely from the plica rhombo-mesencephalica to a point in the floor a
short distance spinalward of the tuberculum posterius, i.e., to the fovea isthmi, and
it is similar in several other species figured. During larval development of x\mblystoma it and the related external fissura isthmi shift their relative positions (p. 179).
As emphasized above, this plane of separation between cerebrum and rhombencephalon, whether or not it is marked by a visible sulcus in the adult brain, in all vertebrates is the boundary between the two chief subdivisions of the brain.
 
 
The distinction between these subdivisions is conspicuous in prefunctional and
early functional stages. Coghill ('24, Paper IV, p. 97; '31, Paper X, p. 162) reports
that at all stages of development of Amblystoma from premotile to swimming the
rate of proliferation of cells and differentiation of neuroblasts is rapid in rhombencephalon and spinal cord, on the one hand, and in the cerebrum, on the other hand;
but "there is a distinct gap between fields of both differentiation and proliferation
at the isthmus. Such a gap does not appear at any other level in the brain or cord."
Diencephalon and telencephalon appear to be about equally involved in this process,
and so do rhombencephalon and cord; but during these stages growth appears to be
initiated independently in these two major divisions of the nervous system.
 
 
The experiments of Detwiler ('45, '46), to which reference has already been made
(p. 62), show that ablation of the cerebral hemispheres and visual organs of Amblystoma in prefunctional stages results in no demonstrable change in size or weight of
the medulla oblongata. He finds no evidence that the hemispheres or visual organs
exert any morphogenic influence upon the medulla oblongata up to a larval age of
48 days (33 mm. in length), and these mutilated larvae are capable of performing all
the ordinary feeding reactions.
 
 
The most primitive and fundamental patterns of total behavior
are organized in the spinal cord and lower medulla oblongata, particularly at the bulbo-spinal junction. Very early these come under
the control of the vestibular apparatus (Coghill, '30, p. 638) and
midbrain, and this control must be maintained throughout life if the
primitive mass movements are to retain their efficiency (Detwiler,
'45; '46). The isthmus, interpolated between these regions, seems to
be concerned mainly with the organization and control of local reflexes (partial patterns) of the medulla oblongata under the influence
of both ascending and descending systems of correlation fibers.
 
 
For convenience of description the rhombic h^-ain is here arbitrarily
divided into four regions, each with characteristic structure and
functions: (1) the bulbo-spinal junction, (2) medulla oblongata, (3)
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 119
 
cerebellum, (4) isthmus. In these regions the functionally defined
zones are unevenly differentiated, and the cerebellum as a "suprasegmental" apparatus is in process of emergence from the sensoiy
and intermediate zones. Similarly, in the forebrain the pallial field
exhibits an early prodromal phase leading toward cortical differentiation, as seen in reptiles.
 
 
The rhombic brain receives all sensory components of the cranial
nerves except the olfactory and the optic. In lower vertebrates, in
which the auditory apparatus is at a very low level of differentiation,
the sensory components of the rhombic nerves are relatively unspecialized, in sharp contrast with the highly specific optic and olfactory
systems; and the physiological dominance of the two systems last
mentioned in the control of behavior is the determining factor which
gives to the cerebrum unique properties that are in marked contrast
with those of the rhombencephalon.
 
 
The isthmus is a transitional sector, within which the patterns of
all bulbar activities are ordered and integrated. It bulks larger in
lower vertebrates than in higher, in which the cerebral cortex has
taken over the larger part of this control. Above it the cerebellum
was differentiated, not as part of the apparatus which patterns performance but as an ancillary mechanism on the efferent side of the
arc, to reinforce and regulate the execution of movements.
 
 
Within the cerebrum the two primary centers of dominance — optic
and olfactory — are separated by a similar transitional sector in the
diencephalon. This is plastic tissue, not dominated by any single
sensori-motor system; it is the meeting place of ascending and descending sensory paths. In noncorticated vertebrates we find here
the apparatus of a type of adjustment from which influences pass
forward into the hemispheres and there act as morphogenic agencies
in the elaboration of cortical structure.
 
 
It appears, then, that the loci of some characteristic features of the
vertebrate brain were fixed by their peripheral connections in the
earliest members of the series and that some of these have remained
essentially unchanged throughout the phylogenetic history. Others
have emerged very gradually from a nonspecific matrix which is diffusely spread throughout a wide field. The search for primordia of
the latter type in the lower forms as parts of a mosaic pattern with
rigidly defined boundaries cannot be successful. In each animal species the tissue requisite for successful adjustment to the mode of life
adopted is fabricated out of such raw material as is available, and nature is not bound by our formal rules of logical consistency. The
major subdivisions of the brain were thus defined very early in
vertebrate phylogeny, and they retain their general characteristics
throughout the series, but there is no apparent limit to the range of
modifications which these sectors may undergo in adaptation to
specific physiological requirements.
 
 
In premotile stages of Amblystoma, Coghill mapped several areas
in the walls of the neural tube, characterized by distinctive proliferation and differentiation. Adopting a modification of his scheme, I
gave arbitrary numbers to twenty-two such areas from the olfactory
bulb to the cerebellum ('37, p. 392), and their development can be
followed up to the adult stage. These units of the mosaic pattern of
the premotile embryo undergo remarkable shiftings of position during larval development and an equally remarkable diversity in patterns of differentiation and fibrous connections. When the comparative embryologist surveys the vertebrate series as a whole, he recognizes a striking similarity in the early stages of differentiation of the
neural tube of all of them. In later stages of development this similarity gives way to wide diversity in the progress of differentiation of
these primordial units of structure, and practically all this divergent
specialization can be seen to be directed toward adaptive modifications of structure, correlated with differences in the action systems of
the several species. Some limits to the range of this modifiability are
set by the inherent qualities of the genetic organization so that some
general principles of morphological pattern can be recognized everywhere. Yet the structure when viewed phylogenetically is remarkably
plastic, and the available materials are adapted to a wide variety of
uses in diverse combinations and interconnections in all the different
phyla. The most alluring feature of these comparative studies lies in
our ability to sort out of this apparent confusion of detail those
strong threads of ancestral influence which are interwoven in ever
changing designs under the influence of adaptive adjustment to different modes of life.
 
 
THE FUTURE OF MORPHOLOGY
 
During the past half -century, morphology has seemed to be declining in favor, its problems submerged in the more attractive programs of the experimentalists. Nevertheless, activity in this field has
not abated, and now there is a renaissance, the reasons for which are
 
 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS 121
 
plain. Conventional methods of anatomical research have laid a secure factual foundation, but the superstructure must be designed on
radically different lines. Several centuries of diligent inquiry by
numerous competent workers have produced a vast amount of published research on the anatomy and physiology of the nervous systems of lower vertebrates; but most of this literature is meaningless
to the student of the human nervous system, and, as mentioned at
the beginning of this book, its significance for human neurology has
until recently seemed hardly commensurate with the great labor
expended upon it. The last two decades have inaugurated a radical
change, in which we recognize two factors.
 
 
In the first place, technical improvements in the instrumentation
and methods of attack have opened new fields of inquiry hitherto
inaccessible. To cite only a few illustrations, new methods for the
study of microchemistry and the physical chemistry of living substance, radical improvement in the optical efficiency of the compound microscope, the invention of the electron microscope, and the
application of the oscillograph to the study of the electrophysiology
of nervous tissue are opening new vistas in neurology, which involve
quite as radical a revolution as that experienced a few centuries
earlier when microscopy was first employed in biological research.
 
 
A second and even more significant revolution is in process in the
mental attitudes of the workers themselves toward their problems
and toward one another. A healthy skepticism regarding all traditional dogmas is liberating our minds and encouraging radical innovations in both methodology and interpretation. And, perhaps as a
result of this, the traditional isolationism and compartition of the
several academic disciplines is breaking down. The specialists are
now converging their efforts upon the same workbench, and cooperative research by anatomists, physiologists, chemists, psychologists, clinical neurologists, psychiatrists, and pathologists yields results hitherto unattainable. What is actually going on in the brain
during normal and disordered activity is slowly coming to light.
 
 
Here the comparative method comes to full fruition, and comparative morphology acquires meaning, not as an esoteric discipline dealing with abstractions but as an integral and indispensable component
of the primary task of science — to understand nature and its processes and to learn how to adjust our own lives in harmony with
natural things and events, including our own and our neighbors'
motivations and satisfactions.
 
 
 
The objective toward which we are directing our efforts is a better
understanding of human hfe and its instrumentation. Our mode of
hfe has been achieved througli eons of evolutionary change, during
which the conservative and rehitively stable organization of the
brain stem has been supplemented and amplified by the addition of
cortical apparatus with more labile patterns of action, resulting in
greater freedom of adjustment to the exigencies of life. In all behavior there is a substrate of innate patterns of great antiquity, and
in practical adjustments these primitive factors are manipulated and
recombined in terms of the individual's personal experience. Memory
and learning are pre-eminently cortical functions, but these cortical
capacities have not been given to us by magic, and we want to know
how they have been developed and the roots from which they have
grown.
 
 
The incentives which motivate research in comparative neurology
are the same as those of all other science, pure and applied, and of all
truly humanistic endeavor in other fields— to find out what is good
for humanity and how to get it. This implies, as I have recently exhorted ('44), that the humanistic values of science must always be
acknowledged and cultivated.
 
 
 
 
PART II
SURVEY OF INTERNAL STRUCTURE
 
 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
 
THE first part of this work includes a schematic outhne of the
organization of the amphibian brain and discussion of some
morphological and physiological principles suggested by this inquiry.
In Part II, evidence is presented in sufficient detail to document the
conclusions and principles summarized in Part I. This material is
arranged by topographic regions, as these are listed in chapter iv.
These descriptions are supplementary to those in Part I, and each
topic should be read in connection with the corresponding passages
of the preceding text.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER IX
SPINAL CORD AND BULBOSPINAL JUNCTION
 
THE SPINAL CORD AND ITS NERVES
 
THOUGH the spinal cord is not included in this survey, some
features of its upper segments must be considered here because
of their connections with the brain and particularly with the complicated structure at the bulbo-spinal junction. The spinal cords of
urodeles have not been adequately described, and our material is
not suitable for this purpose. Early stages of development of Amblystoma have been described by Coghill, and the cord of larval Salamandra by van Gehuchten ('97). A wide variety of experimental
studies of development involving the spinal cord have been reported
by others.
 
 
THE SENSORY ZONE
 
The slender dorsal gray column is continuous with the nuclei at
the bulbar junction, to be described shortly. These cells are activated
by the dorsal spinal root fibers and the spinal V and spinal vestibular
roots. A few of them in and near the mid-plane are a spinal continuation of the commissural nucleus of Cajal and are probably visceral
sensory in function. This supposition is supported by Sosa's description ('45) of similar cells in the septum dorsale of mammals and birds,
which he regards as spinal representatives of Cajal's nucleus.
 
 
Most of the dorsal root fibers immediately upon entrance bifurcate
into descending and ascending branches, and the latter in the upper
segments comprise most of the massive dorsal funiculi, with which
some other fibers are mingled, notably those of the descending
vestibular root and bulbar correlation tracts a and h of Kingsbury.
The large spinal V root lies ventrally of these funiculi, and below this
is a dorsolateral funiculus, containing fibers of the spinal lemniscus,
spino-cerebellar tract, and other fibers of spinal and bulbar correlation. Many of these dorsolateral fibers decussate, descending from
the dorsal gray as internal arcuates.
 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE ZONE
 
The intermediate zone is not clearly defined, its gray substance
being continuous with that of the motor zone. In the alba the
neuropil of the reticular formation is less well developed than in the
medulla oblongata.
 
 
THE MOTOR ZONE
 
The motor zone of the cord is continuous with that of the medulla
oblongata, with no recognizable boundary; and throughout these
regions the peripheral motor neurons are mingled with co-ordinating
neurons, and they often resemble the latter so closely that they cannot be distinguished unless their axons are seen to enter the motor
roots.
 
 
THE SPINAL NERVES
 
The upper spinal nerves are modified. The first usually has no
sensory root or ganglion. The arrangement of the motor roots of the
first and second pairs is exceedingly variable. The nervus accessorius
and the nervus hypoglossus are not separately differentiated. The
primordia of the former are represented in the lowermost vagal rootlets, which emerge from the lateral aspect of the medulla oblongata;
and the primordia of the latter are in the first and second spinal
nerves, the ventral roots of which emerge at the ventral surface.
In one specimen the lowest vagal root was seen to emerge at the level
of the calamus scriptorius, but usually it is at a more rostral level.
The lowest root of the first spinal nerve usually emerges in the region
of the calamus, and the first root of this nerve at Variable distances
rostrally.
 
 
The first spinal nerve of Salamandra as described by Francis
('34, p. 159) agrees with that of Amblystoma. On page 161 he quotes
Goodrich, who has shown that the urodele hypoglossus innervates
muscles derived from the ventral outgrowths of the second, third,
and fourth myotomes and that "the hypoglossus of Amphibia and
Amniota may certainly be considered as homologous, although not
necessarily composed of the same segmental nerves."
 
The neurons of the ventral horns of gray include tegmental elements, and motor cells which give rise to peripheral fibers ('44&,
fig. 10; van Gehuchten, '97). Both types may have very large, muchbranched dendrites, which in the larva ramify through almost the
entire cross-sectional area of the cord and may cross to the other side
in the ventral commissure. In the adult animal, internuncial connections within the dorsal and ventral zones and between these provide
for co-ordinated spinal reflexes; but all movements of the trunk and
limbs are subject to further control from bulbar and other higher
centers. The details of the structural apparatus by means of which
 
 
 
SPINAL CORD AND BULBO-SPINAL JUNCTION 127
 
these ordered movements are effected remain obscure. At the inception of motihty in the embryo the first neuromotor responses to
stimulation are mass movements, and the apparatus of local reflexes
matures later (Coghill, '29). This implies that integrative functions
of total-pattern type mature earlier than do the partial patterns of
the local reflexes. Coghill's studies revealed a transitory system of
peripheral and central connections in the early stages of the development of motility when mass movements prevail, followed by radical
changes as the action system becomes more complicated.
 
 
Before the spinal ganglia are functionally mature, a series of transitory giant ganglion cells (Rohon-Beard cells) within the cord send
peripheral processes out to skin and myotomes and central processes,
which effect connection with the neuromotor elements. The transitory cells subsequently disappear and are replaced by the more specialized elements of the spinal ganglia.
 
 
Intramedullary cells of sensory type were observed by Humphrey
('44) in the spinal cords of human embryos. Two types of bipolar
sensory cells appear in embryos of 5 mm., one of which is transient
and is regarded as homologous with the Rohon-Beard cells. The other
type persists to functional stages, and at the beginning of motility
{'i''2.5 mm.) many of these are changing to a unipolar shape and resemble cells of the spinal ganglia. These intramedullary unipolar
cells are found in embryos of from 16 to 144 mm. in length, and are
regarded as functioning components of the dorsal roots in the early
stages of motility. Youngstrom ('44) also reports the occurrence of
sensory cells within the spinal cords of human embryos of from 19 to
63 mm. These cells are in the mantle layer and resemble those regarded by Humphrey as comparable with Rohon-Beard cells. Similar
intramedullary cells of sensory type have been seen by many others
in embryos and adults to accompany root fibers of spinal and cranial
nerves (see Pearson, '45, for illustrations) ; and it is probable that
these are all derived from the neural crest, like the mesencephalic
nucleus of the V nerve (as Piatt, '45, has demonstrated).
 
 
On the motor side of the arc two types of peripheral neurons were
described by Coghill ('26, Paper VI) and Youngstrom ('40) : (1) The
thick primary fibers appear first in ontogeny and course for long
distances in the ventral funiculus before emergence. The first ventral
root fibers arise as collaterals of these longitudinal axons. (2) Thinner
secondary fibers, which appear later, pass out from the gray of the
cord more nearlv transverselv- The Rohon-Beard cells are centrally so connected with the primary motor cells as to evoke mass movement of the musculature of the trunk in response to adequate stimulation of any kind. In subsequent stages central connections between
spinal ganglion cells and secondary motor neurons are made, and
these are regarded as provision for execution of local reflexes. The
primary motor neurons persist in adult Amblystoma. They occur in
larval anurans but disappear at metamorphosis (Youngstrom, '38).
Humphrey ('44) describes cells in the spinal cords of very young
human embryos, which she believes are surviving vestiges of primary
motor neurons of amphibian type.
 
 
lu our sections of the adult the ventral spinal roots contain fibers of
primary and secondary type. The primary root fibers are thick and
heavily myelinated centrally and peripherally. Some of the thinner
secondary fibers are well myelinated, and many of them seem to lose
their myelin as they emerge from the spinal cord. Coghill ('26, Paper
VI, p. 135) reported that in early swimming stages "a single fiber
may innervate an entire myotome, and branches of these same fibers
form the earliest nerves to limbs and tongue." At this early stage,
however, the musculature of the limb bud is still an undifferentiated
primordium. Youngstrom confirmed these observations and expressed the opinion that the limb musculature, like that of the trunk,
has a double innervation of both primary and secondary fibers; but
no details of the distribution of these fibers in the definitive limb
musculature are given. More recently, Yntema ('43a, p. 331) says of
the primary fibers in larvae of from 1''2 to 19 mm. in snout-anal
length that "typically, they supply the myotomic musculature. In
addition, fibers of this kind run to muscles of the extremities"; but
again details of their distribution in the limb are lacking. In a personal communication he adds: 'T have found evidence for the distribution of primary motor fibers to at least some muscles of the
girdles of larvae, and have seen larger fibers which appear to be primary in the limbs themselves."
 
In the frog, with an action system very different from that of
Amblj^stoma, the development of these nerves shows corresponding
differences, for, as mentioned above, Youngstrom ('38) found that
larval frogs have primary and secondary fibers like those of Amblystoma ; but in the adult frog the primary fibers have completely disappeared. The opinion expressed by Taylor ('44) that in frog larvae
the primary fibers do not enter the limbs may have no bearing on the
innervation of limbs in Amblvstoma because of the radical dift'erence
 
 
 
SPINAL CORD AND BULBOSPINAL JUNCTION 129
 
in the neuromuscular apparatus of these species. The primary fibers
evidently are concerned with massive movements of the trunk
musculature. The significance of the two sorts of fibers in the innervation of the limbs is still obscure. In Amblystoma the number of primary motor fibers is not markedly reduced by removal of the early
undifi^erentiated neural crest, while secondary fibers are, as a rule,
greatly reduced in number, the growth of the latter being dependent
on the presence of sheath cells and the former not (Yntema, '43a).
It will be of interest to learn whether the primary motor fibers have
functions in the embryogenesis of Amblystoma comparable with
those postulated for the "pioneer motor neurons" observed in the
bird by Hamburger and Keefe ('44, p. 237).
 
 
THE BULBO-SPINAL JUNCTION
 
Little need be added here to the general description of this important region in chapter iv and to the details of structure and connections recently pubUshed ('446). The topography as seen in transverse
Weigert section is shown in figure 87. If the calamus scriptorius is
taken as the arbitrary boundary between spinal cord and brain, this
junctional region in Amblystoma may be considered to comprise the
segments of the first and second pairs of spinal nerves, the second
below the calamus and the first above. The entire length of the first
spinal segment overlaps the lower vagus region of the medulla
oblongata.
 
 
In the sensory zone the somatic sensory systems of the neurons of
the dorsal gray columns are somewhat enlarged to form the nucleus
of the dorsal funiculi, which extends far forward in the lower vagus
region. Medially of this is the much larger collection of compactly
arranged smaller cells of visceral-gustatory function^ — the commissural nucleus of Cajal. This nucleus extends downward from the
calamus for a distance of about one spinal segment, below which
visceral sensory function is represented by scattered cells in the
dorsal median raphe. Above the calamus the commissural nucleus
merges insensibly with the nucleus of the fasciculus solitarius.
 
 
The funicular nucleus is regarded as comparable with the external
cuneate nucleus of mammals rather than with the nuclei of the f.
gracilis and f. cuneatus, since Amblystoma has no medial lemniscus
('446, p. 318). The arrangement and connections of the commissural
nucleus are similar to those of man.
 
 
Secondary fibers from the funicular nucleus (many of them myelinated) pass downward as internal arcuate fibers to the spinal cord
and medulla oblongata, some uncrossed and some decussating in the
ventral commissure. Other crossed fibers join the tractus spinocerebellaris and the spinal lemniscus (fig. 3). The secondary fibers
from the commissural nucleus are unmyelinated. Some of them are
internal arcuates, which distribute to neighboring parts of the spinal
cord and medulla oblongata of the same and of the opposite side;
and some pass directly laterally to the pial surface, where they turn
rostrad in tr. visceralis ascendens (fig. 8; '44&, figs. 10, 11, 12, tr.v.a.)
to reach the superior visceral nucleus in the isthmus and the ventrolateral neuropil of the peduncle. Some further details about the connections of these nuclei are in the next two chapters.
 
 
The region of the calamus scriptorius is evidently an important
center of correlation and integration of general somatic and visceralgustatory sensibility of the entire body, with efferent discharge directly to the motor zone and also to higher centers of sensory correlation. Here root fibers of cutaneous and deep sensibility from the
head, trunk, and limbs; of vestibular and lateral-line sensibility; and
of gustatory and visceral sensibility converge into a common pool,
which is the first integrating center of these functional systems to
mature in ontogeny.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER X
CRANIAL NERVES
 
DETAILS of the peripheral distribution of the several systems of
nerve components have been recorded for a considerable number of amphibian species, notably in many important papers by
H. W. Norris. The first of this series was Strong's paper ('95) on
the larval frog, which was followed by Coghill's description of the
cranial nerves of Amblystoma, published in 1902. Their arrangement
here may be regarded as typical for the vertebrate phylum as a
whole, with no extreme specialization of any system. The constancy
of the arrangement of these components at the superficial origins of
the nerve roots in all vertebrates is remarkable, in view of the extreme diversity of both peripheral and central connections of their
fibers and of the enormous differences in the number of fibers represented in the several systems among the various species. Except for
the specific differences just mentioned, the chief departures from
uniformity of composition of the nerve roots are the suppression in
all Amniota of the large lateral-line components of the Ichthyopsida
and the correlated differentiation of the cochlear apparatus in the
higher classes.
 
 
The central connections of the olfactory and optic nerves and the
nervus terminalis are described in the chapters relating to the forebrain and the midbrain. The other functional systems are discussed
in chapters iv and v, and to those general statements some additional
details of their arrangement in Amblystoma are given here.
 
 
DEVELOPMENT
 
Some peculiar features of the development of the somatic motor
roots were mentioned in the preceding chapter. The development of
the visceral motor roots was described by Coghill, though many
details remain to be filled in. The early development of the sensory
systems of root fibers was studied by Coghill ('16, Paper II) and
Landacre ('21 and later papers). In Landacre's paper of 1921 the
embryos studied were identified as Plethodon glutinosus, but they
subsequently proved to be Amblystoma jeffersonianum (Landacre,
'26, p. 472). Older stages were described by Kostir ('24).
 
 
 
The embryological studies just mentioned were based on series of
normal embryos. The conclusions reached have been checked experimentally, extended, and in some details corrected by Stone ('22, '26)
and by Yntema ('37, '43), so that we now have very accurate information about the sources of the nerve cells of each sensory component of the ganglia of the V to X cranial nerves. The ganglion of
the trigeminus is derived chiefly from neural crest, which also contributes some cells to the ganglia of the VII, IX, and X nerves
(Landacre, '21, p. 15). Yntema ('37) found no neurons of neuralcrest origin in the facial ganglion ; but, since there is a small general
cutaneous component of this nerve in adult Amblystoma, it is probable that some cells of neural-crest origin are present, as is known to
be the case in some other animals. Part of the trigeminal ganglion
(profundus ganglion of Landacre, '21, p. 23) is delaminated from the
lateral ectoderm. The lateral-line ganglia are derived exclusively
from the dorsolateral placodes of the ectoderm, and the ganglion of
the VIII nerve from the auditory vesicle. The visceral ganglia of the
VII, IX, and X nerves arise from epibranchial placodes. Landacre
derived only the special visceral (gustatory) component of these
ganglia from these placodes, but Yntema has shown that the larger
part of the general visceral component also is of placodal origin. According to Yntema's analysis, epibranchial placodes give rise to general and special visceral components of the cranial ganglia, dorsolateral placodes to lateral-line components, the auditory placode to
the VIII ganglion, and neural crest to general cutaneous and general
visceral components. The mesencephalic nucleus of the V nerve is
derived chiefly from a portion of the neural crest which is incorporated within the neural tube, though it is not certain that this is the
exclusive source of these cells (p. 141, and Piatt, '45).
 
 
SURVEY OF THE FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS
GENERAL SOMATIC SENSORY NERVE ROOTS
 
Here are included cutaneous sensibility of several modalities —
touch, temperature, pain, and, in aquatic animals, refined chemical
sensitivity. Associated with these nerves are those of deep pressure.
The nervous apparatus of these various qualities of sense has not
been successfully analyzed in lower vertebrates. Their fibers are
mingled peripherally and also centrally, except for those of the
mesencephalic V root. It is not improbable that some peripheral
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 133
 
fibers may serve more than one of the modahties of sense as centrally
analyzed.
 
 
The peripheral fibers of this system are usually described as the
general cutaneous component of the nerves, though some of them are
distributed to deeper tissues. Most of them enter the brain in the
trigeminus root and smaller numbers in roots of the VII, X, and
(probably) IX nerves. The vagal fibers of this system have wide
peripheral distribution (Coghill, '02), including the ramus auricularis
and other vagal branches and also anastomotic connections with
branches of the IX and VII nerves. The peripheral distribution of the
VII fibers has not been described. A few fibers of the sensory IX root
have been seen (rarely) to descend in the spinal V fascicles. Most
urodeles are said to lack a general cutaneous component of the IX
nerve, though there is some evidence of it in Necturus ('30, p. 22).
If the presence of these fibers is confirmed, they probably join the
general cutaneous component of the vagus peripherally.
 
 
Many of the trigeminal fibers divide immediately upon entering
the brain into the thick descending branches of the spinal V root and
thinner ascending branches (fig. 40) of the cerebellar root. The longest course that can be taken by one of these bifurcated fibers is
shown in figure 3. Some of these fibers take deeper courses, penetrating the spinal V root to enter the fasciculus solitarius (p. 148). Some
of the mesencephalic V fibers also divide near their exit from the
brain, with descending branches arborizing in the reticular formation
of the upper medulla oblongata (p. 141 and fig. 13).
 
 
The spinal V root is large and well myelinated. It can readily be
followed through the length of the medulla oblongata and for an
undetermined distance into the spinal cord (figs. 87-90). Each of its
fibers for its entire length is provided with a fringe of short collaterals
(fig. 38), which are directed inward into a neuropil which is continuous dorsally with that similarly related with the VIII and lateralline roots, the whole forming^a common pool for the reception of all
somatic sensory components (fig. 9). In the calamus region these collaterals mingle with collaterals and terminals of spinal root fibers of
the dorsal funiculus and the spinal vestibular root, bulbar correlation
tracts a and b, and the dorsolateral funiculus. This axonic neuropil is
permeated by dendrites of the nucleus of the dorsal funiculus and
commissural nucleus of Cajal.
 
 
In many of our Golgi preparations the central courses of the sensory V fibers are electively impregnated, often with no other fibers
visibk- in their vicinity. Some of these from the larva have })een ilhistrated ('14a, figs. 48-51, 54; '396, figs. 4'2, 46, 47, 57-61, 67, 77).
Figures 27-32 show V roots as seen in horizontal Cajal sections of the
adult brain. Figure 32 passes through the two motor V roots and
their nucleus; figure 40 includes three impregnated neurons of this
nucleus and the bifurcating fibers of the sensory root, which are also
shown in figure 38. Woodburne ('36, p. 451) saw thick root fibers of
the trigeminus entering the cerebellar root; but, in the absence of
Golgi sections, the thinner collaterals of the spinal root were not
demonstrable.
 
 
The superior or cerebellar root of the trigeminus is much smaller
than the spinal root, and at the ventrolateral border of the auricle it
joins the spino-cerebellar tract (figs. 30, 31, 91). Many fibers of both
tracts end here with open arborizations in a neuropil which is the
primordium of the superior (chief, or pontile) nucleus of the mammalian trigeminus ; but some fibers of both tracts pass through this
neuropil and continue dorsomedially into the body of the cerebellum,
where they end, some on the same side and some decussating in the
commissura cerebelli (figs. 31-34, 37, 91). These commissural fibers
are joined by others arising from cells in the vicinity of the superior
trigeminal neuropil, and many of the decussating fibers, after crossing, reach the superior neuropil of the other side, thus forming an
intertrigeminal commissure. We here confirm, in the adult, Larsell's
description ('32, p. 413) of the cerebellar commissure of the larva as
composed chiefly of trigeminal and spinal components. In Amblystoma the superior sensory nucleus of the trigeminus probably is concerned chiefly with the proprioceptive aspects of cutaneous sensibility (deep proprioception being provided for in the mesencephalic V
root). This cerebellar connection persists in man, but here the chief
V nucleus has also acquired refined types of sensibility which Amblystoma lacks.
 
 
Neither the superior nor the spinal nucleus of the trigeminus has
well-defined boundaries. The central cells which engage terminals and
collaterals of the sensory V fibers may also have synaptic contacts
with terminals of all other sensory systems that enter the medulla
oblongata. There are, however, certain lines of preferential discharge
for each group of sensory systems, and the segregation of local nuclei
and secondary pathways for each functional system is incipient.
 
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 135
 
LATERAL- LINE, LABYRINTHINE, AND COCHLEAR SYSTEMS
 
These special somatic sensory systems are closely related genetically, structurally, and physiologically, but much remains obscure
about their relationships. The labyrinthine apparatus seems to be
at the focus of these systems. It is very conservative, except for the
cochlear part, showing relatively little change in structure and function from lowest to highest vertebrates; moreover, its physiological
properties have been thoroughly explored. The lateralis system attains its maximum in fishes, persists in larval amphibians and adults
of some urodeles, and disappears entirely in all higher groups, both
embryonic and adult. Organs of hearing are poorly developed in
fishes. Auditory functions seem to be performed by the vestibular .
apparatus and also (for slow vibration frequencies) by the organs of
the lateral line, which undoubtedly have other functions also.
 
 
The peripheral end-organs of all these systems are specialized
epithelial structures, in contrast with the free nerve endings of the
general somatic system. The vestibular end-organs of the internal
ear resemble the end-organs of the lateral lines, in that in both cases
there are specialized epithelial cells which are the receptive elements.
The epithelium is thickened, and among the slender elongated supporting elements there are shorter ovoid cells with ciliated outer
ends. These specific nerves have thick myelinated fibers, the
branched unmyelinated terminals of which closely embrace the cell
bodies of the specific receptive elements (Larsell, '29; Chezar, '30;
Speidel, '46).
 
 
The lateral-line organs of Amblystonia are papillae, some of which
are depressed in pits but are not inclosed in canals as in most fishes.
Their arrangement conforms with the general pattern in fishes, with
rows above and below the eye, on the lower jaw, and extending into
the trunk as far back as the tail. The related nerves comprise one of
the largest systems of the larva, which is reduced but not lost at
metamorphosis. These thick and heavily myelinated fibers enter the
brain in two large roots spiimlward of the VIII roots and three or
four which enter dorsally and slightly rostrally of the VII roots.
They are conventionally assigned to the VII and X pairs of nerves,
though they are more properly aligned with the VIII roots.
 
 
The arrangement of these roots is shown in figures 7, 9, 89, 90.
Most of their individual fibers bifurcate immediately upon entrance
into the brain into ascending and descending branches with numerous widely spread collaterals. These root fibers are arranged in
fascicles, which span almost the entire length of the medulla oblongata (fig. 7), except for the most dorsal of the three or four
lateralis VII roots, which ends in a "dorsal island" of neuropil
("cerebellar crest" of Larsell) at the level of entrance (figs. 7, 33, 45).
Lateral-line fibers have not been seen to descend into the spinal cord.
Anteriorly, they enter the auricle and end here (fig. 91); none have
been traced into the body of the cerebellum, though secondary
lateralis fibers after synapse in the auricle enter the com. vestibulolaterahs cerebelli in company with vestibular fibers (figs. 32, 33, 34,
com.cb.l.L).
 
 
The exact functions served by the lateral-line organs are still imperfectly understood. The organs of the lateral lines and those of the
internal ear have many similarities in embryological development,
structure of the receptive apparatus, and central connections. They
probably have had a common evolutionary origin from a more generalized form of cutaneous sense organ similar to the so-called "sensillae" of some invertebrates. This may be the explanation of the intimate association in the human ear of sense organs of such diverse
functions as the cochlea for hearing and the semicircular canals for
equilibration, both being highly refined derivatives of primitive
tactile organs. The sense organs of the lateral lines are probably intermediate in function between tactile sensibihty of the skin and the
auditory and equilibrating functions of the internal ear. In fishes
they have been shown to be sensitive to mechanical impact, slow
vibrations, and currents in the water (Parker and Van Heusen, '17;
Parker, '18). Hoagland ('33) and Schriever ('35) have investigated
the functions of lateral-line nerves of fishes with the aid of oscillograph records of their action currents. Hoagland finds that these
organs are in a state of continuous activity and that the nervous discharge is increased by application of pressure, by ripples and currents in the water, by movements of the trunk muscles, and by
temperature changes.
 
 
In Amblystoma larvae Scharrer ('32) found evidence that the
lateral-line organs may participate in the snapping reaction when
moving prey is seized; and, subsequently, Detwiler ('45) reports that
the lateral-line organs of these larvae constitute an adequate receptor
apparatus for the detection of food in motion after extirpation of the
eyes and nasal organs. The central connections of these nerves sug
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 137
 
gest that they play an important part in proprioception, and this is
supported by Hoagland's experiments.
 
 
The VIII nerve of Amblystoma carries fibers from the membranous labyrinth, the structure of which resembles those of fishes
plus a recognizable rudiment of the cochlea. These fibers enter the
brain by two closely associated roots, dorsal and ventral, each of
which contains many rather fine myelinated fibers, with some very
coarse fibers mingled with them. Each fiber has a T-form division
within the brain, the branches ascending and descending through the
entire length of the medulla oblongata (figs. 7, 87-90). The dorsal
and ventral roots remain separate as far forward as the V root and
backward as far as the second root of the vagus. Beyond these limits
the two roots merge. It is evident that fibers of the ventral fascicle
take longer courses within the brain than do those of the dorsal
fascicle, but the significance of the separation of vestibular fibers
into two roots has not been determined. Some of these fibers descend
for a long and undetermined distance into the spinal cord, mingled
with the more ventral fibers of the dorsal funiculus and those of correlation tract b. The ascending fibers enter the auricle (figs. 29, 30,
31, 91), where many of them end. Others continue into the body of
the cerebellum, decussate in the vestibulo-lateral cerebellar commissure, and terminate in the vestibular and lateralis neuropil of the
auricle of the opposite side (figs. 32, 33, 34).
 
 
Within the medulla oblongata the collaterals and terminals of the
vestibular fibers arborize in the common pool of neuropil, which also
receives terminals of the V and lateral-line roots. Most of the neurons
of the second order in the acousticolateral area spread their dendrites
within this neuropil so as to engage terminals of several of these
fascicles of root fibers of different physiological nature (fig. 9).
 
 
There is ample physiological evidence that salamanders exhibit
vestibular control of posture and movement similar to that of other
animals, and this implies that there is some central apparatus that is
selective for the specialized end-organs of the internal ear. Sperry
('45a) has shown that in the case of the frog this specificity is. preserved after section of the VIII nerve and its subsequent regeneration
and that the precision of restoration of vestibular function is quite as
exact as it has been shown to be in the case of regeneration of the
optic nerve (p. 229). Since the specific functions of the several vestibular end-organs are not visibly localized in the medulla oblongata of the salamander, some other method of selection must be
employed. Sperry's experiments on frogs lead him to favor the supposition that there are physicochemical axon specificities and selective contact affinities between the different axon types and neurons
of the vestibular centers, a supposition which accords with much
other evidence (p. 79). Differences in threshold and the time factor
in the transmission rhythm may act selectively at the central
synapses.
 
 
Though Amblystoma has no recognizable cochlear root of the VIII
nerve, there is a primordium of the pars basilaris cochleae, which is
better developed in the frog. This rudiment is lacking in Necturus, so
that among the Amphibia successive stages in the early differentiation of the cochlear apparatus can be observed.
 
 
The fibers of the dorsal lateral-line VII root are shorter than those
of the others, all ending in the "dorsal island" of neuropil at the
posterior border of the lateral recess of the ventricle (figs. 33, 45;
'446, fig. 14; Larsell, '3^2, fig. 57). These fibers, like those of the other
lateralis VII roots, come from lateral-line components of all three
chief peripheral branches of the lateral-line VII nerves ('14a, p. 357).
The dorsal island appears to be a remnant of the dorsal neuropil
(cerebellar crest) of the lobus lineae lateralis described by Johnston
('01) in fishes.
 
 
In very young larvae of the frog (Larsell, '34) the relations are
similar to those of urodeles, but soon a dorsal branch of the VIII
nerve (derived from the primordial cochlea) enters this area dorsally
of the dorsal lateral-line root. The dorsal island of neuropil retains its
individuality to the time of metamorphosis, meanwhile becoming
entirely surrounded by cells which proliferate from the dorsal lip of
the area acusticolateralis. The dorsal VIII root is greatly enlarged to
become the cochlear nerve; it terminates in relation with the cells
surrounding the dorsal island, which now constitute the cochlear
nucleus. After metamorphosis is complete, all lateral-line fibers degenerate, so that the gray of the larval area acusticolateralis becomes
in the adult the cochlear nucleus dorsally and the vestibular nucleus
ventrally.
 
 
Without here going into the further details of this differentiation,
it is evident from Larsell's studies that the dorsal gray of the area
acusticolateralis of urodeles and larval anurans is, during the metamorphosis of the frog, transformed directly into cochlear nuclei.
 
 
 
 
CRANL\L NERVES 139
 
There is no degeneratioii of these cells and rei)lacement by others.
The same neurons which in the tadpole are activated from lateralline organs lose their lateral-line connections in the adult frog and
receive their excitations from the auditory apparatus, with a radical
change of function. That which I at one time regarded as improbable
('30, p. 60) is exactly what happens in ontogeny, and doubtless the
phylogenetic history is similar, as Ariens Kappers has long maintained. Parallel with the differentiation of the cochlear nerve and
nucleus in anurans, the related lateral lemniscus is enlarged and
specialized in its definitive form.
 
 
In Necturus, which has no recognizable cochlear primordium, the
functions of the dorsal cells of the area acusticolaterahs evidently are
related exclusively with lateral-line organs. The dorsal lateralis VII
root terminating in the dorsal island does not differ physiologically
from the other lateral-line roots of the VII nerve, so far as known.
Like them, it receives fibers from lateral-line organs distributed over
the entire head ('30, p. 21). But there is an obscure indication of a
lateral lemniscus. Why do the fibers of the dorsal lateral-line root end
in the restricted area of the dorsal island instead of extending through
the whole length of the acousticolateral area like the other lateralis
roots .^ The answer is probably to be sought in the phylogenetic history of the extinct ancestors of living urodeles. In fishes the lobus
lineae lateralis of this region is covered by a neuropil, which has been
termed the "cerebellar crest" and which extends forward into continuity with the superficial neuropil of the cerebellum. Larsell ('32,
p. 410) regards the neuropil of the dorsal island as a survival of the
cerebellar crest of fishes. This is the region within which the dorsal
cochlear nucleus of anurans has been differentiated; and, if, as is
generally believed, the living urodeles are descendants of more highly
specialized ancestors with better organs of hearing, the preservation
of their dorsal island may be regarded as a vestigial record of an
ancestral history now lost.
 
 
The amphibian auricle (pp. 20, 44) receives terminals of trigeminal, lateral-line, and vestibular fibers. The connections of these fibers
and their secondary pathways make it clear that this area contains
primordia of two quite distinct mammalian structures. One of these
is the terminal station of lateraMine and vestibular root fibers, and
this tissue in higher animals is incorporated within the cerebellum
and becomes the flocculus, as described by Larsell. The other primordium is trigeminal, and this in Amblystoma is probably concerned chiefly with proprioceptive functions of the skin and deep
tissues of the head, as indicated by its strong cerebellar connection.
This connection persists in mammals but is relatively insignificant
here because, as mentioned above, the enlarged mammalian superior
V nucleus is concerned chiefly with refined functions of the skin that
Amblystoma does not possess.
 
 
MESENCEPHALIC NUCLEUS AND ROOT OF THE TRIGEMINUS
 
The system of the mesencephalic nucleus and root of the trigeminus is here well developed in typical relations, with some instructive
special features. Its thick, well-myelinated fibers go out with
branches of the V nerve. The details of their peripheral courses in
Amblystoma have not been described. Experiments by Piatt ('46)
indicate that the majority of the fibers of this system, which go out
from the tectum opticum, are distributed to the jaw muscles. The
more caudal cells of the mesencephalic nucleus probably have other
connections. No evidence has been found for supply of any eye
muscles from this nucleus.
 
 
Unlike other sensory systems, the cell bodies of these neurons lie
within the brain. Their arrangement and the courses of the fibers
arising from them have been described in the larva ('14a, p. 361) and
in the adult ('36, p. 345) and are shown diagrammatically in figure
13. These cells vary in size, cytological structure, and number. Most
of them are very large and of so characteristic appearance that they
are easily recognized. They are sparsely distributed throughout the
tectum in all layers of the gray substance, somewhat less numerous
anteriorly near the posterior commissure, and densely crowded within and adjoining the anterior medullary velum. Occasionally, they
are seen in the body of the cerebellum and in the nucleus cerebelli.
Ten large larvae of A. punctatum had an average of 159 of these
cells, the extremes being 76 and 208 (Piatt, '45). A subsequent count
by Piatt ('46) of the total number of these cells in ten larvae of 45
mm. gave an average of 261 cells, equally divided on right and left
sides. Of these cells, 86 on each side are in the tectum opticum and 45
in the nucleus posterior tecti and velum medullare anterius. Individual variations in numbers of cells are large, but approximate bilateral
symmetry is quite consistently present. These cells are unipolar, the
single thick processes accumulating near the outer border of the
tectal gray and here acquiring myelin sheaths. These fibers are di
 
 
CRANIAT. NERVES 141
 
rected posteroventrally in loosely arranged dorsal and ventral fascicles, which converge toward the V nerve roots.
 
 
The ovoid cell body has a smooth contour, with no processes except
the single thick fiber. It is imbedded in dense neuropil and closely
enveloped by a web of these fibers. Every contact of the fibers of the
neuropil with the cell is a synaptic junction. This is doubtless the
explanation of the wide dispersal of these cells in all parts of the
tectal gray, and they are so arranged that the entire extent of the
deep tectal neuropil may be simultaneously activated by excitation
of the mesencephalic V system.
 
 
The striking resemblance of the cells of the mesencephalic V
nucleus with those of the semilunar and spinal ganglia and with the
transitory Rohon-Beard cells of the spinal cord (Coghill, '14, Paper
I) has often been commented upon and is well illustrated by the
excellent photographs pul)lished by Piatt. They have, accordingly,
been generally regaixled as derivatives of the embryonic neural crest
that have remained within the neural tube. This hypothesis has been
tested experimentally by Piatt ('45), with the conclusion that neural
crest is at least one source of these cells, though a possible origin from
other sources is not excluded. Many observers have reported the
presence of intramedullary cells of sensory type along the courses of
roots of spinal and cranial nerves (Pearson, '45, cites instances), and
some of these cells also may be of neural-crest origin. Others may be
of autonomic type, migrating out from the brain (Jones, '45), though
this is controverted.
 
 
Just as the typical unipolar cells of the sensory ganglia of spinal
and cranial nerves have a single process, which divides into peripherally and centrally directed branches, so the mesencephalic V fibers
(or some of them) divide shortly before emergence from the brain
into peripheral and central branches (fig. 13). The central branches
descend as far as the level of the IX nerve roots. My earlier statement
('14a, p. 362) that these fibers ."arborize among the dendrites of the
motor VII neurons" is misleading, for these terminals are spread
widely in the intermediate zone between the levels of the V and the
IX roots.
 
 
This bifurcation of the root fibers and the fact that the bodies of
the cells of the mesencephalic V nucleus are in synaptic contact with
all the deep neuropil of the tectum suggest that afferent impulses
transmitted by these fibers may take either or both of two courses:
(1) They may pass upward to the tectum, where they activate the deep neuropil diffusely and here are in relation with terminals of the
optic and lemniscus systems; or ('2) they may descend into the
reticular formation of the medulla oblongata, where they act directly upon the motor nuclei and also upon the apparatus of bulbar
neuromotor co-ordination (including the cells of Mauthner). These
descending branches are accompanied by fibers of the spinal V root
and by other fibers from the tectum and tegmentum, which end in
the same field of the reticular formation (fig. 13, tr.t.h.p. and tr.teg.b.).
In larvae of early feeding stages, thick uncrossed fibers, which descend from the tectum and subtectal areas into the bulbar reticular
formation, are especially clearly seen, and also others which take
similar courses after decussation in the ventral commissure. Some of
these fibers arise from neurons of the isthmus, which are in synaptic
connection with terminals of the secondary visceral-gustatory tract.
These connections of mesencephalic V fibers seem well adapted to
facilitate the feeding reactions, a conclusion which is supported by
observations on the cat by Corbin ('40) and the literature which he
cites. In Ambly stoma the field of reticular formation within which
the movements of the mouth and pharynx are organized receives the
descending mesencephalic V fibers, collaterals of V fibers, and fibers
of correlation from the nucleus of the f. solitarius, isthmic visceralgustatory nucleus, tectum, and the underlying dorsal tegmentum.
 
 
PROPRIOCEPTIVE SYSTEMS AND CEREBELLUM
 
Control of the course of muscular movement in process is insured
by a variety of sensory end-organs, including those in muscles,
tendons, joints, and the overlying skin. At the beginning of motility
in the embryogenesis of Amblystoma a single peripheral sensory
element (the transitory Rohon-Beard cells) may perform both exteroceptive and proprioceptive functions (Coghill, '14, Paper I, p. 199),
and this may be true of some spinal ganglion .cells in the adult,
though here special proprioceptive apparatus also is provided. The
Rohon-Beard cells are believed to be derived from a portion of the
neural crest which is incorporated within the neural tube; and the
mesencephalic nucleus of the trigeminus, as just described, has a
similar origin. The latter cells survive in the adults of all vertebrates,
in the service apparently of co-ordination of movements involved in
the feeding reactions.
 
 
In the head the membranous labyrinth is the dominant organ of
this system, with participation of nerves of cutaneous and deep
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 143
 
sensibility, and probably the lateral-line organs also. Some proprioceptive control is doubtless organized in the reticular formation of
the cord and bulb, but we have little information about how this is
done. From the entire sensory zone of these regions, proprioceptive
influence is filtered off and directed to the cerebellum, which is the
general clearing-house for these functions. Many vestibular root
fibers and a smaller number of trigeminal fibers go directly to the
cerebellum, and secondary fibers from the sensory zone enter it by
way of the spino-cerebellar tract and bulbar correlation tracts a and b
(p. 159; '44&). That exteroceptive and proprioceptive functions are
not completely segregated in these brains is shown by the fact that
many fibers of the spinal lemniscus (tractus spino-tectalis) send collaterals into the cerebellum ('14o, p. 376). Within the cerebellum the
general somatic sensory and vestibular components of the proprioceptive system are locally segregated, the former in the body of the
cerebellum and the latter in the auricle, and this localization is a
primary feature of the cerebellum in all vertebrates, as Larsell has
shown. This author ('45) has also made it clear that cerebellar function includes much more than proprioception, or else the concept of
proprioception must be redefined in more inclusive terms. The second
alternative, I think, is better, as I have suggested in an article ('47)
on the proprioceptive system, from which some of the following paragraphs are taken, by courtesy of the editor of the Journal of Nervous
and Mental Disease.
 
 
Sherrington ('06, p. 347) defines the cerebellum as the head ganglion of the proprioceptive system, taking as the basis for his classification of receptors "the type of reaction which the receptors induce."
In his exposition of this idea he makes it clear that the proprioceptive system is segregated from other sensory systems, not in terms of
the receptors involved but because the system as a whole exerts
regulatory control over the action of all skeletal muscles. The criteria
employed here are applied in the efferent, not the afferent, side of the
arc. In view of present knowledge of cerebellar function, Sherrington's original concept of proprioception should be emphasized and
amplified.
 
 
It has long been recognized that in the cerebellum of lower vertebrates the sensory inflow is of two kinds, which are separately localized, viz., (1) the vestibular and lateral-line systems in the lateral
part and (2) the spinal and trigeminal systems in the median body.
The second category traditionally comprises deep sensibility of several sorts, notably that of muscle spindles, tendons, joints, and some
other internal end-organs. Current physiological research requires
radical revision and broadening of this traditional analysis. It has
been shown that in mammals different cutaneous areas, vibrissae,
audition, and vision have local representation in the cerebellum, as
do also various systems of synergic muscles. In lower vertebrates the
cerebellum has a broad connection with the hypothalamus, implying
representation in the cerebellum of olfactory sensibility also.
 
 
In brief, cerebellar control of muscular movement employs practically all modalities of sense represented in the action system of the
animal. The function of the cerebellum as the "head ganglion of the
proprioceptive system" is not to pattern the muscular response (for
these functions are localized elsewhere) but to facilitate its execution ;
and this facilitation employs all available sensory experience. Many
organs of sense perform simultaneously both exteroceptive and proprioceptive functions. Sherrington's fruitful analysis of the action
system into interoceptive, exteroceptive, and proprioceptive components was not based upon the specificities of the receptive organs,
considered either anatomically or physiologically; but, on the contrary, the distinction was drawn in terms of what the animal does in
response to sensory excitations. The interoceptive systems are defined in terms of internal adjustments, chiefly visceral. The exteroceptive systems are those which evoke adjustments of the body or its
members to events in the external world. The proprioceptive systems
are ancillary to the activities of the musculature in maintenance of
tonus, posture, and regulation of the action of synergic groups of
agonist and antagonist muscles in appropriate strength and sequence.
 
 
Proprioception, therefore, must be defined not in terms of the
modalities of sense employed but in terms of the results achieved.
Cerebellar proprioceptive control is accomplished by the application
of all relevant types of sensory inflow to specific and successive muscular activities which may be in process from moment to moment;
and the definition of "proprioception" must be formulated in terms
of the motor response rather than of the sensory systems involved.
The proprioceptive system, accordingly, includes all peripheral endorgans and nerves and all central adjustors in the spinal cord, brain
stem, cerebellum, and cerebral hemispheres that collaborate in the
co-ordination and synergizing of muscular activity in process. In a
recent conference with Dr. Larsell he suggested to me that, in view
of the inadequacy of current conceptions of the true nature of the
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 145
 
proprioceptive system and the faulty connotations of the term in
present usage, it might be better to avoid the word hereafter and
replace it by the more inclusive name, "proprius system."
 
The preceding comments on the proprioceptive system apply,
mutatis mutandis, to Sherrington's exteroceptive and interoceptive
systems also. In his original definitions of these terms, Sir Charles
was careful to insist that each component of each of these three
subdivisions of the total pattern of behavior must be viewed in its
entirety as a unitary act and that the significance of these acts can
be understood only in terms of their reciprocal relationships with one
another and with the total action system of the animal. The critical
feature of each of these acts is the end-result, the actual behavior
exhibited. The names originally given to these three classes of functions put the emphasis on the receptive organs, w^here it does not
belong. Some obscurity and confusion may be avoided if the unity of
these several components of behavior is recognized in their nomenclature. The exteroceptive systems, viewed in their entirety, are
somatic, the interoceptive systems are visceral, and the proprioceptive
systems are ancillary to all muscular activity and, accordingly, may
be termed proprius. Sherrington's terms, "exteroceptors," "interoceptors," and "proprioceptors" are suitable names for the receptive
organs, with the qualification that the same organ may, on occasion,
activate somatic, visceral, or proprius responses.
 
 
VISCERAL SENSORY AND GUSTATORY NERVE ROOTS
 
General visceral sensory fibers of wide peripheral distribution
enter the brain by the vagus roots, and the IX and VII roots contain
smaller numbers of similar fibers from the mucous surfaces of the
mouth and pharynx. Taste buds are widely distributed in these
mucous surfaces, and the gustatory fibers are indistinguishably
mingled with the general visceral fibers peripherally in the roots of
the VII, IX, and X nerves and centrally in the f . solitarius, more of
them entering the brain anteriorly than posteriorly. This mixed
group of peripheral fibers, as a whole, is quite distinct from all other
functional systems and it was termed by the earlier students of nerve
components in lower vertebrates the "communis system" because all
its fibers converge into a single central bundle, the f. communis
(Osborn, '88). This we now know is homologous with the mammalian
f. solitarius. The peripheral and central arrangements of the chemoreceptors illustrate some general principles which will next be examined.
 
 
 
CHEMICAL SENSIBILITY
 
The peripheral terminals of the sensory fibers of the V to X cranial
nerves take three forms: (1) The fibers of the general somatic sensory
and visceral systems have free nerve endings within or beneath
epithelium or widely spread in deeper tissues. (2) The end-organs of
the special somatic sensory systems are differentiated epithelial
structures of the internal ear or lateral lines with receptive hair cells,
which are shorter than the surrounding supporting cells. (3) The
chemoreceptors of the gustatory (special visceral sensory) system
are budlike epithelial structures, which resemble the naked lateralline organs but differ from them in that the specific receptive cells are
slender, elongated elements, which span the entire thickness of the
epithelium. The fibers which innervate them are generally thinner
than those of lateral-line organs and are less myelinated or unmyelinated.
 
 
Those species of fishes which have taste buds abundantly distributed in the outer skin and also naked organs of the lateral lines not
inclosed in pits or canals present both morphological and physiological problems of great diflSculty ('03, '03a, h). In the earlier literature
all these cutaneous organs were termed indiscriminately "terminal
buds," with resulting confusion which was not clarified until the
nerve fibers which supply them were found to belong to different
functional systems. The fibers supplying lateral-line organs, wherever
situated, converge centrally into the acousticolateral area, and fibers
supplying taste buds,whether in mucous surfaces or in the outer skin,
converge into the f. solitarius and its nucleus. The separation of the
gustatory from the lateral-line system of cutaneous sense organs by
the anatomical method has been confirmed by physiological experiments performed by the writer, G. H. Parker, and others.
 
 
Though this distinction is perfectly clear in some species of fishes,
in others there are transitional forms of "terminal buds," and much
remains obscure about the functions of these various types of receptors. The problem is complicated by the fact that in fishes the skin is
everywhere very sensitive to a large variety of chemical substances
(Sheldon, '09; Parker, '12, '22; Ariens Kappers, Huber, Crosby, '36,
chap, iii; for a more general discussion of the chemical senses see
Moncrieff, '44). The skin is sensitive, in general, to different substances from those which activate the olfactory organ and taste
buds, but there are some puzzling exceptions.
 
 
For instance, the gurnard fishes (Prionotus, Trigla) have three
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 147
 
rays of the pectoral fin which are mocUfied to serve as "feelers" in the
search for food on the floor of the sea. Somewhat similar filamentous
pelvic fins of the gourami, codfish, and several other teleosts are
abundantly supplied with taste buds with the usual functions and
nervous connections ('00, '03; Scharrer, Smith, and Palay, '47); but
the free pectoral fin rays of the gurnards have no taste buds, and yet
it has been shown (by the authors last mentioned) that these fin rays
are sensitive to the same sapid substances as are the cutaneous taste
buds of other fishes and that the reactions also are similar. These
authors, in tracing the central courses of the large nerves which supply
these free fin rays, find that these fibers have central connections
similar to those of the pectoral fins of other fishes, belonging, that is,
to the general cutaneous system. They do not enter the f. solitarius.
They present evidence also that some secondary fibers from these
general cutaneous centers connect centrally with the superior gustatory nuclei of the isthmus and hypothalamus, just as do the true
gustatory fibers arising in the nucleus of the f, solitarius. This is interpreted to mean that these nerves of general cutaneous chemical
sensibility are so specialized that they can serve typical gustatory
reactions, though they do not connect peripherally with taste buds.
 
 
These observations seem to show that some peripheral fibers of the
general cutaneous system, without specialized receptive end-organs,
may acquire functions substantially identical with those of cutaneous
taste buds and that such fibers have central connections similar to
those from taste buds. It is evident that no rigid categories can be
recognized here in terms of our conventional classification of "the
senses" or of their organs, a principle illustrated also by Whitman's
('92) observations on the cutaneous sense organs of the leech,
Clepsine, to which reference is made on page 84. Nature is not
bound by our rules of logical analysis.
 
 
Taste buds within the mouth are interoceptors, but similar buds in
the outer skin of fishes are typical exteroceptors, used in the selection
and location of food, as are also the free nerve endings of the general
cutaneous nerves that respond to chemical excitants. It is evident
that all these nerve endings co-operate with the nerves of ordinary
tactile sensibility in the normal process of finding food. That this cooperation is intimate and in some cases indispensable has been shown
by Parker ('12) in the case of the catfish, Ameiurus. In this fish the
skin has general chemical sensitivity to acid, alkali, and salt, a
sensitivity which is served by general cutaneous nerves. In the skin there are also innumerable taste buds which are innervated by fibers
which enter the f . solitarius. The general chemical sensibility is preserved if the taste buds are denervated, but the specific gustatory
function of the taste buds is lost if the general cutaneous innervation
of the surrounding skin is eliminated. A similar relation prevails with
taste buds within the mouth, for these have a double innervation;
and in man the gustatory function is abolished if the trigeminal innervation of the tongue is surgically destroyed, even though the
specific innervation of the buds remains uninjured; this loss, however, is temporary, and after a few weeks gustatory function returns
(Gushing, '03).
 
 
Amblystoma has no cutaneous taste buds, but the mouth cavity is
abundantly supplied with them. They are especially numerous on the
palate among the vomerine teeth, and these buds have a peculiar
accessory innervation — a compact skein of circumgemmal fibers of
uncertain origin ('256; Estable, '24). These fibers separate from a
plexus related with the ramus palatinus and may be derived from a
trigeminal anastomosis; but this has not been demonstrated.
 
 
The tactile, general chemical, and gustatory systems are as intimately related centrally as they are peripherally. All taste buds of
all animals, wherever found, are supplied by fibers which discharge
centrally into the nucleus of the f. solitarius or its derivatives. In
those fishes which have cutaneous taste buds with exteroceptive
functions the central connections of these buds differ from those of
buds within the mouth which have interoceptive functions. These
details need not be given here ; the interested reader is referred to a
recent paper ('446) and references there given. These differences are
explained by the fact that stimulation of interoceptive taste buds
evokes visceral responses, but excitation of exteroceptive buds is followed by somatic movements for capture of food.
 
 
In Amblystoma, as in man and all other vertebrates, all fibers from
taste buds enter the f . solitarius. Most fibers of all modalities of general cutaneous sensibility of the head enter the sensory V nucleus;
but a small number of them pass through this nucleus to enter the
f . solitarius, thus providing for integration of general somatic sensory
and gustatory sensibility. The prefacial f. solitarius carries gustatory
impulses forward into the neuropil of the superior trigeminal nucleus
in the auricle. A third and much more extensive provision for bringing general cutaneous and both general and special visceral sensi
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 149
 
bility into physiological relation is at the bulbo-spinal junction
(chap. ix).
 
 
The preceding analysis illustrates the intimate physiological relationship which exists among the various modalities of sense which
may be concerned with the resolution of mixed sensory experience in
the interest of securing the appropriate responses. The integrating
apparatus is spread from the peripheral end-organs throughout the
central nervous system. Within this machinery for conjoint action
there have been differentiated the specific sensory and motor systems, that is, the analyzers. The first step in this analysis is the separation in the central adjustors of the visceral from the somatic systems. Thus the fibers of taste and general visceral sensibility converge
into the f. solitarius, well separated from all the somatic sensory
systems which are assembled more superficially. This segregation
obviously has arisen because of the radical differences in the courses
taken by the efferent fibers from visceral and somatic receptive fields
to visceral and somatic effectors, respectively.
 
 
In general, the gustatory fibers tend to end near their entrance into
the brain, and the general visceral fibers to descend toward the lower
end of the system. In elasmobranchs the nucleus of the f . solitarius is
locally enlarged, with a separate lobe for each of the nerves of the
gills. These enlargements, which show as a beadlike row in the wall of
the fourth ventricle, are probably chiefly gustatory. In the carp and
some other teleosts with enormous numbers of taste buds, there are
separate enlargements of this nucleus known as facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagal lobes. These are known to be largely gustatory in
function. In other species of teleosts there are various modifications
of these arrangements. In some birds with very few taste buds the
f . solitarius is clearly double. A very slender medial bundle carries the
few gustatory fibers and the much larger lateral bundle, the general
visceral fibers (Ariens Kappers, Huber, Crosby, '36, p. 370). In
Amblystoma, as in mammals,. none of these specializations have occurred, and the visceral sensory system as a whole retains its primitive characteristics.
 
 
SOMATIC MOTOR NERVE ROOTS
 
These roots in Amblystoma comprise only fibers for the extrinsic
muscles of the eyeball in the roots of the III, IV, and VI nerves. As
previously mentioned, all peripheral motor neurons are mingled with those of the motor tegmentum and are usually indistinguishable
from them except in cases where their axons can be followed into the
nerve roots. The cells of the nuclei of the eye-muscle nerves are
fairly clearly segregated, and in some reduced silver preparations
they react specifically to the chemical treatment (fig. 104) ; but even
here their dendrites are widely spread and intertwined with those of
tegmental cells, so that both kinds of neurons would appear to be
similarly activated by the neuropil within which they are imbedded.
The oculomotor nucleus lies in the posteroventral part of the peduncular gray (figs. 6, 18, 22, 24, 30, 31, 104). The nucleus of the IV
cranial nerve lies about midway of the longitudinal extent of the
isthmic tegmentum and far removed from the oculomotor nucleus
(figs. 61, 104). The thick IV root fibers (most of them myelinated)
ascend along the outer border of the gray to decussate in the anterior
medullary velum in the usual way.
 
 
As mentioned in chapter xiii, the sensory zone of the isthmus contains cells of the mesencephalic V nucleus and others which send
axons peripherally to meninges and chorioid plexus. Some of the
latter go out with the IV nerve roots to unknown destinations. It is
possible that some of these cells are secondarily displaced neurons of
the motor IV nucleus, similar to those described by Larsell ('476) in
cyclostomes. There is no definite evidence that this condition exists
in urodeles; and, indeed, all connections of the cells lying within and
adjoining the superior medullary velum require further study.
 
 
The floor plate of Amblystoma throughout its length contains a
special type of ependymal elements and the cell bodies of some neurons. These neurons do not invade the floor plate from the basal
plate, but they develop within this plate intrinsically, as was first
pointed out by Coghill ('24, Paper III). In the adult medulla oblongata there are few of them at any one level, but they constitute a
definite nucleus raphis, which is enlarged in some places, notably so
in the interpeduncular nucleus. Most of the cells of the nucleus of the
VI nerve are median, as in Necturus ('30, p. 14). These cells in
ordinary preparations cannot be distinguished from others of the
nucleus raphis except by observation of axons emerging in the VI
nerve root. They are distributed sparsely in the ventral raphe and
adjacent to it between the levels of the VII and IX nerve roots ('445,
fig. 2). They emerge usually by two widely separated roots, though
more rootlets are sometimes seen.
 
 
 
 
CRANIAL NERVES 151
 
GENERAL VISCERAL EFFERENT NERVE ROOTS
 
Preganglionic fibers for unstriatcd muscles and glands leave the
brain in the III, VII, IX, and X roots, probably with the IV nerve
and its environs (p. 181) and perhaps with the parietal nerve (p. 235).
In other vertebrates, fibers of this system have been described as
leaving the brain with the optic nerve, with the nervus terminalis,
and independently from other regions of the brain for the meninges.
Our material is inadequate to reveal satisfactorily either the central
connections or the peripheral courses of any of these fibers, so that
this topic remains to be clarified. The large unmyelinated hypophysial nerve belongs in this system, as described on page 244.
 
 
SPECIAL VISCERAL iMOTOR NERVE ROOTS
 
The striated muscles related with the visceral skeleton of the head
— jaws, hyoid, branchial arches, and their derivatives in higher animals — belong in a special category (p. 69). These muscles are visceral in phylogenetic and embryologic origin and primitively in function, but in all craniate Chordata they have acquired the same
striated structure as somatic muscles, as well as various degrees of
somatic function. They occupy, accordingly, an ambiguous position
and are sometimes termed "special somatic muscles" ('22, '43). Their
innervation is of similarly intermediate character. In Amblystoma
these motor fibers are thick and well myelinated and arise from large
cells of motor type which are more or less clearly segregated in
separate nuclei. These nuclei lie laterally of the somatic motor nuclei
and well separated from them.
 
 
This system of fibers is represented in the V, VII, IX, and X pairs
of cranial nerves. Their peripheral distribution has been described by
Coghill ('02). Their large motor nuclei are imbedded in the tegmental
gray, with no clear boundaries. Their approximate positions in the
larva are shown as projected upon the floor of the fourth ventricle in
1914«, figure 1; but, as seen in other figures of that paper, their
dendrites ramify widely among those of the tegmental neurons. This
indicates that both kinds of cells are activated from the same sources.
 
 
The motor V nucleus lies more laterally than the other members of
this group. A Golgi impregnation of three of its elements is shown in
figure 40. From it two roots arise, one from its posterior end and one
farther forward. There are two well-separated motor nuclei and roots
of the VII nerve, the roots emerging ventrally of the VIII root. The cells of the anterior nucleus are scattered among similar cells of the
tegmentum near the level of exit from the brain. The posterior nucleus is farther spinalward and is the anterior part of a well-defined
column of cells, which also includes the motor IX and X nuclei. The
motor VII root fibers pass forward dorsally of the f. longitudinalis
medialis (fig. 89) and turn laterally to emerge from the brain, as in
Necturus ('30, p. 15). There is no visible boundary between the
posterior motor VII and the motor IX and X nuclei.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XI
MEDULLA OBLONGATA
 
THERE is no systematic description of the medulla oblongata of
adult Amblystoma comparable with my paper on Necturus
('30) . Coghill's papers give many details of the early stages of development, but no comprehensive description has been written. The 38mm. larva was described in 1914, and subsequent study convinces
me that the conditions found there and in Necturus are not fundamentally different in adult Amblystoma, though the latter is considerably more specialized. This is evident upon comparison of the
figures of adult Amblystoma recently published ('446) with those of
the two papers just cited, to which the reader is referred for general
discussion. At metamorphosis the changes are far less in Amblystoma
than in Salamandra and some other urodeles. Descriptions of the
medulla oblongata and cerebellum of Cryptobranchus, Siren, Proteus, Salamandra, and some other urodeles are found in the papers
cited on page 11. Some details of the schematic outline given in
chapters iv and v will now be filled in.
 
 
SENSORY ZONE
 
The sensory zone forms the massive dorsolateral wall of the fourth
ventricle from the calamus scriptorius forward, to and including the
thick auricle under the cerebellum (p. 44). This zone is reduced in
size but not suppressed in the floor of the lateral recess of the ventricle
spinal ward of the auricle. In the remainder of the medulla oblongata
the gray substance forms a low ridge bordering the taenia of the
fourth ventricle and projecting into the ventricle, the acousticolateral
area, which is smaller in the adult than in the larva (figs. 9, 89, 90).
Ventrally of this area is a narrower ridge, which expands posteriorly
— the visceral lobe (figs. 9, 88). This contains the nucleus of the
fasciculus solitarius.
 
 
The white substance of the sensory zone is composed chiefly of the
fascicles of sensory root fibers and the associated neuropil. There are,
in addition, secondary arcuate fibers and two longitudinal bundles of
correlating fibers — tracts a and h of Kingsbury (figs. 7, 9, 87-90).
 
 
 
The sensory root fibers are related peripherally with end-organs
which seem to be physiologically as specific as those of man, though
the specificities are of different types; but at the first synapse this
specificity is no longer preserved in terms of localized gray centers or
pathways of conduction. A neuron of the second order may have
functional connection with afferent fibers of tactile, vestibular,
lateral-line, or gustatory roots, singly or in any combination.
 
 
Since most of the sensory root fibers span the entire length of the
medulla oblongata and have numberless collateral branches throughout this length, evidently there is little provision for localization of
function in terms of fore-and-aft relations in space. Mass responses
of the entire musculature are readily evoked by excitation of any or
all components of this sensory complex, but how are selective local
responses effected? When the arrangement of the secondary connections of these sensory root fibers is examined, it is evident that this
question cannot be answered in terms of any mechanism of switchboard type. The axons of these secondary neurons do not take random courses. They tend to be assembled in bundles of fibers, which
have a common direction and destination. Such bundles as ascend to
higher levels (the lemniscus systems) evidently have some kind of
specificity, for they retain their identity up to termination in definite
and different places. This specificity may be determined by the
source of their excitation — the modality of sense and the location in
the body of the receptive end-organs — or it may be determined by
the nature of the response to be evoked — muscular contraction, secretion, and the location of the effector organs activated. Probably both
these factors are operative in establishing the pattern of arrangement
of the higher centers of adjustment and their connecting tracts of
fibers.
 
 
The problem of the apparatus employed in making discriminative
responses to specific types of sensory excitation is not simplified by
these observations. In higher animals the specificity of the various
modalities of sense is preserved in central pathways of conduction
leading up to higher centers of adjustment in the thalamus and the
cerebral cortex. But somewhere in the course of this transmission
these diverse, localized, functional systems are brought into relation
with one another and are integrated in such a way as to result in
appropriate responses to the total situation. In these amphibians the
process of integration begins at the first synapse. The organization of
the neurons of the second order is such as to facilitate activation of
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 155
 
large masses of musculature by sensory excitation of any kind, that
is, reactions of total-pattern type as defined by Coghill. This is the
only kind of response which can be made by Amblystoma in the
earliest stages of development of motility ; and in the adult animal it
is clear, from both the structural organization of the nervous system
and the overt behavior, that the action system as a whole is predominantly of total-pattern type. One of the coarser features of the
structural mechanism of this integrated behavior is seen in the waj^
the neurons of the second order act as collectors of excitations of
diverse modalities and widely distributed peripheral origin.
 
 
Within this primordial apparatus of integrated mass action, as development advances, local areas are differentiated with progressively
more restricted functional connections. This is manifested anatomically by contraction of the spread of the dendrites of the secondary
elements so as to have synaptic contact with a smaller number of
fascicles of root fibers. In midlarval stages some of these elements
spread their dendrites through the whole extent of the white substance of the sensory zone, thus having contact with terminals of all
fascicles of root fibers (fig. 9, no. 1). Some of these dendrites also
reach downward into the zone of correlation, the reticular formation
(fig. 9, no. 4). Other elements are in functional relation with a few or
only one of the root fascicles (fig. 9, nos. 2, 3). In the adult the
dendritic spread is not so wide, and a larger proportion of the neurons are in synaptic relation with one or a few contiguous fascicles of
root fibers; yet even here there are few neurons of the second order
which may be activated by root fibers serving a single modality of
sense.
 
 
There is, accordingly, as development advances a progressive restriction and local specialization of the central apparatus of analysis
of the manifold of sensory experience, and this is an important factor
in the acquisition of the local reflexes which are individuated within
the larger total patterns of behavior as this process has been described by Coghill. Furthermore, this process of local specialization
of structure within the sensory field, as exhibited in ontogeny, has a
parallel in phylogenetic history, as illustrated, for instance, by comparison of the organization of this field of Amblystoma with that
of the frog, as described by Larsell ('34, p. 504), and with that of the
specialized fishes ('44&).
 
 
In the tracts of fibers which ascend to higher levels of the brain
stem from this sensory field — the lemniscus systems as described
below — there is a similar lack of segregation of separate pathways for
the several modalities of sense. The general bulbar lemniscus {Im. of
the figures) carries fibers which may be activated from any or all of
the sensory nerve roots. The segregation of some specific sensory
pathways is incipient in the lemniscus systems, and this is seen with
especial clarity in the secondary ascending visceral-gustatory path
(tr.v.a.).
 
 
INTERMEDIATE ZONE
 
The reticular formation of the spinal cord is continued forward into
the medulla oblongata (fig. 9; '14a, p. 378; '30, p. 59). In Weigert
sections (figs. 89, 90) it may be recognized as a lighter field between
the bulbar lemniscus (Im.) and the spinal lemniscus (Im.sp.). Here the
spino-bulbar, spino-cerebellar, and spinal lemniscus tracts are assembled in the alba.
 
 
The neuropil of this field receives dendrites from the underlying
gray and from the adjoining sensory and motor zones (fig. 9; '14a,
figs. 22-43; '446, figs. 7, 8). Some of these cells are small, with local
connections; others are very large, with wide dendritic spread and
long axons (most of them myelinated), which descend as internal
arcuate fibers to the ventral funiculi. Many of them decussate in the
ventral commissure; and both crossed and uncrossed fibers, before
or after crossing, bifurcate into ascending and descending branches.
The descending bulbo-spinal fibers and the ascending bulbo-tegmental fibers are part of the neuromotor apparatus of bulbar and spinal
reflexes. The lemniscus systems, on the other hand, arise chiefly in the
sensory zone, though some of their fibers may be axons of neurons of
the intermediate zone, a distinction of no great significance, in any
event, because many neurons have extensive dendritic spread in both
zones. The lemniscus systems also differ from the neuromotor apparatus just described, in their terminal connections, passing not to
the motor zone but to higher levels of the sensory zone.
 
 
Among the large cells of the intermediate zone the two giant cells
of Mauthner are of special interest. They lie at the level of the
vestibular roots and have large dendrites directed outward among
terminals of these root fibers ('14a, fig. 12). In the 12-mm. larva they
are of enormous size ('14a, fig. 53), with thick dendrites, which ramify
throughout the entire area of the white substance. In the adult the
dendritic spread is less extensive, yet it is sufficiently wide to embrace the greater part of the alba of the intermediate and motor
zones and especially the terminal area of vestibular fibers. The thick
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 157
 
myelinated axons immediately decussate and descend in the f . longitudinalis medialis tlirough the entire length of the spinal cord. These
two cells are collectors of nervous impulses from many sources and
are part of the apparatus of control of mass movements of the
musculature of the trunk. Their specific functions have not been
fully explained, though they have been much studied. They are magnified and highly specialized examples of the elements of the nucleus
motorius tegmenti of the medulla oblongata.
 
 
We lack sufficient knowledge of the structural and physiological
properties of this tegmentum to frame satisfactory hypotheses of the
actual mechanism of the integrative and co-ordinating functions
which seem to be operating here. The intermediate tegmentum is
structurally so intimately interwoven with the tegmentum of the
motor zone that both probably act in these operations as a functional
unit.
 
 
At the anterior end of the medulla oblongata the trigeminal tegmentum merges with the isthmic tegmentum, and dorsally of this
junction the nucleus cerebelli occupies the position of the intermediate zone. In higher animals the gray of this nucleus is incorporated
within the body of the cerebellum as the deep nuclei. The definitive
cerebellum, accordingly, is a derivative of both sensory and intermediate zones.
 
 
MOTOR ZONE
 
Little can be added here to the general description in chapter v.
The larger cells of the motor field may spread their dendrites through
the whole of the motor and intermediate zones and also upward into
the sensory zone and across the ventral commissure to the opposite
side ('14a, figs. 29, 30, 31, 37, 41, 42; '446, figs. 7, 8). This type of
structure is extended forward into the isthmus, where it is more
specialized and the small and large cells are segregated, though not
completely so. Most axons of the large cells are myelinated in the
adult. In midlarval and late larval stages, thick unmyelinated axons
of the large cells take curious courses. Some descend uncrossed in the
ventral or ventrolateral funiculi. Others decussate in the ventral
commissure. The latter may cross transversely as internal or external
arcuate fibers, or they may take long ascending or descending courses
before crossing obliquely and then turning spinal ward. Before or
after crossing, these fibers may divide into long ascending and descending branches, and they may give long branched collaterals along
the entire course. The terminals of an individual fiber may reach a
large part of the motor field of the medulla oblongata of both sides.
How far forward the ascending branches may extend has not been
determined; some of them certainly pass beyond the isthmus. Some
illustrations of these fibers have been drawn ('396, figs. 42, 46, 51, 57,
58, 61, 66, 68). In the medulla oblongata they are mingled with
similar fibers of the thalamo-bulbar, pedunculo-bulbar, and tegmento-bulbar systems ('396, fig. 23). Relatively few of them enter the
f. longitudinalis medialis. The extensive and diffuse spread of the
terminals of these fibers makes it evident that, if they are employed
in any definitely local reactions, the localization is effected by some
device other than the arrangement in space of their terminals.
 
 
In mammalian neurology the transverse segment of the brain stem,
which lies under the cerebellum, is named the "pons" after its most
conspicuous external feature. This name is obviously inappropriate
here, where there is no pons or any recognizable primordium of it.
 
 
FIBER TRACTS OF THE MEDULLA OBLONGATA
 
The white substance of the medulla oblongata contains many compactly arranged, well-myelinated fibers. Some are very coarse and
some thinner. Mingled with these, especially in the sensory and intermediate zones, there are many unmyelinated fibers. In most preparations the several systems are not clearly fasciculated, so that analysis
is difficult in the adult. In larvae elective Golgi preparations have
revealed many details, though much remains obscure. Most of the
ventromedial fibers are descending. Laterally within and surrounding
the reticular formation are fibers of local correlation and the ascending lemniscus systems; and dorsolaterally there are the fascicles of
sensory root fibers, together with some correlating systems. Most of
the latter appear as arcuate fibers, which are very numerous at the
outer border of the gray, with some at intermediate and superficial
depths of the alba (figs. 87-90).
 
 
Sensory fibers of the second order are of five sorts: (1) reflex connections by arcuate fibers with the bulbar motor zone of the same and
the opposite side, either directly or with synapse in the intermediate
zone; (2) bulbo-spinal connections, crossed and uncrossed, descending in the ventral and ventrolateral funiculi; (3) bulbo-cerebellar connections (see chap, xii); (4) correlation tracts a and h (of Kingsbury),
intrinsic to the sensory zone; (5) the lemniscus systems, passing between the sensory zone and higher levels of the same zone, most of
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 1.59
 
them decussating in the ventral commissure. The fibers of all these
kinds are widely dispersed, and their analysis is still incomplete.
Arcuate fibers are everywhere present in the medulla oblongata,
and each of the five groups of secondary connections mentioned
above is represented in these arcuates. There are also deep arcuates
from the intermediate and motor zones to the ventral commissure.
These are doubtless part of the apparatus by which the patterns of
performance of synergic groups of muscles are organized, but the
details of actual operation of this apparatus are unknown. It seems
to be well established that the primary organization of these motor
patterns is intrinsic to the motor and intermediate zones. These
intrinsic mechanisms may be activated (1) in a nonspecific way from
the sensory zone, with resulting mass movement; (2) more specifically
from parts of the sensory field dominated by one or another system of
peripheral sense organs, with local motor response; (3) from higher
centers of control which co-ordinate all motor activity in the interest
of integrated behavior of the body as a whole. The second and third
of these types of behavior are recognizably present in Ambly stoma,
though at a very primitive level of specialization.
 
 
SENSORY CORRELATION TRACTS a AND b
 
All peripheral somatic sensory fibers which enter the medulla
oblongata terminate in a common pool of neuropil, which pervades
the sensory zone within which the various qualities of sense seem to
be more or less completely merged. The secondary fibers which leave
these fields are, however, not strictly equipotential. There is evidently an incipient localization of function among these fibers, but
the apparatus by which this specialization is achieved is not clear.
It seems probable that part of this apparatus is to be sought in two
longitudinal tracts of correlation, which were first described by
Kingsbury ('95) in Necturus. To these he gave noncommittal names,
"tracts a and 6," one lying above, the other below, the fascicles of
lateral-line nerve roots (figs. 9, 87-90). I have written a general
description of these tracts of Amblystoma ('446) and, in particular, of
their relations posteriorly with the dorsal funiculus of the spinal cord
and the nucleus funiculi and anteriorly with the cerebellum. Some
additional features may now be added.
 
 
Tract a. — This tract follows the taenia of the fourth ventricle for
most of its length, anteriorly passing below and through the dorsal
island of neuropil, under the floor of the lateral recess of the fourth
 
 
 
160 THE BRAIN OF THEiTIGER SALAMANDER
 
ventricle, and then arborizing in the lateral vestibular area of the
auricle (figs. 7, 32, 33; '446, fig. 14). Posteriorly, at the calamus
scriptorius, it converges with its opposite fellow, and the two tracts
enter, respectively, the medial fascicles of the dorsal funiculi of the
spinal cord. Tract a is regarded as a mixed collection of fibers of
correlation, related primarily with the lateral-line nerve roots, a
supposition which is supported by Kreht's observation ('30, p. 316;
'31, p. 422) that in adult Salamandra, in which the lateral-line roots
are atrophied, tract a also disappears. It is connected by arcuate
fibers with the intermediate and motor zones of both sides, and probably some of these fibers are commissural, connecting the acousticolateral areas of the two sides.
 
 
The nucleus of the dorsal funiculi extends for a considerable distance anteriorly and posteriorly of the calamus scriptorius. Fibers
of the slender median fascicle of the dorsal funiculus of the cord terminate in this nucleus, and some of them continue forward for an
undetermined distance in tract a. The nucleus funiculi is connected
through tract a with the lateral-line area farther forward by fibers,
some of which are probably descending and some ascending. The
latter may go as far as the cerebellar primordium in the auricle,
though there is no demonstration of this. In Triturus, as described by
Larsell ('31, p. 48), unmyelinated fibers descend into tract a from the
auricle, thus providing for cerebellar discharge into the lateral-line
area.
 
 
Trad h. — This tract is a mixed bundle of myelinated and unmyelinated fibers, believed to be related primarily and perhaps specifically
with the vestibular roots (figs. 7, 31). The literature contains several
descriptions of tract b of Amblystoma ('14a, p. 373; '396, p. 604;
'446, p. 317; Larsell, '32) and other urodeles. In the aggregate, these
give an incomplete account of it. From the data at hand it is concluded that it contains a variety of crossed and uncrossed, ascending
and descending, fibers connecting the vestibular areas of both sides
with each other, with the underlying tegmentum, with the cerebellum, and with the spinal cord. Kreht ('31, p. 423) describes in Proteus
a probable connection with the f . longitudinalis medialis.
 
 
Anteriorly, tract h converges with tract a into the vestibular
neuropil at the lateral border of the auricle (fig. 91). This is cerebellar
territory, the primordium of the flocculus of mammals. Silver impregnations show that many of these fibers end in free arborizations
in the auricle ('396, figs. 43, 67, 77, 98). This connection is clear in
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA IGl
 
Triturus also (Larsell, '31, p. 50) and is comparable with the secondary vestibulo-cerebellar tract of mammals. Fibers descending from
the auricle into tracts a and b are probably ancestral to the mammalian f. uncinatus of Russell.
 
 
At the bulbo-spinal junction, tract b merges with the spinal root
of the vestibular nerve, and its fibers descend for an undetermined
distance in the lateral fascicles of the dorsal funiculus of the cord.
There is, accordingly, a dorsal vestibulo-spinal connection by both
peripheral and secondary fibers, a connection which puts the vestibular apparatus into especially intimate relation with the neuropil of
the nucleus funiculi. It is probable that fibers ascend from the nucleus
funiculi in tract b, and some of these may extend as far as the auricle.
As I have pointed out ('44&), this cerebellar connection, if confirmed,
would be the obvious precursor of the system of arcuate cerebellar
fibers described in primates by Ferraro and Barrera ('35) as passing
from the external cuneate nucleus to the cerebellum by way of the
corpus restiforme. Tract b connects only with the vestibular field of
the cerebellum, and this cerebellar connection of the nucleus funiculi
(if present) would have a physiological significance quite different
from that of the larger connection by way of the tractus spinocerebellaris (fig. 3), for the latter connects only with the non vestibular body of the cerebellum.
 
 
In addition to the dorsal uncrossed vestibulo-spinal connection
just described, there is an extensive crossed and uncrossed connection
between tract b and the motor field by arcuate fibers. Many of these
fibers bifurcate, with branches which ascend and descend in the
ventral funiculus. These may correspond with the secondary vestibular fibers of the mammalian f. longitudinalis medialis, but here they
are dispersed, and the details of their courses have not been described. In the absence of elective impregnations, our material does
not reveal their courses. Their presence may be expected, in view of
the fact that they comprise an important constituent of this fasciculus in mammals. An incomplete impregnation in an advanced larva
gives some evidence of them. In figure 38 the contorted fiber directed
medially from the region of entrance of the VIII root is probably a
secondary vestibular fiber, which enters the f . longitudinalis medialis,
and the two impregnated fibers seen in this fasciculus may belong to
this system.
 
 
The inferior olive has not been identified in urodeles, but among
the dispersed arcuate fibers are some with connections which suggest the presence of a primordium of this structure ('396, p. 604). Some
of the smaller tegmental neurons in the vicinity of the VIII roots
send axons laterally into tract b, where they divide with ascending
and descending branches. Similar fibers are seen to enter this tract at
all levels between the V and X roots. Some of these come from the
opposite side. The ascending branches of these fibers pass under the
auricular gray and recurve dorsalward to arborize within the gray
of the rostral face of the auricle. This may represent a vestigial
remnant of the large olive of some fishes, here reduced to insignificant proportions because of the small size of the cerebellum
(Ariens Kappers, Huber, Crosby, '36, pp. 668-89).
 
 
THE LEMNISCUS SYSTEMS
 
The less myelinated field of alba of the medulla oblongata between
the sensory and motor zones, which I term the "reticular formation,"
contains the ascending fibers of the lemniscus systems and a neuropil,
which receives dendrites of neurons of the underlying gray and also
of many neurons of the adjoining sensory and motor zones. This
seems to be the field in which patterns of local bulbar reflexes are
organized, but its texture and connections have not been satisfactorily analyzed. From the reticular formation and the overlying sensory gray, thick axons, some of which are myelinated, descend as
internal and external arcuate fibers to the ventral funiculus. Many of
these pass to the motor zone as part of the neuromotor apparatus of
bulbar and spinal reflexes. These enter a mixed spino-bulbar and
bulbo-spinal tract associated with the spinal lemniscus, as shown in
figures 38 and 39. Others, usually thinner fibers, immediately decussate in the ventral commissure and then ascend in the lemniscus
tracts to higher levels of the sensory zone.
 
 
In the lemnisci of mammals, fibers of the various sensory systems
are segregated in separate tracts. In Ambly stoma the arrangement is
radically different. Segregation of functional systems is incipient but
so little advanced that mammalian names are inapplicable. Under
this heading there are included here all ascending fibers from the
spinal cord and medulla oblongata, which terminate in the sensory
and intermediate zones at higher levels. These are arranged in four
groups which take separate courses: (1) the spinal lemniscus complex
(Im.sp.), (2) the general bulbar lemniscus (hi.), (3) tr. bulbo-tectalis
lateralis (tr.t.b.L), and (4) the ascending secondary visceral-gustatory
tract {tr.v.a.). The spino-cerebellar tract is closely associated with the
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 163
 
first group. There is some evidence of a separate trigeminal lemniscus, as described below.
 
 
1. THE SPINAL LEMNISCUS (fIGS. 3, 9, 10, 11, Im.Sp.)
 
The spinal lemniscus is an extensive system of fibers ascending
from the spinal cord and here lying immediately ventrally of the
spinal V root. In the cord these fibers arise as axons of cells of the
dorsal gray column, which decussate in the ventral commissure. In
the region of the calamus this tract receives extensive additions from
the nucleus funiculi, the spinal V nucleus, and the commissural
nucleus of the opposite side (figs. 3, 87). Some of these crossed fibers
from the calamus region have thinner collaterals, which descend for
a short distance in the ventral funiculus of the spinal cord. The
ascending fibers, at first, lie in the ventral funiculus (figs. 41, 42)
but soon turn dorsally to join those from lower levels of the cord
('446, figs. 9-11). The most lateral and ventral fibers of this mixed
bundle terminate in the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata
— tr. spino-bulbaris (figs. 3, 88, 89, 90). The others at the level of the
V nerve roots separate into spino-cerebellar and spino-tectal tracts.
Many of the spino-cerebellar fibers are collaterals of the spino-tectal
fibers (fig. 10; '14a, p. 376). Some fibers of the spino-tectal tract
continue past the midbrain to end in the dorsal thalamus (fig. 34).
The entire course of this complex is shown in a diagram ('396, fig. 26)
drawn from three adjoining sagittal sections of a larva, and this is
confirmed by elective Golgi impregnations of the adult. Terminals of
this tract in the dorsal thalamus are seen in figure 44.
 
 
2, THE GENERAL BULBAR LEMNISCUS (hn.)
 
This large fascicle, the general bulbar lemniscus, receives fibers
from all parts of the sensory zone of the medulla oblongata (figs. 9,
11). These decussate in the ventral commissure and ascend medially
of the reticular formation (figs. 89, 90). In the isthmus they turn
dorsally and traverse the midbrain ventrally of the tectal formation,
some fibers continuing forward into the dorsal thalamus (figs. 27-34,
91-94). These fibers may apparently carry nervous impulses activated by all kinds of sensory fibers which enter the medulla oblongata. Their terminals are spread quite uniformly throughout the
entire extent of the tectum, and here they mingle with those of the
spinal lemniscus (fig. 11; '396, fig. 96). There is little evidence of
physiological specificity in either of these tracts, save that one comes
from the spinal cord and the other from the medulla oblongata and that the latter may be activated by a wider variety of sensory excitations, including the vestibular, lateral-Hne, and visceral-gustatory
systems. This lemniscus is one of the largest tracts of the urodele
brain and is very large in fishes also. In anurans and higher forms it
can be recognized with difficulty because its fibers are dispersed or
segregated in other specialized tracts like the trigeminal lemniscus.
Amblystoma has nothing comparable with the medial lemniscus of
mammals.
 
 
There is some evidence of an incipient trigeminal lemniscus,
though most of the secondary general cutaneous fibers ascend in the
general bulbar lemniscus ('39&, p. 606). From the region of the superior sensory V nucleus under the auricle a large number of arcuate
fibers descend to the ventral commissure. Some of these enter the general bulbar lemniscus. Others are added from the entire length of the
spinal V nucleus, and in the calamus region similar fibers join the
spinal lemniscus. These connections were observed by Woodburne
('36, p. 455). From the region of the superior V nucleus, fibers ascend
uncrossed as far as the isthmic tegmentum, where they end. This
may be the precursor of an uncrossed trigeminal lemniscus. In the
preparation from which figure 39 was drawn, no fibers of the lemniscus systems are impregnated. The visible external and internal arcuate fibers make local bulbar connections, descend to the spinal
cord, and ascend only as far as the isthmus. Some of these fibers divide into ascending and descending branches before or after decussation. Anteriorly on the right, a compact fascicle of external arcuates descends from the superior trigeminal neuropil, turns forward,
and decussates close to the ventral surface within the interpeduncular neuropil. Most of them descend in the bulbo-spinal tract, but
some turn forward as tr. bulbo-isthmialis. This may be a precursor of
a separate crossed trigeminal lemniscus. Their course is parallel with
tr. bulbo-tectalis lateralis (primordial lateral lemniscus), but deeper.
 
 
3. TRACTUS BULBO-TECTALIS LATERALIS (fIGS. U, 91, 9'2, tr.b.t.l.)
 
The tr. bulbo-tectalis lateralis is a mixed system of fibers, closely
associated with the general bulbar lemniscus and of similar origin
from the sensory zone, chiefly from its middle part in the vicinity of
the vestibular nerve roots. In the isthmus it lies externally of the
general bulbar lemniscus, and it terminates exclusively in the primordial inferior colliculus (nucleus posterior tecti) and the underlying
isthmic neuropil. These fibers are mingled with those of a system
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 1G5
 
which descends from the inferior colhculus — tr. tecto-bulbaris posterior (figs. 1)2, 13, 29-34, 89, 90, tr.t.h.p.). Their segregation from
those of the general bulbar lemniscus in the urodeles seems to be determined primarily by their terminal distribution; they end in the inferior colliculus, while the larger bulbar lemniscus ends chiefly in the
superior colliculus.
 
 
This tract is probably the precursor of the lateral lemniscus, which
first makes its appearance in definitive form in anurans. A "lateral
lemniscus" has been described in the brains of fishes by many authors, but this is a misnomer. That large tract of fishes is comparable
with the general bulbar lemniscus of urodeles and has none of the distinguishing features of the mammalian lateral lemniscus, though it
doubtless includes the primordium of that tract. Its current name,
"f. longitudinalis lateralis," is more appropriate.
 
 
Both these bulbar lemniscus tracts are well developed in Necturus
and the reader is referred to their description in that animal for discussion of the phylogenetic relationships ('30, pp. 51 ff.; Ariens
Kappers, Huber, Crosby, '36). Necturus lacks a cochlear rudiment,
and hence the lateral bulbar lemniscus here probably has a very imperfect auditory function, if any. In Ambly stoma and most other
urodeles there is such a rudiment, and here audition of a primitive
type may be represented, along with other functions, in this tract. In
adult Anura there is a well-developed primordium of the cochlea,
from which a cochlear division of the VIII nerve arises. Correlated
with this, there are cochlear nuclei, from which a true lateral lemniscus passes to the inferior colliculus. Parallel with this differentiation,
both general and lateral lemniscus tracts, as seen in urodeles, are
radically reorganized. Larsell ('34, p. 521), after thorough examination of this question, accepts my interpretation of the lateral tract
of urodeles as an incipient lateral lemniscus, citing my remark ('30,
p. 58) : "It may be that this incipience of an auditory lemniscus in
Necturus is a central anticipation of a later peripheral specialization
of the cochlear rudiment— ^that is, an apparatus for sorting out
centrally the meager auditory component of the mixed functional
complex of the undifferentiated VIII nerve. But it is more likely another evidence that Necturus is a degenerated or an arrested derivative of some more highly differentiated ancestor." A good brief summary of the evolution of the auditory apparatus has been given by
Papez ('36). For further comments on this tract see pages 188, 214.
 
 
 
4. THE SECONDARY VISCERAL-GUSTATORY TRACT {tr.V.a.)
 
The fibers of the secondary visceral-gustatory tract are segregated
in terms of physiological specificity more definitely than are those of
the other lemniscus systems. They are axons of neurons of the nucleus of the f . solitarius and commissural nucleus, which ascend uncrossed ventrally of the spinal V root. Most of the visceral sensory
fibers of the VII root are gustatory, and most of those of the vagus
roots are general visceral. It is probable that the secondary fibers
arising more anteriorly are activated mainly from taste buds, but
these cannot be distinguished from those of general visceral sensibility. The central courses of these fibers have been fully described and
illustrated in the larva ('14a), in the adult ('446), and in Necturus
('30). A useful summary of the comparative anatomy of this system
has been published by Barnard ('36). The adult arrangement is
shown here in figures 7, 8, 9, 23, 30, 37, 38, 87-90.
 
 
One is impressed by the stability of the general plan of these arrangements throughout the vertebrate series, despite the most extreme modifications of the details in adaptation to different modes
of life. This applies particularly to the peripheral and bulbar connections. The ascending connections are less well known, and they
probably show more radical changes in the series from lower to
higher vertebrates. Fishes and amphibians exhibit a common plan,
with infinite variety of detail; the arrangement in Amblystoma appears to present this plan reduced to its simplest form, and this
generalized plan may be taken as a point of departure from which the
cerebral apparatus of visceral-gustatory adjustments of higher animals has been derived.
 
 
All the peripheral fibers enter the f. solitarius, which spans the
entire length of the medulla oblongata. They are thin, and many of
them are myelinated. Most of those from the geniculate ganglion,
which form the visceral sensory VII root, have a T-form division,
with ascending and descending branches as they eiiter the f . solitarius. Most (perhaps all) of the prefacial f. solitarius is composed of
these ascending facialis fibers, which are less heavily myelinated than
are their descending branches and, presumably, are gustatory in
function. These fibers ascend to the auricle, where they end in the
same neuropil as the ascending V root (figs. 7, 30, 38; '14a, p. 365).
By this arrangement, correlation may be effected between visceralgustatory and general somatic sensibility of the mouth cavity. The
visceral sensory fibers of the IX and X roots are less myelinated than
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 167
 
are those of the VII root. Most of them descend without division in
the f. soHtarius, but some divide with branches, which ascend for
short distances (fig. 37; '446, figs. 14, 17).
 
 
In Amblystoma, as in all other vertebrates, the two f . sohtarii converge at the calamus scriptorius into the commissural nucleus, and
part of their fibers decussate here in the dorsal commissura infima of
Haller. Here at the bulbo-spinal junction there is an important field
of correlation between the visceral-gustatory systems and the general somatic sensory systems of the entire body. The details of this
structure in Amblystoma, the comparative anatomy of this region,
and its strategic importance for fundamental physiological problems
have recently been discussed ('446) and are summarized here in
chapter ix.
 
 
The nucleus of the f. solitarius contains some neurons with dendritic connections exclusively with this fasciculus, but most of these
elements have other connections also. Some of their axons cross in
the ventral commissure and are lost to view in the vicinity of the
general bulbar lemniscus; others ascend uncrossed in the secondary
visceral-gustatory tract to the isthmus, midbrain, and hypothalamus. Some of these secondary fibers bifurcate, with branches taking
both these courses (fig. 9) . The first of these pathways is probably
more primitive, for Barnard ('36, p. 513) writes : "There is no differentiated, uncrossed secondary gustatory tract in the lamprey. All
connections with higher centers are through the bulbar lemniscus
system." It is believed that in Amblystoma the decussating fibers
are concerned chiefly with bulbar reflexes; whether any of them ascend to higher levels in the bulbar lemniscus is not clear. In any
event the uncrossed tract is evidently the chief pathway to higher
centers. Rostrally of the V roots this tract divides, some of its fibers
continuing forward to area ventrolateralis pedunculi and some turning dorsad to the superior visceral nucleus in the isthmus. We have
many elective preparations of these fibers which have been cut in
various planes, and the entii-e course is clear.
 
 
In the ganoid fishes (Johnston, '01; Barnard, '36, p. 517) the secondary visceral tract takes essentially the same course as in Amblystoma; but the superior visceral nucleus lies more ventrally and posteriorly, under the cerebellum. In those teleosts in which the gustatory system is enormously enlarged (carp and catfish), the secondary
visceral-gustatory nucleus shows corresponding enlargement and is
displaced forward and dorsalward in the isthmus to a position similar to that seen in Amblystoma. This makes it probable that in Amblystoma the fibers of the secondary tract that pass through the isthmus
and go directly forward to the peduncle and hypothalamus are general visceral in function and that those that take the more dorsal
course to the superior nucleus are chiefly gustatory in function,
though this distinction may not be sharply drawn. In support of this
conclusion, Barnard ('36, p. 595) mentions the fact that this superior nucleus disappears in birds, in which the gustatory apparatus is
greatly reduced. If we may accept the suggestion of Fox ('41, p. 418)
and others that the ventral tegmental nucleus of mammals is comparable with the superior visceral-gustatory nucleus of lower forms,
it is evident that the mammalian nucleus has a more posteroventral
position, similar to that of the generalized ganoid fishes.
 
 
The isthmic secondary visceral nucleus was first identified in
larval Amblystoma ('14a, pp. 364, 373) and subsequently in Necturus ('17, p. 248; '30, p. 62). Its cells form a low ventricular eminence
at the posterior dorsal tip of the isthmic tegmentum (fig. 2B). They
are of medium size, scattered and clumped in an open neuropil
(fig. 34), with outlying cells dispersed in the alba. As seen in transverse sections, they lie immediately ventrally of the posterior end of
the isthmic sulcus ('25, fig. 19; '42. fig. 43). Their long dendrites are
directed laterally and ventrally into the posterior isthmic neuropil,
where they engage terminals of the secondary visceral tract, ascending root fibers of the trigeminus, tr. bulbo-tectalis lateralis, tr. bulboisthmialis (fig. 38), collaterals of tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus (fig. 37;
'42, fig. 67), and terminals of the dorsal tegmental fascicles, notably
those of group (9), as described in chapter xx, from the cerebral hemispheres. There is also a diffuse connection with the cerebellar formation, and this is much more intimate in some fishes ('05) .
 
 
An extension of the secondary visceral-gustatory tract to the tectum has been described by Brickner ('30) in some teleostean fishes.
In these fishes there is a large commissure connecting the two visceral-gustatory nuclei, which includes many decussating fibers of the
secondary visceral-gustatory tract. A separate fascicle of the latter
fibers turns forward, as tr. gustato-tectalis, to reach the anterior part
of the tectum opticum. This connection has not been observed in
Amphibia, but it may exist. It makes provision for correlation of
visceral-gustatory with visual experience, and it is accompanied by
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 169
 
a return path from the tectum to the visceral-gustatory nucleus byway of tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus — a typical reflex circle (p. 76).
 
 
At the outer border of the gray of this nucleus, in a few preparations there are large spindle-shaped neurons, with dendrites extending for long distances tangentially to the gray layer. One dendrite
may ramify among terminals of the secondary visceral tract and
dorsal tegmental fascicles of groups (7), (8), and (9) and the other
in the deep neuropil and the f. tegmentalis profundus. One such element is illustrated in figure 101, showing an axon directed dorsally
toward the decussatio veli, possibly a commissural connection between the two visceral nuclei similar to that described in the frog and
in fishes.
 
 
These afferent connections suggest that this isthmic nucleus is a
correlation center, where gustatory, general visceral, and a considerable variety of other types of experience are brought into relation,
with the gustatory component dominant and all in the interest of
reflexes concerned with feeding. The afferent fibers of the secondary
gustatory tract terminate not only in the neuropil of the visceralgustatory nucleus but also in that of the adjacent isthmic and dorsal
tegmentum ('25, fig. 19; '42, fig. 43), where reflexes of the jaw and
hyoid musculature are believed to be organized (p. 190).
 
 
This hypothesis is supported also by the courses taken by the efferent fibers. These go out in several directions. First, there is a dispersed group of fibers which spread in the underlying tegmentum
(figs. 8, 13). This is a direct connection with the neuromotor apparatus of the mouth and pharynx. The remainder enter the tertiary
visceral tract (fig. 8, tr.v.t.), which has rather wide distribution. This
tract of Amblystoma is relatively small, and its fibers are dispersed
and so intimately mingled with others that analysis is difficult. The
diagrams show what has been clearly seen. In figure 8 the dotted
component of tr.v.t. is highly probable, though not confirmed by
elective impregnations.
 
 
In the description of the brachium conjunctivum (p. 176) this
fascicle is shown to descend close to the gray in the posterior lip of
the isthmic sulcus to reach the decussation. In this part of their
course the cerebellar fibers comprise a large component of the f . tegmentalis profundus. As they emerge from the cerebellar formation,
they pass through the superior visceral nucleus, and here they are
joined by a smaller number of similar thin unmyelinated axons of cells of this nucleus. These two systems of fibers are mingled, and
analysis is impossible except in electively impregnated material. We
have few such specimens of either Amblystoma or Necturus, but
those we have show that in the ventral commissure immediately spinalward of the decussation of the f. retroflexus some of the visceralgustatory fibers turn forward in company with those of the ventral
secondary visceral tract, and both groups of fibers arborize in the
ventrolateral neuropil of the peduncle. Some of these fibers probably
pass through this neuropil without synapse to reach the hypothalamus, as in fishes, in company with pedunculo-mamillary fibers and
mingled with those of the mamillo-peduncular, mamillo-tegmental,
and mamillo-interpeduncular tracts. At their decussation the tertiary
visceral fibers spread in the alba of the isthmic tegmentum before and
after crossing, and some of them probably reach the interpeduncular
neuropil, though this needs confirmation. All these systems and
others (including, perhaps, mamillo-cerebellar fibers) are mingled,
and none of the tracts are closely fasciculated.
 
 
In some fishes these tracts are separately fasciculated, and the amphibian arrangement, so far as revealed in our material, conforms
with the teleostean pattern. The tertiary visceral-gustatory tract is
very large in some of these fishes ('05, pp. 420, 436, figs. 20, 23, 37,
38), passing from the secondary nucleus directly to the hypothalamus. This direct connection has been described by Larsell ('23,
p. 109) in the frog; and in both Amblystoma and Triturus he saw
some indications of it. In the frog these direct fibers do not take the
deep course, as described above for Amblystoma, but are superficial,
accompanying mamillo-cerebellar fibers. I find evidence of this superficial connection in Amblystoma also, but in the absence of elective
impregnations no accurate description can be given. These fibers in
some of our preparations are seen as a well-fasciculated tract. In the
Cajal sections, from which figures 25-36 were drawn, it is not so
clearly shown as in some other specimens, but its location can be
identified. These fibers assemble at the lateral surface rostrally of
tr.v.a. (fig. 34), in company with those of tr.t.b.p., as drawn in that
figure. Ten sections farther ventrally, they are drawn, but not labeled, in figure 33 superficially of tr.t.h.r. In some Golgi preparations,
fibers in this position connect with the hypothalamus, and this is the
course taken by the tertiary visceral tract in the frog (Larsell, '23,
figs. 2, 4). This is the position also of the tr. mamillo-cerebellaris,
 
 
 
MEDULLA OBLONGATA 171
 
which I provisionally identified in Necturus ('14, p. 8) and subsequently ('17, p. 250) questioned and the presence of which has been
confirmed by Larsell.
 
 
In the light of such fragmentary evidence as we now have, it seems
to me probable that in Amblystoma the ascending tertiary visceralgustatory fibers take a deep course, accompanying the brachium conjunctivum, and that the superficial fascicle described above is a
mamillo-cerebellar tract, which also connects with the isthmic tegmentum and the isthmic visceral-gustatory nucleus.
 
 
The bulbar apparatus of visceral-gustatory adjustment is simply
organized in Amblystoma, as, indeed, it is in man, with minimal provision for local specialization. The division of the ascending path into
dorsal and ventral moieties in the isthmus is similar to the divergence of the olfactory paths to epithalamus and hypothalamus. In
both cases somatic correlations are effected dorsally and olfactovisceral correlations ventrally. The dorsal gustatory nucleus may
directly activate the skeletal musculature concerned with feeding,
through its connections with the underlying tegmentum, or it may
discharge into the hypothalamus, where all visceral adjustments are
organized.
 
 
The swallowing of a morsel of food in response to excitation of taste
buds is one of the simplest acts of which the body is capable. This may
be done reflexly through the local activation of the bulbar connections of the f. solitarius; but, simultaneously with this local action,
nervous impulses may be transmitted to higher centers which are so
interconnected as to bring this simple act into relation with any
other activities that may be in process in response to internal or external stimuli. The final result of any particular sensory excitation
is dependent upon the central excitatory state of the central nervous
system as a whole and of every local part of it. And the quality of
this excitatory state is determined not only by the stimuli presently
acting upon it but also by the^past experience of the race and of the
individual. This theme is amplified in a recent discussion of the apparatus of optic and visceral correlation ('44a).
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XII
CEREBELLUM
 
IN URODELES the cerebellum is incompletely separable from the
brain stem, and the entire rhombencephalon evidently acts as a
closely integrated unit. Larsell's papers ('20, '31, '32, '45) on the
cerebellum of Amblystoma and Triturus give good accounts of its
development and structure.
 
 
Three of the primordia from which the mammalian cerebellar
complex has been assembled are here clearly separate in relations
easily recognized. The fourth mammalian component — the pontile
system — is not represented in Amblystoma. The three components
present are: (1) the vestibulo-lateralis system in the auricles, primordia of the floccular part of the fiocculonodular lobes ; (2) the
median body of the cerebellum, which is ancestral to the larger part
of the vermis and adjoining regions; and (3) the nucleus cerebelli,
internal to the other two and in intimate relations with both of them.
The topographic arrangement of these parts as seen in transverse
sections is shown in figure 91. In higher brains these three components are variously merged, and the nucleus cerebelli is subdivided
and incorporated within the cerebellar mass as the deep nuclei. The
connections of the vestibular and lateral-line systems with the auricle
have been described above. The afferent connections of the body of
the cerebellum are shown in figure 10. These include primary and
secondary sensory trigeminal fibers, spino-cerebellar fibers, tectocerebellar fibers, and probably a hypothalamo-cerebellar tract. Evidence from both comparative anatomy and embryology indicates
that cerebellar differentiation began within the sensory zone, and in
the adults of all vertebrates it retains some features characteristic of
this zone, including termination within it of vestibular root fibers and
(in many species) of trigeminal root fibers also. It is morphologically
supra-segmental and physiologically supra-sensory, an adjustor of
higher order, not primarily concerned with determining the pattern
of performance but rather with facilitation and regulation of its execution. The motor zone plays no part in it genetically or functionally except as a sort of accessory after the fact. In later phylogenetic
 
172
 
 
 
CEREBELLUM 173
 
stages, with the appearance of the pons and cortico-pontile connections, this situation is changed; but even in mammals these connections, though topographically in the motor zone, are foreign to its
intrinsic organization, for the pons and all its connections are dependencies of a supra-segmental apparatus and the cells of the pontile nuclei are embryologically derived from the sensory zone. In the
most primitive vertebrates in which cerebellar differentiation is
minimal (almost absent in myxinoids, Jansen, '30; Larsell, '47a) the
sensory zone of the medulla oblongata abuts against that of the midbrain, which in these animals is the dominant adjustor of all somatic
(nonvisceral) activities. Necturus presents a very early stage in the
fabrication of the cerebellar complex ('14), scarcely more advanced
than in cyclostomes. In Ambly stoma the process is further advanced.
It is evident that cerebellar differentiation began under the influence
of several kinds of sensory excitations, viz., the vestibular, lateralline, general cutaneous, and deep sensibility of the muscles, joints,
etc. ('24 ; Larsell, '47, '47a) . Connection with the visual system of the
tectum was effected in early phylogenetic stages. With the elaboration of the cerebral cortex in mammals, another major component
was added — the cortico-pontile system. This history has been thoroughly explored and documented by Larsell ('20-'47a). Brodal ('40)
and Brodal and Jansen ('46) have greatly extended our knowledge of
the connections between the inferior olive and the cerebellum in
mammals, but we have little exact information about them in lower
forms.
 
 
The isthmus is a critical junctional field. Immediately spinalward
of it the sensory and intermediate zones of the medulla oblongata
are enlarged to form the massive auricle, within which are terminals
of the ascending vestibular and associated lateral-line roots (fig. 7).
This is probably the first primary component of cerebellar architectonic. More medially the ascending sensory root of the trigeminus
reaches its terminal (superior) nucleus. Some of these V root fibers,
accompanied by secondary V fibers from the superior nucleus, continue into the median body of the cerebellum (figs. 10, Sl-33, 91),
where they are joined by fibers of the spino-cerebellar tract. Some
fibers of the mixed bundle decussate in the commissura cerebelli
(com.cb.). This is the second primary component of the cerebellum
from which the median mass (corpus cerebelli) of larger cerebella has
been derived and into which converge sensory influences of all sorts
except those from the internal ear and the lateral-line organs. This median mass receives fibers from the mesencephalic tectum and (in
lower-vertebrates) also from the hypothalamus. The tecto-cerebellar
tract may be activated from the mesencephalic V nucleus and from
terminals of the optic and lemniscus systems.
 
 
The very rudimentary cerebellum of Myxine has been the subject
of much controversy. Holmgren ('46, p. 54) described in the embryo
two possible primordia, one in the auricle of the rhombencephalon
and one at the posterior end of the mesencephalic tectum. Larsell's
comprehensive study ('47, '47a) of this region of cyclostomes has
clarified the problem. Myxine has the most primitive cerebellum
known, and, so far as its differentiation has gone, it conforms with
the typical vertebrate pattern.
 
 
The spino-tectal terminals in the inferior colliculus are primitively
contiguous with the vestibular and lateralis terminals in the auricle,
and from the wedlock of these two systems the cerebellum was born.
The primordial inferior colliculus, accordingly, was primitively concerned with proprioception. Upon this foundation the cochlear system of higher animals was built in much the same way that the bulbar cochlear nuclei emerged from the lateral-line nuclei of the medulla
oblongata (p. 138). It is significant that in Amblystoma the primordial inferior colliculus contains dense collections of cells of the mesencephalic V nucleus, that fibers of the mesencephalic root of the V
nerve penetrate cerebellar tissue, and that cells of the mesencephalic
V nucleus are found sparsely scattered in the cerebellar gray (p. 140).
It seems probable that the mesencephalic V nucleus was first differentiated at the posterior end of the tectum and that from this focus
its cells spread forward into the optic tectum and, in smaller number,
backward into the cerebellum.
 
 
In the gray of both the median body of the cerebellum and the
lateral auricle some of the neurons are specialized as Purkinje cells,
in contrast with smaller cells, which are precursors of the cerebellar
granules. The largest and best developed Purkinje cells are loosely
arranged at the outer border of the central gray, but they are not
delaminated from the granular layers as in mammals. If cortex is defined as laminated superficial gray, Amblystoma has no cerebellar
cortex, though its primordium is clearly evident. The Purkinje cells,
though of simple form, are quite distinctive. From them and from the
nucleus cerebelli, efferent fibers stream downward, forward, and
backward as cerebello-tegmental fibers, and one large fascicle of
 
 
 
CEREBELLUM 175
 
these extends farther forward parallel with the sulcus isthmi as brachium conjunctivum.
 
 
In, my earlier papers a ventricular swelling under the cerebellum
was termed "eminentia subcerebellaris tegmenti." This has subsequently been analyzed into several distinctive areas, of which the
posterodorsal member was named "eminentia cerebellaris ventralis"
('35a, fig. 1). It is now clear that this is the primordium of the deep
nuclei of the cerebellum, and it is here named "nucleus cerebelli"
(figs. 2, 10, 32, 33, 91, nvc.cb.). This is an ill-defined region of the intermediate zone, not clearly separable from its surroundings. Some
fibers of the brachium conjunctivum arise from these cells, though
only a small part of them.
 
 
The spino-cerebellar tract ascends in company with the spinal lemniscus, some cerebellar fibers being collaterals of lemniscus fibers, as
described above. Cerebellar fibers join this tract from the nucleus of
the dorsal funiculus and the sensory zone of the medulla oblongata.
One confused issue regarding this tract of Amblystoma can now be
clarified. A dorsal slip of the spino-cerebellar tract passing through or
above the entering fibers of the sensory V root was described by me
('14, p. 7) and by Larsell ('20, p. 277). These observations could not
be confirmed by either of us (Herrick, '14a, p. 375; Larsell, '32,
p. 414), the supposed tract being then interpreted as the ascending
trigeminal root. It now appears that both the earlier and the later accounts are correct. In one of our adult brains, cut in a favorable oblique plane (no. 2245), there is partial Golgi impregnation of the sensory V root fibers and of the spino-cerebellar tract, with no other
fibers stained in this vicinity. A separate fascicle of the ventral spinocerebellar tract turns dorsally at the level of the V nerve, its fibers
interdigitate with those of the entering sensory V root, and rostrally
of this level the spino-cerebellar fibers and the ascending sensory V
fibers are mingled as far as their entrance into the cerebellar commissure. Here a fortunate elective impregnation clarifies the confusion as neatly as could be done by an experimental degeneration
(compare Salamandra as described by Kreht, '30, p. 294).
 
 
In the literature our tractus spino-cerebellaris is sometimes designated "tractus cerebello-spinalis," implying conduction spinalward.
Some descending fibers may be present in this tract of Amblystoma,
though our preparations have not revealed them. That the larger
part of the tract is ascending is clearly evident.
 
 
 
The tr. tecto-cerebellaris was originally described ('*25, p. 483 and
figs. 39-41) from two series of sagittal Golgi sections of the adult,
and this description has been confirmed by Larsell ('3'2, p. 425). Additional details can now be added. In several series of Golgi sections
of advanced larvae and adults these thin unmyelinated fibers arise
from neurons of the nucleus posterior tecti with the dendrites directed forward into the posterior border of the optic tectum. Their axons
form a rather compact fascicle close to the dorsal surface of the nucleus posterior, which passes backward though the anterior medullary velum and laterally of it, accompanying thick myelinated fibers
of the mesencephalic root of the V nerve which take a similar course.
At the anterior border of the cerebellum they turn ventrad and
spread out along the anterior side of the body of the cerebellum,
some reaching the underlying nucleus cerebelli.
 
 
A tr. mamillo-cerebellaris was described by Larsell ('20, p. 279;
'32, p. 424), and some evidence of it has been seen in our preparations; but in the absence of elective impregnations no satisfactory
description can be given. In view of the large size of this connection
in fishes, its presence in urodeles may be expected.
 
 
BRACHIUM CONJUNCTIVUM
 
Large numbers of unmyelinated and lightly myelinated fibers descend from the body of the cerebellum, the auricle, and the nucleus
cerebelli. These cerebello-tegmental fibers are in addition to the connections of the auricle with the vestibulo-lateralis sensory field in
correlation tracts a and b; they are directed in dispersed arrangement ventrally, posteriorly, and anteriorly. A large and rather compact fascicle of these fibers, a few of them myelinated, is directed
antero ventrally and is clearly a primordial brachium conjunctivum
(figs. 10, 21, 71). These axons arise from cells of the body of the cerebellum (fig. 47) and the nucleus cerebelli (14a, fig. 52); they assemble anteriorly of the body of the cerebellum and pass forward through
the visceral-gustatory nucleus in the isthmus (figs. 33, 34). Here they
are joined by fibers of the tertiary visceral tract, which arises in
this nucleus (p. 169).
 
 
This mixed tract with accessions of fibers from other sources has
been termed "fasciculus tegmentalis profundus" ('36, p. 304, figs. 14,
23, f.teg.p.) ; its analysis is possible only with the aid of elective impregnations, and these, fortunately, are available (see the further de
 
 
CEREBELLUM 177
 
scription in chap. xx). This fascicukis extends forward and ventralward from the cerebellum at the outer border of the gray in the lips
and floor of the isthmic sulcus, finally to reach the ventral commissure, where some of its fibers decussate a short distance spinalward of
the fovea isthmi, mingled with those of the decussation of the f. retroflexus and spinalward of it. Its course as seen in horizontal sections is shown in figures 29-32 (f.teg.p.), and in sagittal sections in
figure 104 and previously published figures of the same specimen
('36, figs. 19-21, trxb.teg.).
 
 
Elective impregnations show that the brachium conjunctivum is
the largest component of this mixed fasciculus (figs. 71, 72). Many
of its fibers spread outward into the alba of the isthmic tegmentum
on the side of origin, and these include all the myelinated fibers of
the brachium. A residue of the unmyelinated fibers decussates in the
ventral commissure. Elective Golgi impregnations show that, at the
decussation, fibers of the brachium conjunctivum and tertiary visceral tract are mingled and that both enter a dense superficial neuropil laterally of the crossing. Here the tertiary visceral fibers turn forward in company with those of the secondary visceral tract to reach
the area ventrolateralis pedunculi, and the cerebellar fibers turn posterodorsally and spread out in the alba of the isthmic tegmentum.
This primordial brachium conjunctivum may activate almost the entire extent of the isthmic tegmentum diffusely on both sides. No evidence has been found of a concentration of cells related with it which
could be regarded as a nucleus ruber.
 
 
THE CEREBELLAR COMMISSURES
 
In the body of the cerebellum there are two commissures, which
differ in position, connections, and functions. They are specifically
related with the two chief subdivisions of the cerebellar complex.
 
 
The com. cerebelli (com.cb.) is a compact fascicle of well-myelinated fibers crossing more ventrally than the less myelinated com. vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli (com.cb.i.), as shown in figures 10 and 91. It
crosses between the levels of figures 34 and 35. The com. cerebelli is
composed of fibers from two sources, which terminate chiefly in the
median body of the cerebellum. These are (1) fibers of the tr. spinocerebellaris (figs. 32, 33, 91) and (2) fibers of the sensory trigeminus
system. The latter are, in part, fibers of the ascending sensory V root
terminating in the cerebellum and, in part, axons of cells of the superior sensory V nucleus terminating in the cerebellum and the neuropil of the V nucleus of the opposite side (figs. 31, 32, 91). The latter
is a true trigeminal commissure.
 
 
The com. vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli is a more dispersed collection
of unmyelinated and lightly myelinated fibers assembled from the
auricles (figs. 31 36, 91). Included among them are root fibers of the
vestibular nerve {comxb.VIII) and secondary fibers of the lateralline system of nerves {com.cb.l.L). These are mingled at their crossing
in the cerebellar alba. Whether any primary root fibers of the lateralline nerves decussate in this commissure is not clear in our material ;
apparently they do not.
 
 
PROPRIOCEPTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE CEREBELLUM
 
In the initial differentiation of the cerebellum and in its normal
functions in all animals, proprioception has played a dominant part.
Nevertheless, it must be recognized that all sensory systems may
participate in cerebellar control of muscular movements (Larsell,
'45), a control that is applied to the motor adjustors as going concerns at every phase of their operations. The significance of the cerebellum as "the head ganglion of the proprioceptive system" (Sherrington) is discussed in chapter x in connection with a critique of the
proprioceptive system as a whole.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XIII
ISTHMUS
 
THE strategic position of the isthmus as a transitional sector of
the brain stem between rhombic brain and cerebrum has been
commented upon (pp. 45, 118). In early neural-tube stages of the
developing human brain it is a rather large sector, but in the adult
it is hardly recognizable as a distinct entity because its tissues are
dispersed among other structures of relatively recent phylogenetic
origin. In contrast, the isthmus of adult Amblystoma retains its embryonic separateness and, indeed, accentuates it. Here its distinctive
features are most clearly seen, and these will be described as fully as
available material permits. Its dorsal part is contracted and includes
only the anterior medullary velum and some adjoining structures. To
the intermediate zone is assigned the superior visceral-gustatory nucleus, and for convenience of description the remainder is included in
the motor zone, though its functions are, in large part, of intermediate type. The interpeduncular nucleus is an isthmic structure, to
which a separate chapter is devoted.
 
 
DEVELOPMENT
 
The configuration of this sector of the brain exhibits an interesting
series of changes in the course of development, due to the rapid and
radical dislocations caused by the cerebral flexures and to other inequalities of intrinsic growth. Successive modifications of the isthmic
sulcus provide a useful indicator of the course of these changes.
 
 
From the coil stage (Harrison's stage 35) to the adult, the isthmic
tegmentum is intimately joined with the trigeminal tegmentum,
with no constant external or ventricular boundary visible. "Isthmus
rhombencephali," therefore, is an appropriate name. But its anterior
boundary is sharply marked by the fovea isthmi, the deep ventricular
sulcus isthmi, and the external fissura isthmi. Even in early stages
these grooves are not exactly parallel, and as development advances
they deviate from this relationship more and more widely because of
unequal growth of the deep and superficial structures.
 
 
Reference was made on page 177 to von Kupffer's sulcus intraencephalicus posterior as the precursor of the sulcus isthmi. In coil
('37, fig. 1), S-reaction ('37, figs. 7, 8), and early swimming stages
('37, fig. 2) the external fissura isthmi lies a little farther spinalward
than the internal sulcus. In slightly older early swimmers ('38, figs.
15-18) both the isthmic fissure and the isthmic sulcus are deep, and
the sulcus is displaced farther rostrally of the fissure. This means
that the gray of the isthmus is proliferating rapidly and pushing the
isthmic sulcus farther forward. The sulcus is now a very deep cleft
and lies approximately transversely to the long axis of the rhombencephalon. From this stage the enlargement of the isthmic tegmentum
continues on the ventricular side, and in the early feeding stage (Harrison's stage 46) the isthmic sulcus extends from the cerebellum almost
horizontally forward before dipping downward to the fovea isthmi
('386, figs. 1, 2). The sulcus and the fissure are still deep, and the
sulcus has come to lie far rostrad of the fissure. This is not evident
in transverse sections but is shown clearly in horizontal sections of
this and subsequent stages ('396, fig. 16). In later larval stages, internal differentiation, particularly the elaboration of the neuropil and
thickening of the auricle, result in smoother contours both internally and externally, and the isthmic sulcus and fissure are shallower
in the adult.
 
 
At the close of the early swimming stage (about Harrison's stage
38) the cerebellum and auricle are so little developed that the plica
rhombo-mesencephalica is marked externally by a wide depression
('38, fig. 17). Between this and the early feeding stage (Harrison's
stage 46) the sharp cerebral flexures are straightened, resulting in a
backward thrust of the plica rhombo-mesencephalica in the dorsal
wall, while the ventral wall of the isthmus remains fixed (compare
'38, fig. 18, with '386, fig. 1). Though there has not yet been any very
great enlargement of the isthmic tegmentum, the isthmic sulcus in
early feeders lies more nearly horizontally than vertically. In midlarval stages the deep sulcus isthmi (shown but riot named in fig. 2 of
'14a) is inclined more than 45° from the vertical, and between midlarval and adult stages there is enormous enlargement of the gray of
the isthmic tegmentum, which thrusts the sulcus isthmi forward and
upward toward the horizontal position.
 
 
The external fissura isthmi does not follow the sulcus isthmi in
these shifts of position, but, as mentioned above, it lies in the adult a
considerable distance spinalward of the sulcus. That this involves a
mechanical stretching of the wall between the fissure and the sulcus
 
 
 
ISTHMUS 181
 
in later stages is evident from the arrangement of the ependymal elements in the lips of the isthmic sulcus. This traction begins early. It
was noticed in early swimmers ('38, p. 220) that the ependymal elements of the sulcus isthmi are thickened and sharply bent outward
and backward. This was illustrated also in early feeding stages ('386,
figs. 11, 12) and in Golgi impregnations of midlarval stages ('396,
p. 518, and figs. 31, 93). At all stages, including the adult, these thick
elements form a dense band of parallel fibers bordering the sulcus on
both sides and extending outward and backward to an attachment
at the pial surface in the floor of the isthmic fissure. In the adult the
sulcus isthmi usually does not extend ventrally so far as the fovea
isthmi, but its locus here is indicated by a band of modified ependyma. Two mechanical factors, accordingly, can be recognized in the
shifting relations of the isthmic fissure and sulcus : first, the backward
thrust of the roof during the straightening of the cerebral flexures
between early swimming and early feeding stages and, second, unequal growth of superficial and deep structures, especially in later
stages. The rapid enlargement of the gray of the isthmic tegmentum
in late larval stages produces an upward and forward thrust ventrally in the direction opposite to the dorsal backward thrust of early
stages.
 
 
The developmental history and adult position of the sulcus isthmi
of Amblystoma are radically different from those of Hynobius as described by Sumi ('26), who illustrates models showing the ventricular sculpturing from closure of the neural tube to the adult. At none
of these stages is von Kupffer's sulcus intraencephalicus posterior
visible at the plica rhombo-mesencephalica. The sulcus isthmi appears rather late at the fovea isthmi, and it does not at any stage
reach the dorsal surface.
 
 
SENSORY ZONE
 
The sensory field of the isthmus is contracted. Its scanty gray substance includes a compact cluster of cells of the mesencephalic V nucleus within and adjacent to the anterior medullary velum. These
cells are smaller and more densely crowded than are those of this nucleus in the tectum, and they may have dift'erent functional significance (p. 140). Their connections are unknown. Associated with them
are other cells at the posterior border of the inferior colliculus which
appear to have peripheral connections. From this region a few myelinated, and many unmyelinated, fibers go out to the meninges and
chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle and some with the IV nerve.
 
 
 
These fibers appear to be related with cells bordering the velum, but
no clear evidence of their connections has been found ('36, p. 343;
'42, pp. 255, 291). Within and adjoining the anterior medullary
velum are fibers of passage of several kinds, including the decussation of the IV nerves, mesencephalic root of the V nerve, and tractus
tecto-cerebellaris.
 
 
INTERMEDIATE ZONE
 
The intermediate zone as defined here is represented by the small
gray area of the superior secondary visceral-gustatory nucleus and
associated neuropil. This gray lies dorsally of the isthmic tegmentum
and incompletely separable from it. In figures 2 and 13 it is shown
wedged between the isthmic tegmentum below and the nucleus cerebelli and dorsal tegmentum above. The cells of the superior visceral
nucleus are of medium size, scattered and clumped in an open neuropil, with a few outlying cells in the alba. Their dendrites are directed
ventrolaterally through the alba into the posterior isthmic neuropil
(described below), where they engage terminals of the ascending visceral tract ('42, pp. 244, 253, and fig. 43) and of fibers from many
other sources.
 
 
There is an obscure vestige here of the nucleus isthmi, which is
well differentiated in the frog ('42, pp. 244, 253). In anurans and
reptiles this nucleus is in intimate relations with the lateral lemniscus, and it is probably part of the auditory reflex apparatus, with,
perhaps, vestibular connections also. In Ambly stoma the auditory
system is poorly developed, and the crawling habit maintains the
balance of the body without nervous control; the nucleus isthmi, accordingly, is undeveloped.
 
 
MOTOR ZONE
 
This field is so intimately related anatomically and physiologically
with the tegmentum of the trigemino-facialis region that these will
be described together. The tegmentum isthmi is bounded anteriorly
by the isthmic sulcus and fovea isthmi, separating it from the cerebral peduncle and dorsal tegmentum. Posteriorly it is bounded by the
nucleus cerebelli and the trigeminal tegmentum. Its gray substance
includes the nucleus of the IV cranial nerve (as described in chap, x) ;
a compact central nucleus of the isthmus (fig. 29, nuc.is.c.) ; and, surrounding this, a pars magnocellularis which is continuous spinal ward
with the large-celled component of the trigeminal tegmentum
(fig. 30).
 
 
 
 
ISTHMUS 183
 
TRIGEMINAL TEGMENTUM
 
The tegmentum of the trigeminal field forms a low eminence in the
floor of the fourth ventricle internally of the V roots, the erainentia
trigemini (figs. 2C, 90), which is evident in Necturus also ('30, figs.
11, 12, em.V). The gray under this eminence comprises a small-celled
dorsal and medial part and a large-celled ventral part (fig. 27) . The
small-celled part is continuous medially with a band of similar cells,
which extends spinalward under the ependyma of the paramedian
sulcus (fig. 28), and anterodorsally it is continuous with the ventral
border of the central nucleus of the isthmic tegmentum and more intimately with the deep periventricular gray of the isthmus (fig. 29).
The large-celled part is continuous anterodorsally with the largecelled component of the isthmic tegmentum (figs. 28, 29, 30). Imbedded among these large tegmental cells are the motor V nuclei.
There are two motor V roots (fig. 27), but the two motor V nuclei
seen in Necturus ('30, p. 13) are here merged. Figure 40 shows three
of these cells in Golgi impregnation. The heavily myelinated fibers
of the mesencephalic V root are more dorsal, passing upward toward
the tectum at the outer border of the gray (figs. 13, 29-32).
 
 
The configuration at the boundary between trigeminal and isthmic
tegmentum is variable, and the position of this boundary is debatable. A posterodorsal extension of the isthmic tegmentum is continuous with a low ventricular eminence, the superior visceral nucleus.
The latter is separated by a shallow and variable sulcus from the nucleus cerebelli posteriorly and a tegmental area ventrally. Comparison of the two key drawings, figures 2B and 2C, reveals differences
due partly to individual variations in relative sizes of parts and partly to lack of any well-defined boundary between the large-celled components of the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum. In figure 2B the
dorsal part of the area marked teg.is.m. contains only large cells
(fig. 31), and these may be assigned to either the isthmic or the trigeminal tegmentum. More ventrally (figs. 29, 30), both large and
small cells occupy a similar ambiguous position.
 
 
The large cells of the trigeminal tegmentum take various forms,
one of which is shown in figure 62 (others are illustrated in '14a, figs.
21-26). Like those of the nucleus motorius tegmenti elsewhere, they
are concerned with motor co-ordination in patterns as yet imperfectly known. Some of these cells in the auricle have dendrites directed
forward into the posterior isthmic neuropil, where they engage terminals of the tegmental fascicles (fig. 46). Other similar neurons direct their dendrites laterally among terminals of the ascending sensory V root and related tracts ('396, figs. 47-49, 53, m, 68). The
axons of some of these elements are directed forward, as shown in
figure 43. These short fibers pass from the trigeminal tegmentum to
arborize within the gray of the isthmic tegmentum and are doubtless
part of the apparatus of intrinsic co-ordination of patterns of action
within the motor zone.
 
 
Some of the small cells at the anterior end of the trigeminal tegmentum are shown in figures 66 and 91. These resemble those of the
adjacent interpeduncular nucleus. Their dendrites extend laterally
through the entire thickness of the alba of the ventral part of the
auricle, where they are in contact with all kinds of fibers passing this
region. The axons of some of them descend to the interpeduncular
neuropil (figs. 63, 80, 84; compare similar cells of the isthmic tegmentum, figs. 60, 84).
 
 
ISTHMIC TEGMENTUM
 
Horizontal sections are most instructive in the analysis of this region (figs. 29-33). The nervous elements are arranged in five groups:
(1) A narrow and inconstant layer of subependymal cells. (2) These
are separated by a thick sheet of neuropil from the lens-shaped area
of small and medium cells, here termed the "central nucleus of the
isthmus." (3) Externally and spinalward of this area is the pars
magnocellularis, containing scattered nerve cells of medium or large
size. The extensive neuropil within which these cells are imbedded is
broadly continuous with that of the surrounding alba. This largecelled area envelops the lentiform area of small cells laterally, ventrally, and caudally and is continuous spinalward with a similar field
of the trigeminal tegmentum. In figure 2B the dotted line separating
the pars magnocellularis (teg.is.m.) is arbitrarily drawn to indicate a
posterior sector which may be assigned to either isthmic or trigeminal tegmentum. (4) Dorsally of all the preceding, the gray of the
isthmic sector extends upward into contact with that of the dorsal
tegmentum and ventral cerebellar nucleus. This area is the superior
secondary visceral-gustatory nucleus (fig. 2B, iiuc.vis.s.). (5) A probable vestige of the nucleus isthmi.
 
 
The first component of the preceding list is the ventral part of the
zone of deep subependymal gray, which everywhere surrounds the
aqueduct. In the isthmus it is thin and contains few nerve cells, but
more posteriorly in the trigeminal tegmentum it expands to a wide
zone of subependymal small cells (figs. 29, 30). This and the associ
 
 
ISTHMUS 185
 
ated neuropil comprise one of the most primitive and conservative
features of this part of the brain and also of the diencephalon and the
mesencephalon. In mammals it contributes fibers to the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of Schiitz, as described in the opossum by
Thompson ('4'-2).
 
 
The second comi)onent, the central nucleus, is clearly delimited in
its middle part. Anteriorly, it merges with the small cells of the posterior gray of the peduncle (figs. 29, 30, 31) and more dorsally with
the ventral border of the dorsal tegmentum (fig. 32). Posteriorly, it
is continuous with the small-celled component of the trigeminal tegmentum (fig. 91), though the boundary between these is clearly
marked in many preparations. At its ventral border the gray is continuous with that of the interpeduncular nucleus, with difference in
form and arrangement of the cells, though many transitional forms
are seen ('42, fig. 43). The boundaries here mentioned are in some
preparations quite indeterminate; in some reduced silver preparations they are evident; and in Golgi preparations each of the regions
mentioned has characteristic structure and connections. All these
areas are intimately connected by a web of interstitial neuropil, the
structure of which is characteristically different in each of them. All
this gray is connected with the interpeduncular nucleus by fibers
passing in both directions, and in chapter xiv, devoted to that nucleus, it is suggested that the central nucleus of the isthmus contains,
among other constituents, the primordium of the dorsal tegmental
nucleus of mammals.
 
 
The large-celled component 3 surrounds the central nucleus on all
sides, and many of these larger neurons lie deeper, mingled with
those of the small-celled component. These cells have massive dendrites, which spread widely in the overlying alba. Among these are
cells of the nucleus of the nervus trochlearis (fig. 70). Figure 61 shows
three neurons from this region which probably belong to the IV nucleus. They are surrounded by other similar elements of the tegmentum. Most of the axons fi-om the large tegmental neurons descend, crossed or uncrossed, in the tegmento-bulbar tracts, as described in the larva ('396, p. 590). Some axons from the isthmic tegmentum, as also from the trigeminal tegmentum, are directed forward. So far as observed, these take short courses, though some may
extend farther (figs. 43, 46). This may be a precursor of the connection from the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum (Kodama, '29) which has recently been confirmed by several students of nianinialian neurology. Component 4, I lie superior visceral nucleus,
has been described above (p. 18'-2).
 
 
WHITE SUBSTANCE
 
In the white substance of the isthmus the most conspicuous features are the numbered tegmental fascicles described in chapter xx.
Externally of these fascicles are the massive teclo-bulbar and tectospinal tracts and, suj)erficially close to the pial surface, a layer of
line fibers, most of which are unmyelinated. The latter includes tr.
thalamo-tegmentalis rectus from dorsal and ventral thalamus (fig.
94; '36, }). .'UO) and, more dorsally, similar fibers from the dorsal
thalamus, which decussate in the postoptic commissure — tr. thalamo-tegmentalis dorsalis cruciatus (p. '-29!); '39, pp. 95, 116).
 
 
Mingled with these fibers and more abundantly at deeper levels
are fibers of tr. tecto-peduncularis and tecto-tegmentalis (figs. 18,
22, 24; '42, p. 267 and figs. 14, 30; Necturus, '17, figs. 9-14, 32, 33,
tr.t.ped.p.). Short fibers from the entire tectum and dorsal tegmentum
to the isthmic tegmentum are dispersed in both white and gray substance, and a large number of the longer fibers are assembled in dorsal tegmental fascicles of group (7) accompanying tr. tecto-bulbaris
rectus (p. 283).
 
 
Figure 21 shows only the more prominent att'erent connections;
there are many others. In the aggregate these include fibers from the
motor zone above and below the isthmus, collaterals of the lemniscus
sj^stems in the isthmic neuropil, terminals of the ascending visceralgustatory tract, cerebello-tegmental fibers, short fibers from the
overlying dorsal tegmentum and tectum, longer fibers from the tectum which decussate in the postoptic and ventral commissures, direct fibers from the dorsal and ventral thalamus, strong tracts from
the dorsal and ventral thalamus which decussate in the postoptic
commissure, fibers from both cerebral hemispheres by way of the
lateral forebrain bundle and tr. olfacto-peduncularis, and strong
tracts from the hypothalamus, crossed and uncrossed. To this list one
might add the fasciculus retroflexus, passing from the habenula to the
interpeduncular nucleus and, through the latter, acting upon the
isthmic tegmentum.
 
 
Most of the efferent fibers descend in the f. tegmentalis profundus
(p. 286) and the ventral tegmental fascicles. Some are dispersed in
the neuropil accompanying tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris dorsalis, and
these are regarded as jn-ecursors of the bulbar part of the f. longitudinalis dorsalis of Schlitz (p. 208). The relativelj^ short fibers which
 
 
 
ISTHMUS 187
 
descend from the hir^e cells of theisthmic<ind trigeminal tegmentum
to the motor zone of the medulla oblongata are especially clearly
seen in very young larvae from early swimming to early feeding stages
and are interpreted as provision for activation of the mandibular and
hyoid musculature involved in feeding. Longer fibers descend into
the spinal cord; but these, so far as is sliown in our material, are not
numerous.
 
 
ISTIIMIC NEUROPIL
 
Both the gray and the white substance of the isthmus are permeated with dense neuropil, the axonic component of which is composed
mainly of terminals of afferent fibers and collaterals of fibers of
passage. The superficial neuropil is composed chiefiy of branched
terminals of the unmyelinated thalamo-tegmental and tecto-tegmental tracts and dendritic terminals from the underlying gray. The
intermediate neuropil is in the form of sheets or plaques insinuated
between the tegmental fascicles and composed largely of terminals
and collaterals of fascicular fibers. The deep neuropil of the alba
and the grisea is a c(mfused entanglement of fibers and dendrites, the
analysis of which is quite impossible except where clarified l^y elective Golgi impregnations. These preparations reveal a num})er of
more or less well-defined tracts imbedded within this interstitial
matrix. In the gray substance the cells are arranged in lamellae separated by sheets of neuropil, which is continuous with that of all
neighboring parts. A large proportion of these axons trend dorsoventrally from tectum and dorsal tegmentum to isthmic tegmentum
and interpeduncular neuropil and posteroventrally, with or without
decussation in the ventral commissure. The latter axons accompany
thicker fibers of the tr. tegmento-bulbaris arising from large cells of the
motor tegmentum.
 
 
POSTERIOU ISTIIMIC xVEUKOPIL
 
The name "posterior isthmic neuropil" is given to a wide zone of
neuropil in the alba at the boundary between the isthmus and the
bulbar and cerebellar structures. It invades the auricle below and the
nucleus posterior tecti above. It is permeated by dendrites from all
surrounding parts, including the trigeminal tegmentum (fig. 46; 'S9b,
figs. 47-49, 62, 6P>), auricle ('396, fig. 53), cerebellum (fig. 47), superior visceral nucleus ('42, fig. 43), and dorsal and isthmic tegmentum.
It receives terminals of peripheral sensory fibers of the V, VH, VIII,
and lateral-line nerves, of a bulbo-isthmic tract (figs. 38, 39), of the
secondary visceral-gustatory tract; terminals and collaterals of the lemniscus systems; vast numbers of terminals of descending fibers
of the tegmental fascicles; and collaterals of tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus.
This evidently is a strategic region in the organization of both ascending and descending systems of conduction. Within this undifferentiated field the primordia of a considerable number of specific nuclei of other animals can be recognized, including specialized structures peculiar to fishes and a number of mammalian nuclei. Among
these components (with their probable derivatives in more specialized species) the following can be identified:
 
1. The chief sensory nucleus of the trigeminus. Some ascending
sensory V root fibers terminate here, though most of them more posteriorly, and some pass through to reach the commissura cerebelli
and the corpus cerebelli of the same and of the opposite side. Secondary
fibers go from this area upward into the cerebellum and forward with
or without decussation as the primordial trigeminal lemniscus.
 
 
2. Similarly, some of the ascending root fibers of the VIII and
lateral-line nerves terminate more laterally in the posterior isthmic
neuropil (superior vestibular nucleus), and some of the VIII fibers
reach the lateral (auricular) part of the cerebellum of the same and of
the opposite side, the latter decussating in the com. vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli.
 
 
3. The longitudinal bulbar correlation tracts a and b reach the
ventral part of the same neuropil. This field is incorporated within
the cerebellum of mammals.
 
 
4. Spinal lemniscus fibers, as they recurve dorsal ward along the
anterior face of the auricle to reach the tectum, are spread through
the middle part of this neuropil, with collaterals and branched terminals within it (figs. 42, 43, 44).
 
 
5. Associated with the spinal and bulbar lemniscus and laterally
of them in the isthmus are fibers of the lateral bulbo-tectal tract
(fig. 11, tr.b.t.L), which is the probable primordium of the lateral
lemniscus. These ascending fibers are mingled with descending fibers
of tr. tecto-bulbaris posterior (fig. 12, tr.t.b.p.; '396, p. 606 and fig.
96). The position of the mixed fascicle in horizontal sections is shown
in figures 31-34, here marked tr.t.b.p. Terminals and collaterals of the
ascending lateral bulbo-tectal fibers spread throughout the posterior
isthmic neuropil (figs. 33, 34), and these endings are comparable with
those of the lateral lemniscus in the nucleus isthmi of the frog (Larsell, '24). This field also contains precursors of some of the nuclei of
the lateral lemniscus of mammals, specifically the dorsal nucleus of
the lateral lemniscus (Ariens Kappers, '29, p. 304; Clark, '33).
 
 
 
 
ISTHMUS 189
 
6. The nucleus isthmi, which is large in the frog (Larsell, '24), is
probably represented in Amblystoma by a few outlying cells in the
dorsal alba of the isthmus, which are more numerous in the larva
('42, pp. 244, 254). If present here, it is an insignificant vestigial
structure.
 
 
7. The neuropil associated with the superior visceral-gustatory nucleus (fig. 33, nucris.n.) is an important field of sensory correlation.
It is penetrated by dendrites of its nucleus ('42, fig. 43) and by terminals of the ascending secondary visceral tract ('25, fig. 19) and
also by fibers from several other sources, including the lemnisci and
collaterals of tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus (fig. 37; '42, fig. 67). This complex is very large in fishes (the Uebergangsganglion of Mayser) and
is present, though small, in the frog (Larsell, '24).
 
 
8. The neighboring large cells of the motor tegmentum are undoubted precursors of several mammalian nuclei of this region, including the substantia nigra and the locus coeruleus.
 
 
PHYSIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION
 
The afferent fibers which terminate in the isthmus come, directly or
indirectly, from practically all parts of the brain, and they carry
nervous impulses activated from all the major functional systems.
The efferent discharge is also widely spread, but the chief distribution seems to be to upper levels of the medulla oblongata which are
concerned with movements of the musculature of the head.
 
 
It is obvious that the isthmus contains a motor adjustor of prime
importance. Its distinctive features can perhaps best be appreciated
by comparing it with some of the other important centers of adjustment. The tectum of the midbrain and the dorsal thalamus, which
in this animal is ancillary to it, comprise the dominant apparatus of
correlation, on the sensory side, of all exteroceptive and proprioceptive systems. In the habenula the olfactory organ as an exteroceptor
is tied in with the other exteroceptive systems. In the hypothalamus
the olfactory system is similarly related with the visceral and gustatory systems. All fields of sensory correlation discharge into the corpus striatum, ventral thalamus, and peduncle, where they are integrated and co-ordinated primarily in the interest of mass movements of the skeletal musculature, such as those involved in locomotion. Efferent fibers from all the centers just enumerated and from
others converge into a common pool in the isthmic tegmentum. Since
apparatus adequate for executing the primary mass movements of
the trunk and limbs is found elsewhere — primarily in the midbrain.
 
 
acting through the ventral tegmental fascicles upon the lower bulbar
and spinal apparatus — and, since the isthmic tegmentum matures
later in development, with notable enlargement preceding metamorphosis, it seems safe to infer that the isthmic apparatus is the
chief regulator of the musculature concerned with feeding. The
courses of the efferent fibers from the isthmus support this supposition. In Ambly stoma the feeding activities are thoroughly integrated
movements, where posture of the body, conjugate movements of the
eyes, and action of jaws, pharynx, and esophagus are organized as a
"total pattern," as Coghill ('36) has demonstrated. For further consideration of the olfactory and hypothalamic components of feeding
reactions see pages 210 and 252 and 19346, page 384.
 
 
It is evident that control of feeding reactions is not the only function
of the isthmic sector. For instance, it has been shown by Aronson and
Noble ('45) that the removal of the entire brain of the male frog in
front of this region (including the tectum, cerebellum, and anterior
part of the tegmentum) did not interfere with spawning movements
but that "lesions in the tegmentum at the level of the motor nucleus
of the trochlear nerve markedly disturbed or completely abolished
these spawning responses."
 
In addition to this apparatus of activation of behavior, there are inhibitory functions here also, implying a participation in motor control of wide import. The intricate connections of the isthmic tegmentum described in the next chapter are part of this inhibitory apparatus.
 
 
The unitary character of most of the activities of Amblystoma,
involving the synergic action of large masses of musculature in invariable orderly sequence, with relatively less capacity for the local
autonomous action of the individual members than in higher animals, explains the simplicity and relative homogeneity of the nervous apparatus involved — also why the isthmic tegmentum is so
large in Amblystoma. The integrated functional complexes which
here are controlled from this major pool are individually differentiated in man, with corresponding specialization and segregation of
the apparatus of the several component parts; and, parallel with this
differentiation and increase of local autonomy, the central control
apparatus has been transferred from the stem to the cerebral cortex.
Accordingly, the isthmic tegmentum, which bulks so large in the
brain of Amblystoma (and in the early human embryo), is dismembered in the adult man, and its parts are submerged within surrounding, structures.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XIV  INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS
 
THE interpeduncular nucleus, like the habenula with which it
is connected, is one of the most conservative structures in the
brains of vertebrates, but in urodeles it has some characteristics
which have not been reported elsewhere. The general features are
outlined on page 46, and the details are described here, together
with some speculations about the probable functions. The chief connections are shown very diagrammatically in figures 19 and 20, the
spiral endings of the tractus habenulo-interpeduncularis in figure 50,
the composition of the glomeruli in figure 84, and some typical connections of its neurons in figure 83.
 
 
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
 
This nucleus was discovered by Forel in 1872 and described in the
rabbit in 1877, with confirmation by von Gudden in 1881 and Ganser
in 1882. It is a constant feature in all vertebrate brains, much larger
in some lower groups than in the higher. In urodeles it is a well-defined column of cells, embracing the ventral angle of the ventricle
and extending from the fovea isthmi backward to the level of the V
nerve roots. It is a ventromedian structure, differentiated in situ in
the floor plate and the adjoining borders of the basal plates'. The
fovea isthmi marks the anterior end of the embryonic floor plate as
defined by Wilhelm His, and this plate is generally regarded as a nonnervous structure characterized by specially differentiated ependyma
(Kingsbury, '30, p. 182) ; but Coghill ('24, Paper III) has shown that
neuroblasts are differentiated here intrinsically. Some of these persist in the adult medulla oblongata as nucleus raphis, and between
the fovea isthmi and the V nerve roofes this differentiation goes much
further, producing the interpeduncular nucleus, as pointed out in my
description of this nucleus of Necturus ('34c).
 
 
The differentiation is primarily isthmic, as was recognized by van
Gehuchten ('00, 2, 199). In Amblystoma it extends spinalward into
trigeminal territory, and below the level of the V nerve roots it is
continuous with the nucleus raphis of the medulla oblongata. In cyclostomes the fasciculus retroflexus extends spinalward as far as the calamus scriptorius (Johnston, '02, p. 31 and figs. 8-16, 30). A mesencephalic sector of the nucleus, rostrally of the fovea isthmi, has been
described in some vertebrates, and there is some evidence of this in
Necturus ('34c) and Amblystoma. It has been found in some fishes,
reptiles, and mammals; but in urodeles there is no group of differentiated cells in the midbrain comparable with this nucleus in the
isthmus, and the secondary connections of mesencephalic terminals
of fibers from the habenula are radically different from those of the
habenulo-interpeduncular tract. In this account, accordingly, the description relates only to those structures spinal ward of the fovea
which have habenular connection. This involves a terminological inconsistency, for in my analysis of the brain of Amblystoma the "peduncle" is defined as a strictly mesencephalic structure, and here none
of the interpeduncular nucleus lies in the mesencephalon. Since this
nucleus, however, is so obviously homologous with the structure so
named in mammals, the mammalian name is retained.
 
 
The published description of the interpeduncular nucleus of
Necturus ('34c) was based on insufficient material and evidently is
incomplete. The structure there described is similar to that of Amblystoma but much simpler. Whether this simplicity indicates that
Necturus is really more generalized (or more retrograde) or merely
that the material available does not adequately show the actual
structure cannot be determined. Probably both these suppositions
are true. The more abundant Golgi material of Amblystoma reveals
a wealth and intricacy of detail that baffle analysis, and much remains obscure. The exceptionally large and elongated nucleus in
these animals is favorable for analysis, but the fact that all the connections are unmyelinated and dispersed in very dense neuropil
makes accurate description impossible, except where elective silver
impregnation isolates particular components. The erratic incidence
of these impregnations and the well-recognized hazards of error in
their interpretation necessitate great caution and restraint in drawing conclusions. Most of the observations here recorded have been
seen in many preparations and can be adequately documented. Some
of them, however, rest on slender and ambiguous evidence and require confirmation. The attempt to assemble these fragmentary observations into a coherent unity, such as is shown in figures 19, 83,
and 84, is fraught with danger; and it is emphasized that these pictures and the physiological theories expressed are not regarded as
final. They present my opinion of the things seen, subject to revision when information is more complete. A few years ago a brief summary of the observations made up to that time was pubhshed ('396,
p. 584), and details were later added ('42, figs. 40-43). Here all these
data are assembled, some errors in a brief reference in the paper of
1927 (p. 280) are corrected, and further observations and interpretation are recorded.
 
 
HISTOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
 
In Weigert and cytological preparations the cells of this nucleus
are densely crowded under and adjacent to the floor of the ventricle.
Between the evels of the III and IV nuclei this gray column is thin.
Ventrally of it there are, successively, the ventral median tegmental
fascicles of group (1), the decussating fibers of the ventral commissure, and the superficial interpeduncular neuropil (figs. 60, 80-84,
92; '25, figs. 8, 9; '27, fig. 39; '42, figs. 30, 41-43). At the level of the
IV nucleus the median fascicles, /.m.^.(jf), turn away from the midplane, and the texture of the ventral medial tissue posteriorly of
this level is more open. Some of the cells of the interpeduncular nucleus lie more ventrally among strands of the ventral commissure
(fig. 91). This gray is continuous dorsally on each side with that of
the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum, but in cell preparations the
boundary is usually evident. Golgi sections show that at this boundary the cells are of transitional form, with some dendrites ramifying
in the interpeduncular neuropil and others directed laterally into the
alba of the tegmentum (figs. 61, 65, 66).
 
 
EPENDYMA
 
The description of the ependyma of Necturus ('34c, p. 118) applies
with little change to Ambly stoma. The ependyma at the fovea isthmi is distinctive (fig. 79) and similar to that bordering the sulcus
isthmi (p. 181). Posteriorly of this, the ependymal elements are of
two forms. In and near the median raphe they are compact fascicles
of thick, thorny fibers (fig. 70). More laterally (figs. 63, 64, 81), each
element has a much more widely branched arborization of slender,
thorny fibers, many of which end at the pial surface in bulbous enlargements. The external limiting membrane is apparently composed
of these expanded ependymal terminal bulbs. Both these types of
ependyma are seen in midlarval stages ('396, figs. 89, 94, 95).
 
 
The interpeduncular ependyma is an exceptionally dense mat of
widely branched and closely interwoven fibers. Many of these
branches do not reach the pial surface but arborize throughout the interpeduncular neuropil and especially within the interpeduncular
glomeruli (described below), of which they form an integral part. The
participation of specially modified ependyma in the formation of
these glomeruli raises interesting questions. There is no obvious demand for unusual mechanical support here to account for especially
strong ependymal framework, except perhaps in the median raphe,
where the ependymal elements are more sturdy. Elsewhere in the interpeduncular field the slender ependymal fibers branch freely, and
in the glomeruli they have tufted endings similar to those of dendrites, to be described shortly. This elaboration of the ependymal
fabric within specialized synaptic fields suggests that the ependyma
has some part to play in metabolism at the synaptic junctions.
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NEUROPIL
 
Ventrally of the interpeduncular gray and the commissure there is
a sharply circumscribed area of very dense superficial neuropil, oval
in cross-section, which in some of my published figures is marked
nuc.inp. It is preferable to apply the word "nucleus" to the gray area
only. This band of differentiated neuropil is, accordingly, currently
called the "specific interpeduncular neuropil" (inp.n. or nucinp.n.),
though it should be kept in mind that the entire interpeduncular
field is permeated by neuropil, of which this is a specialized part. Its
axonic component is a web of interlaced fibers, which is continuous
with that of surrounding parts. Imbedded within this fabric are two
specialized structures — the spiral terminals of the habenulo-interpeduncular tract and the glomeruli. The whole interpeduncular area
is richly vascularized with capillary net and is a synaptic field of great
importance. This activity evidently is especially concentrated in the
glomeruli and the area of specific superficial neuropil.
 
 
The neuropil of the interpeduncular field is continuous dorsally
with the deep neuropil of the gray of the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum and laterally with the intermediate neuropil of the alba of
these tegmental areas, as shown very inadequately in figures 60-66.
Posteriorly it is continuous with the diffuse neuropil which pervades
both the gray and the white substance of the medulla oblongata (figs.
79, 80, 81). In these drawings the structure of the neuropil is shown
greatly simplified and schematized, for it is impossible on this scale
of magnification to portray the intricacy of its texture. Since all
nerve fibers related with the interpeduncular system are unmyelinated and most of the tracts are dispersed in the neuropil, analysis is
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 195
 
very difficult and, indeed, impossible except when aided by elective
impregnations. The interpretations given in the text and in the diagrams (figs. 19, 83, 84) are based on such evidence. The evidence is
incomplete and in many preparations ambiguous, and attention is
again called to the fact that the conclusions reached are tentative
and subject to revision in detail. It is believed, however, that the
main features of the histological analysis are based on adequate evidence and are reliable.
 
 
GLOMERULI
 
Glomerulus-like structures have been known in the mammalian
interpeduncular nucleus since 1877 (Forel). In Amblystoma these are
small and very numerous elongated areas of very dense neuropil.
They are distributed throughout the interpeduncular neuropil, in
many places densely crowded; most of them are oriented vertically
and extend downward into the ventral area of specific neuropil. Histological analysis of their structure is even more difficult than is that
of the rest of the interpeduncular neuropil, for each of the constituent
elements may present quite different appearances in Golgi sections,
depending on the quality of the impregnation.
 
 
These glomeruli resemble in some respects those of the olfactory
bulb ('246), though of much more complicated structure. In addition
to the capillary net, there are three constituent elements: (1) a condensation of the ependymal framework as already described; (2) tufted terminals of dendrites ; and (3) tufted axonic terminals composed
of thin contorted fibers interwoven with the dendritic terminals.
Any one of these three constituents may be electively impregnated,
or two or three of them may be seen in the same section. In some
Golgi preparations the three components are so similar that they cannot be distinguished with certainty except where terminals can be
followed to their connections outside the glomerulus, though when
two of them are impregnated in the same section the difference betw^een them is usually obvious. In the preparation from which figure
66 was drawn, axons and dendrites are intermingled in each glomerulus. Only the dendritic component is drawn on the left side, and
only the axonic component on the right. The visible tufted axons are
from interpeduncular neurons.
 
 
Most of the glomerular dendrites come from cells of the interpeduncular nucleus, though some of them are branches from the transitional neurons at the ventral border of the tegmental gray. The
axonic tufts, as far as observed, come from neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus, cells of the overlying tegmentum, and collaterals
of fibers of tr. tegmento-bulbaris. No fibers from other sources seem
to participate significantly in the formation of glomeruli. Many axons
from the three sources mentioned do not enter glomeruli but arborize
in the surrounding neuropil. Glomeruli with dendrites and axons derived chiefly from the interpeduncular nucleus tend to be disposed
horizontally, the others vertically. The horizontal glomeruli have
been illustrated from the larva ('396). Figure 58 of the paper cited
shows two of the dendritic tufts, and figure 61 shows the axonic component of several of these horizontal glomeruli. Most of the horizontal glomeruli are imbedded in the general neuropil dorsally of the
ventral specific neuropil. The vertical glomeruli generally extend
downward into the specific neuropil, where they are penetrated by
fibers of the interpeduncular spiral.
 
 
NEURONS
 
In transverse Golgi sections the dendrites of the interpeduncular
neurons are directed ventrally, passing through the ventral commissure. Within the interpeduncular neuropil they branch widely, and
many of the branches have tufted endings in the glomeruli (figs. 19,
65, 66, 83, 84). Longitudinal sections show that the spread of these
dendrites is much greater fore and aft than it is transversely (figs. 80,
81, 82; '396, figs. 57, 58), and the tufted terminals may be oriented
either vertically or horizontally. Some of the cells of the isthmic tegmentum at the border of the interpeduncular nucleus may send dendrites into the interpeduncular neuropil, and these, too, may have
tufted endings ('396, figs. 78, 95). Sagittal sections in which both
interpeduncular dendrites and ependyma are fully impregnated give
spectacular demonstration that the interpeduncular formation ends
anteriorly at the fovea isthmi and isthmic sulcus. These interwoven
elements directed anteroventrally form a dense mat, which ends
abruptly at the locus of the sulcus isthmi. Posteriorly, the interpeduncular formation merges insensibly with the trigeminal tegmentum.
 
 
The slender axons of the interpeduncular neurons arise from the
cell body or the base of the dendrite (figs. 65, 66, 70, 84; '396, figs. 61,
66) and immediately branch profusely. These fibers take tortuous
courses within the interpeduncular neuropil and can be followed only
when electively impregnated. In such preparations the longer branches
are seen to be directed spinalward and to form the dorsal and ventral
interpedunculo-bulbar tracts, as in Necturus ('30, p. 80; '34c, p 120).
 
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 197
 
Other branches spread widely in the general interpeduncular neuropil, of which they form an important component. Most of these fibers
are dispersed, but some of them form compact longitudinal tufts
within the glomeruli (fig. 84: '396, figs. 41, 61).
 
 
AFFERENT CONNECTIONS
 
Fibers from remarkably diversified sources terminate in the interpeduncular neuropil. The widely branched terminals of some of these
fibers spread diffusely ; the endings of others are specialized in diverse
ways. The dominant member of this complex evidently is tr. habenulo-interpeduncularis, which is the chief component of the f. retroflexus as described in chapter xviii. The interpeduncular connections
of this tract are similar in Amblystoma and Necturus ('34c).
 
 
Tractu.s habenulo-interpediaicularis. — The two bundles of unmyelinated fibers converge immediately below the fovea isthmi, and here
most of their fibers decussate close to the ventral surface. Their f urthei- course is shown in figure 50. Immediately after crossing, each
fiber reverses its course, and this is repeated so that a compact spiral
is formed, which extends the entire length of the interpeduncular
neuropil, diminishing spinalward. This spiral is coextensive with the
specific interpeduncular neuropil and is its most characteristic feature. There are many series of sections cut in various planes in which
this is clearly shown. In some of these, only one of the habenulo-interpeduncular tracts is impregnated (figs. 51, 52, 56, 57,. 58).
 
 
Figures 53 and 54 are drawn from a specimen in which tr. habenulo-interpeduncularis is impregnated on both sides at the origin in
the habenula. The impregnation fails on the left side from the level
of the dorsal thalamus downward. On the right side it is well stained
as far as the decussation, below which only a few fibers are blackened,
thus revealing clearly the courses of individual fibers, one of which is
drawn in figure 54 through several turns of the spiral (cf. fig.
55). These fibers are slightly varicose and thorny. No specialized
endings of any sort have been seen, and they have not been observed
to branch except for occasional short forked terminals. The spiral
penetrates the glomeruli, and its fibers are in synaptic connection
with the glomerular dendrites.
 
 
Transverse sections show that the spiral is flattened dorsoventrally
('42, figs. 40-43). In the specimen from which these figures were
drawn the spiral is fully impregnated, and few other fibers of the interpeduncular neuropil are stained so that the structure of the spiral is clear. No fibers leave the spiral to pass beyond the specialized interpeduncular neuropil. There is a small fascicle of uncrossed fibers
at each lateral border of the sjjiral, and these a})parently enter the
spiral at successive levels. Another series of transverse sections (no.
'i'iB'i) from the same lot of young adult s])ecimens shows almost identically the same structure.
 
 
Not all the habenulo-intcrpeduncular fibers enter the initial decussation. As mentioned above, a considerable fraction of them, including some of thicker caliber, descend uncrossed along the lateral borders of the interpeduncular neuroi)ih which they enter farther spinalward. In some preparations both crossed antl uncrossed fibers are
imi)regnated, in some only the spiral fibers (fig. 50), and in one sagittal series only the uncrossed fibers are blackened (fig. S'i) . In the latter
case the f. retroflexus is partially impregnated on each side for its
entire length from the habenula to the interpeduncular nucleus. At
the decussation none of the crossing fibers or the spiral fibers below
it are darkened, but there is a large fascicle of uncrossed fibers, which
descends laterally of the decussation and the spiral for almost the
entire length of the interpeduncular nucleus. These fibers terminate
within the interpeduncular neuropil among those of the unimpregnated spiral.
 
 
In 1894 van (iehuchten described thef. retroflexus of the trout. The
origin in the habenula is similar to that of Amblystoma, and the
course is the same. These fibers decussate in the interpeduncular nucleus and recross with much branching, but they do not form a compact spiral. They are varicose and have no specialized terminals.
Simpler spiral terminals of mammals have been many times described (rabbit, von Gudden, '81; mole, Ganser, '82, p. 682; mouse,
Ramon y Cajal, '11,2, 27-1; Calderon, '28; and many others).
 
 
Tractuff mamillo-i)ifi'rpeduncuIaris. — These fibers comprise group
(2) of the tegmental fascicles ('3G, pp. 303, 338, figs, 3, 8). They arise
in the dorsal part of the hypothalamus in company with similar fibers
for the peduncle and tegmentum (figs. 19, 71, 79). The mixed bundle
decussates partially in the retroinfundibular commissure, which is
component 1 of the commissure of the tuberculum posterior (p. 302).
The interpeduncular fibers, crossed and uncrossed, pass the fovea
isthmi at the ventral surface close to the mid-plane and then descend
along the lateral border of the specific interpeduncular neuropil (figs.
27-30, 60; '396, figs. 22, 41, 42, 57-61; '42, fig. 3), within which they
end in open arborizations. They do not join the spiral or participate
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 199
 
notably in the formation of glomeruli. Most of them end in the rostral
half of the interpeduncular neuropil.
 
 
Tradus olfacto-pedujicularis. — This important component of the
basal forebrain bundles (fig. 101; 'SOb, p. 534, figs. 1, 57), after contributing fibers to the hypothalamus and peduncle, continues spinalward along the lateral border of the specific interpeduncular neuropil. The endings of these fibers are similar to those of tr. mamillointerpeduncularis (figs. 18, 19, 21, 25-30, 53, 54, 59, 72, 82). This
tract in the interpeduncular region lies laterally and dorsally of tr.
mamillo-interpeduncularis, extending spinalward beyond the posterior end of the interpeduncular nucleus. There are some terminals
of both this and the preceding tract in the dispersed interpeduncular
neuropil.
 
 
Nervus terminalis. — In Necturus the longest fascicles of this nerve
root probably reach the interpeduncular neuropil ('34c, p. 124). In
Ambly stoma a small fascicle was observed by McKibben ('11, p.
270) to reach the "dorsolateral part of the hypothalamus and the interpeduncular region." Some of these fibers may connect with the
interpeduncular nucleus, but this has not been demonstrated.
 
 
Tradus tegmento-ititerpedimcularis. — This is a very extensive connection, which takes two forms. There is, first, a system of short axons
dispersed in the neuropil of the gray and the deep neuropil of the
alba which arise from small cells of the dorsal, isthmic, and trigeminal
tegmentum and descend directly to the interpeduncular neuropil.
Some may come from the tectum. They are especially concentrated
in the f. tegmentalis profundus (p. 286). A second type of connection is made by collaterals of the thicker axons of tr. tegmentobulbaris at their decussation in the ventral commissure.
 
 
1. The short tegmento-interpeduncular fibers of the first grouj) are
unmyelinated. Their general arrangement is well shown in the sagittal sections, figures 79 and 80. They arborize in the neuropil of the
gray of the interpeduncular nucleus and at all depths of the neuroj^il
of the alba, forming an important component of the diffuse neuropil.
Transverse sections show that, in addition to the diffuse spread of
these fibers in the neuropil, there are also tufted endings which form
part of the axonic component of the glomeruli (figs. 61, 62, 63, 66,
84).
 
 
2. The tr. tegmento-bulbaris cruciatus as described in the larva
('396, p. 590) is a series of thick axons of large cells of the isthmic and
trigeminal tegmentum, which decussate dispersed in the ventral commissure and then descend in the ventral and ventrolateral fascicles of the medulla oblongata. Horizontal sections of one of these
larvae show slender collaterals of these decussating fibers, which are
directed posteroventrally into the interpeduncular neuropil and here
have tufted endings in the interpeduncular glomeruli ('396, p. 600
and figs. 46 and 59). Figures 67 and 68 of the present work show
similar collaterals, as seen in transverse sections from the same lot of
larvae. Each compact glomerulus-like tuft contains terminals of several of these collaterals. Figure 69 shows similar collaterals in an
adult brain. In this preparation only a few of these decussating fibers
are impregnated, and these can be followed from section to section.
Nothing else is stained here, so there is no opportunity for confusion.
Figure 60 is from another adult specimen which shows some of these
features more clearly, though the impregnation is less selective. This
section is from the series illustrated in 1927 and is a few sections rostrally of figures 39 and 40 of that article. The tufted axonic terminals shown there are similar to the one seen in the present figure 60,
and they are now known not to be derived from the mamillo-peduncular tract as there suggested ('27, p. 280).
 
 
Tertiary visceral-gustatory tract. — These fibers, as elsewhere described (p. 169), pass from the secondary visceral nucleus in the isthmus to the area ventrolateralis pedunculi. They lie close to the gray
in the posterior lip of the sulcus isthmi and form one component of
the complex f. tegmentalis profundus. Some fibers of this fasciculus
decussate in the ventral commissure dorsally and spinalward of the
decussation of the f. retroflexus, and here in some preparations there
is evidence that fibers of the tertiary visceral tract turn spinalward
to enter the interpeduncular neuropil. Several other systems of similar fibers are mingled here, and, in the absence of elective impregnation of this connection, its presence remains doubtful. Whether or
not this direct connection exists, the visceral-gustatory system is related less directly with the interpeduncular nucleus by way of the
hypothalamus. The secondary visceral nucleus is connected with the
dorsal (mamillary) part of the hypothalamus and from here the large
tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis may transmit visceral sensory and
gustatory influences to this nucleus.
 
 
Other afferent fibers to the interpeduncular nucleus have been described in various animals. Gillilan ('41) reports that in bats and rodents the basal optic tract sends some fibers directly to this nucleus.
 
 
This connection may be present in Amblystoma also, though we have
no demonstration of it.
 
 
EFFERENT CONNECTIONS
 
The widely branched axons of the interpeduncular neurons apparently ramify throughout the entire interpeduncular field, and
some of them pass beyond this field. The latter go out in three directions and are designated as three tracts named after their terminal
connections — tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris dorsalis and ventralis and
tr. interpedunculo-tegmentalis (figs. 19, 83, 84). All these efferent fibers go out in a web of mixed neuropil, within which the two bulbar
groups are more or less clearly fasciculated in elective impregnations.
The tegmental group of efferents are nowhere fasciculated, and we
have no Golgi preparations in which they are electively impregnated.
 
 
Sagittal and transverse sections show that the interpeduncular
neuropil extends dorsally into the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum.
Most of these fibers trend dorsoventrally, these comprising part of
the mixed system, termed "fasciculus tegmentalis profundus." These
fibers are marked f .teg. p. in the following figures: 29, 30, 31, 79; '42,
figs. 30, 41, 42, 43. Elective impregnations have revealed some of the
components of this fasciculus, including the brachium conjunctivum,
tertiary visceral tract, and tr. tegmento-interpeduncularis. The latter is shown in figures 61, 62, 63, 65, and 66. These sections show also
(though not clearly drawn in the figures) that from the interpeduncular neuropil a large number of fibers swing dorsolaterally into the
alba of the tegmentum, where they engage dendrites of tegmental
neurons. These fibers are interpreted as an interpedunculo-tegmental
connection. In the light of the mammalian connections of the chief
efi^erent tract from the interpeduncular nucleus to the dorsal tegmental nucleus discussed below, it seems probable that in Amblystoma the small-celled central nucleus of the isthmic tegmentum contains the precursor of the dorsal tegmental nucleus, though this evidently is only one of its relationships.
 
 
The interpedunculo-bulbar connections are clearly seen in our material. These fibers emerge from the diffuse interpeduncular neuropil
in dorsal and ventral strands, which are connected with each other
and with the surrounding neuropil, as shown in figures 79 and 81.
The tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris ventralis descends for an undetermined distance at the lateral border of the interpeduncular neuropil
and farther spinalward in the lip of the ventral fissure. The dorsal tract descends dorsally of the f. longitudinalis medialis (fig. 92). As
pointed out below, this position of the dorsal tract agrees with that
of the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of Schiitz, and its fibers take a
similar course, turning laterally to spread in the trigemino-facial tegmentum and as far back as the level of the motor nucleus of the IX
nerve. In fact, the dorsal bulbar tract is really an extension posteriorly of the tegmental tract, for these comprise a continuous series of
efferents to the tegmentum. The dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of
Amblystoma is not a well-formed tract as in mammals, but comparable fibers can be recognized in the deep neuropil of the brain stem.
In both lower and higher animals this complex seems to be concerned
with general central excitatory state and disposition of the individual
rather than with specific sensori-motor responses (pp. 208, 217). The
inteipedunculo-tegmental and dorsal interpedunculo-bulbar system
of fibers is evidently the primordium of an important component of
the "caudal division of the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus" as described in the opossum by Thompson ('42), This morphological conclusion rests, I think, on sufficient evidence, whether or not the following physiological speculations can be confirmed experimentally.
 
 
INTERPRETATION
 
Though much remains obscure, the main features of the histological structure and connections of the urodele interpeduncular nucleus
are now clear, and these are assembled schematically in figures 19,
83, and 84. The most striking feature is the ventral plaque of specific
neuropil containing spiral terminals of the habenulo-interpeduncular
tract and glomeruli. Other afferent fibers enter both the specific and
the diffuse interpeduncular neuropil and are so arranged as to permit
their activation from almost all parts of the cerebrum. All these fibers
come from areas of intermediate-zone type, not from primary sensory centers.
 
 
These afferents are of four general classes, depending on the source
of their activation: (1) olfactory from the hemisphere, ending in the
diffuse neuropil ; (2) olf acto-somatic from the habenula, ending in the
specific (spiral) neuropil; (3) olf acto-visceral from the hypothalamus,
ending in diffuse neuropil; and (4) tegmento-interpeduncular from
the overlying tegmentum and ending in both diffuse neuropil and
glomeruli. Those of the last class come from somatic sensory fields of
correlation with no appreciable olfactory component. The glomeruli
provide apparatus for nonspecific summation and reinforcement.
 
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 203
 
Each one of the other classes of afferents may have its own specific
type of trans-synaptic transmission, depending on the histological
and chemical structure and the strength and timing of volleys delivered.
 
 
Provision is thus made for discriminative responses to a considerable range of different kinds of activity that may be in process elsewhere in the brain — olfactory, visceral, somesthetic, and so on. The
number of interpeduncular neurons activated and the temporal
rhythm of their discharge may be determined not only by the algebraic sum of afferent impulses received but also by their timing. It is
believed that this sort of analysis is characteristic of the nervous
adjusters.
 
 
The outflow from the interpeduncular nucleus is distributed in
part to remote regions and in part within the interpeduncular field,
the latter providing apparatus for summation and intensification of
the discharge. The remote effects of this outflow will depend on the
location, structure, and connections of the motor pools entered by
the efferent fibers.
 
 
The entire interpeduncular field is a well-circumscribed motor pool,
in Sherrington's sense, in which every intrinsic nervous element is
subject to activation by a wide variety of nervous impulses coming
from diverse sources, each of which has a specific form of synaptic
junction. The different structural patterns of these synapses presumably involve physiological differences in the type of activation.
The dominant member of this complex of afferents evidently is the
spiral of habenulo-interpeduncular fibers; every fiber of this tract
may activate (or inhibit) every neuron of the nucleus, and, indeed,
in successive turns of the spiral it may act upon several dendrites of
the same neuron. There is no provision for separate localization of
specific function here. The nucleus inevitably acts as a whole. But
there is provision for summation of the effect in a large way. The
diffuse neuropil also may act upon these neurons. Volleys may be discharged into it from many sources, each of which may reinforce (or
inhibit) the activity instigated by the spiral.
 
 
Though temporal summation at an individual synapse is regarded
as practically inoperative (Fulton, '43, p. 58), there is ample provision in this pool for spatial summation. The glomeruli present a
series of difficult problems. Each of these small nodes of denser neuropil contains tufted dendritic terminals and tufted axonal terminals,
and the latter come from two sources, intrinsic and extrinsic. The horizontal glomeruli seem to be especially adapted for summation of
the discharge from the nucleus. If one of these neurons is experiencing sul)liminal activation, a collateral discharge from an active
neuron may impinge upon it in a horizontal glomerulus, and the sum
of the two excitations may be sufficient to fire the element. In a similar way, terminals of intrinsic fibers in the vertical glomeruli may reinforce the action of the extrinsic fibers. The glomerular activities
may reinforce (or inhibit) those of the spiral, or conceivably they
may act independently if the habenular component is inactive.
 
 
The observed structure seems to favor the supposition that, whatever may be the functions performed by this complex, they are of
generalized type. The apparatus which patterns the specific reflexes,
both somatic and visceral, is located elsewhere in the brain stem.
The intrinsic structure of the interpeduncular field seems to preclude
any well-defined local representation of different functions within it.
The nucleus apparently acts as a unit, and any functional specificity
that may exist would be in terms of differential excitation at the
various forms of synaptic junction or of the functions of the motor
fields into which its efterent fibers discharge. The ventral bulbar tract
descends in the primary motor column of Coghill, and this suggests
that it is in some way concerned with mass movements of the musculature of the trunk and limbs. The tegmental and dorsal bulbar
efferent tracts form an aftatomical unit, and they probably are similarly related physiologically. These fibers discharge into a motor
field within which the reflexes of the head are organized, notably
those concerned with feeding. The interpeduncular complex seems to
be so organized as to act as a whole without intrinsic localization of
function. What part, then, does this complex play in patterned behavior?
 
In the first place, it is a noteworthy feature of the interpeduncular
system that it is connected "in parallel," as the electrician would say,
with the major systems of fore-and-aft conduction of the brain stem.
The olfactory, optic, and lemniscus systems on the afferent side and
the strio-pedunculo-bulbar systems on the efferent side, with their
related centers of adjustment, seem to provide the apparatus which
patterns overt behavior. The interpedunculo-habenular system is in
addition to this apparatus and in some way ancillary to it.
 
 
In noncorticated vertebrates the activators of the motor zone receive their nervous excitations mainly from three regions which are
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 20.5
 
physiologically distinctive: (1) the somatic sensory field of the tectum and dorsal thalamus, (2) the visceral field of the hypothalamus,
and (3) the olfactory field of the cerebral hemispheres. The parts of
this primary activator system of the cerebrum are interconnected,
and all are represented in the higher adjusters of the hemispheres.
 
 
The interpeduncular complex is separate from this great system
of activators except at its upper and lower ends. It is activated from
the same three physiologically distinctive regions, and its efferent
impulses are discharged into the same lower motor fields. These relationships are in some respects similar to those of the cerebellum
with the activators of the skeletal musculature. The cerebellum does
not pattern behavior, but it acts upon the motor systems as going
concerns, facilitating the activity in process by reinforcement and
inhibition, appropriately placed and timed. The structure and connections of the interpeduncular nucleus suggest that it is similarly
related with the great descending (extra-pyramidal) systems of the
cerebrum, and specifically with those concerned in the feeding reactions.
 
 
In the light of Coghill's definition of the amphibian reflex "as a
total behavior pattern which consists of two components, one overt
or excitatory, the other covert or inhibitory," and making application to a specific problem of the general discussion of reflex and inhibition in chapter vi, an attractive hypothesis might be framed
along the following lines:
 
The brain stem may be conceived as a labile, equilibrated, dynamic system, within which the excitatory and inhibitory components are balanced against each other in reciprocal interaction at
every successive phase of motor activity. The efferent activating
systems of patterned behavior discharge through the basal forebrain
bundles and the tegmental fascicles (fig. 6). Above and below this
central core of activating fibers and parallel with them, there are
inhibitory systems of fibers which have the same origins and terminations as do the activating systems but which pursue different
courses with different connections. Dorsally there is an olfactosomatic inhibitory system centered in the habenula, and ventrally
there is an olfacto-visceral inhibitory system centered in the mamillary region of the hypothalamus. Both these inhibitory systems converge into the interpeduncular nucleus (figs. 19 and 112). Here
the inhibitory influences are integrated and distributed to lower
motor centers as going concerns, in accordance with momentarily changing physiological requirements. Presumably not all components of the action system are under this sort of regulatory control
by the interpeduncular complex, for, as pointed out below, there are
other local fields with inhibitory functions.
 
 
The unusually large size of the interpeduncular nucleus of urodeles
may be correlated with the fact that in the normal behavior of these
animals total inhibition is a conspicuous feature (p. 77). Adopting
Sherrington's terms, there is usually a long period of inhibition between the anticipatory and the consummatory phases of the reaction,
notably in the feeding reflexes.
 
 
This hypothesis can have only academic interest unless and until
it is confirmed by physiological experiment or clinical evidence, but
it may have heuristic value as an indication of profitable points of
attack in further exploration. From such scanty evidence as is now
available, it seems to the writer to rest on an insecure foundation because it probably is an oversimplification of the problem. Our knowledge of the mechanism of central inhibition is so inadequate that inferences about physiological action from anatomical evidence alone
are unsafe in this field, though such inferences are justifiable in many
other fields where adequate physiological controls are available and
have been made. Keeping these admonitions in mind, let us inquire
further into the possible role that inhibition may play in the interpeduncular complex.
 
 
Though we do not know exactly how inhibition is effected in the
central nervous system, we do know that in some parts of the brain
the dominant function is activation, and in other parts it is inhibition. Current analysis of the primate cerebral cortex has revealed
specific activating fields in the motor cortex and also specific inhibitory fields, the so-called "suppressor bands" (p. 79). In the stem
the head of the caudate nucleus and the reticular formation of the
upper medulla oblongata are also known to have inhibitory functions. That the interpeduncular nucleus is a similar field in which inhibition is dominant is a legitimate working hypothesis that can be
tested experimentally. This, of course, does not imply that inhibition is the only function here localized, for inhibitory action is balanced against excitatory action in normal behavior. It follows that
experimental disturbance of this normal balance may come to expression in so great a variety of ways depending on so great a variety
of factors that it is difficult to devise crucial experiments.
 
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 207
 
This difficulty is illustrated by the published report of experiments
by Aronson and Noble ('45) designed to localize in the brain the
mechanisms which mediate specific components of the mating behavior of male frogs. In hundreds of experiments involving local
ablations or transections, there were a few which gave clear-cut evidence of precise localization of function. In this connection Dr. Aronson writes me: "I believe that, while some activities, e.g., warning
croak, ejaculatory response, and release of the female by the male at
the termination of oviposition, are quite definitely localized, the
mechanism controlling other phases of mating behavior are rather
diffuse. In the latter cases more precise experiments w^ould, I think,
demonstrate diffuseness rather than localization."
 
The authors' very conservative analysis of their protocols does
reveal a few areas with local specificity of function. Among these is
the clasp reflex, which is one of the most characteristic features of
this mating behavior. Normally, the mating clasp is relaxed or inhibited immediately after oviposition, and this presumably involves
inhibitory action. There is evidence that the primary center of this
reflex is in the spinal cord and that the inhibitory phase is under some
measure of cerebral control. Relaxation or inhibition of the clasp is
quite consistently abolished by destruction of the preoptic nucleus
or dorsal part of the hypothalamus, but this result does not consistently follow injury to the habenulae or interpeduncular nucleus.
Though the clasp involves the use of skeletal muscles, the reflex as a
whole is a visceral reaction related with oviposition and ejaculation
of sperm. Cerebral control of the release of the clasp in the hypothalamus may be transmitted to the upper levels of the spinal cord
by a direct pathway via tr. mamillo-tegmentalis and ventral tegmental fascicles of group (3), as described on page 278, without involvement of the interpeduncular complex. But Dr. Aronson would
not limit the inhibitory influence resulting in release to this pathway.
Again in personal correspondence he says: "While the spinal clasp
center might be quite limited, the mechanism inhibiting or modifying the spinal clasp reflex is very diffuse, especially in the midbrain
 
and diencephalon The interpeduncular nucleus might well be
 
involved here."
 
An interesting series of experiments on the Japanese toad reported
by Kato ('34) reveals an inhibitory center for the muscles of the contralateral limbs in a region described as "on the anterior end of the
lamina terminalis," but not accurately defined. The diagrammatic figures seem to place it in the region of the anterior commissure between the septum and the preoptic nucleus. The efferent pathway
from this center decussates in the vicinity of the interpeduncular
nucleus. Further information about the connections and physiological significance of this center is desirable.
 
 
These experiments yield no crucial evidence of participation of the
interpeduncular nucleus in the components of mating behavior under
investigation or of movements of the limbs in general. This nucleus
may play a more specific part in some other types of behavior; and
some experiments indicate that this is true.
 
 
The only direct experimental evidence about the functions of the
interpeduncular nucleus of mammals known to me is a recent note
by Bailey and Davis ('42a) in which they describe a "syndrome of
obstinate progression" in cats following destruction of this nucleus.
This is a locomotor impulsion, which continues without remission
until the death of the animal. Mettler and Mettler ('41) have produced similar symptoms by lesions involving the head of the caudate
nucleus, and more recently Mettler ('45, p. 180) describes in primates
a direct connection from the globus pallidus to the interpeduncular
nucleus. The caudate is supposed to be one link in a chain of conductors with inhibitory functions (Fulton, '43, p. 456) and the syndrome
following the destruction of the interpeduncular nucleus suggests to
me that this nucleus also may be an inhibitor. The "obstinate progression" may then be interpreted as a release phenomenon.
 
 
In mammals efferent fibers from the interpeduncular nucleus have
been described with distribution to neighboring parts of the brain
stem, of which by far the most important is the large pedunculotegmental tract to the dorsal tegmental nucleus and the related dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of Schiitz. In the recent study of this fasciculus of the opossum by Thompson ('42), she describes this interpeduncular connection as an important component of it. In this marsupial the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus is a complicated system of
fibers, chiefly descending, connecting the deeper areas of gray between the diencephalon and the spinal cord.
 
 
The structure and connections of the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus
suggest general functions of some sort rather than control of local
reflexes. Another series of experiments by Bailey and Davis ('42)
shows that this fasciculus has some activating function which is essential for maintenance of normal motor behavior. They succeeded
 
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS >0J)
 
in destroying by electrocautery the periaqueductal gray of cats without injury to surrounding parts. This lesion must have involved the
dorsal longitudinal fasciculus and the dorsal tegmental nucleus. If
the injury is slight, the cats on awakening from the anesthetic are
very wild and active but after a few days recover normal behavior.
This seems to be an irritative excitation. If the lesion is extensive,
the cats "lie inert, silent and flaccid as a wet rag." They never again
show any spontaneous activity, though after a few days placing reactions are elicited normally and, if stimulated, they may walk slowly.
 
 
If now it is assumed that the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus contains fibers which normally transmit some sort of continuous nonspecific activating or facilitating influence upon the entire motor
field of the lower brain stem — an influence which is essential for effective co-ordination and integration of these local systems of synergic muscular activity — then the destruction of this pathway would
leave the animal helpless. This is not a flaccid paralysis, because the
animal ultimately regains control of righting and placing reactions
and even co-ordinated locomotor movements. All initiative and
spontaneous activity are permanently lost because the animal is deprived of some essential component of the integrating apparatus.
The "obstinate progression" that follows destruction of the interpeduncular nucleus may result from loss of an essential inhibitory
influence normally acting upon the dorsal tegmental nucleus and the
f. longitudinalis dorsalis. Loss of this influence allows the remaining
apparatus of facilitation in the f. longitudinalis dorsalis to "race"
like a steam engine deprived of its governor, and in this particular
setup of conditions the result is uncontrolled progression.
 
 
In Rabat's ('36) study of alterations in respiration resulting from
electrical stimulation of cats, it was reported that stimulation of the
periaqueductal gray and of diencephalic regions known to contribute fibers to the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus was followed by increase in rate and amplitude of respiration. Shallower and unusually
slower breathing followed stimulation of the habenula and habenulointerpeduncular tract.
 
 
Detwiler has shown (p. 6'2) that in Amblystoma a nonspecific
mesencephalic influence is essential for the maintenance of motor
efficiency. This is in addition to the action of the apparatus which
activates patterned behavior, the latter maturing earlier and quite
independently of cerebral influence. This mesencephalic influence in
the amphibian brain seems to be comparable, in a general way, with
the activating function of the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of mammals.
 
 
These fragmentary observations cannot justify any final conclusions, but they support the working hypothesis that the habenulointerpeduncular complex is balanced against the strio-pedunculobulbar and f. longitudinalis dorsalis systems, the latter being the
activating members and the former the inhibiting member of a dynamic system adapted to insure co-ordinated action of specific synergic systems of muscles.
 
 
It is evident that in macrosmatic animals the olfactory system is
dominant in the interpeduncular complex. It is the chief functional
component of the stria medullaris thalami, habenula, and f. retroflexus and probably also of the f. longitudinalis dorsalis, though all
these structures survive its absence in anosmic animals. In Ichthyopsida the olfactory system is dominant in the hypothalamus. Attention has been called (p. 99) to the double role played by the olfactory system in the cortical activities of macrosmatic mammals;
that is, in addition to the specific olfactory functions, there is a nonspecific facilitation by activation or inhibition of other cortical activities. This conception of the nonspecific facilitating action of the
olfactory cortex may be extended into the subcortical field also, and
in the interpeduncular complex the dominant part played by olfaction is probably of this nonspecific nature.
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
The hypothesis here tentatively suggested divides the adjusting
apparatus of the brain into two reciprocally interacting components,
the one a system of activators, the other a system of inhibitors. In
the normal patterning of behavior these systems are balanced one
against the other. In the brains of primitive vertebrates the dominant highest center of correlation of the exteroceptive sensory systems lies in the tecto-thalamic sector and of the interoceptive systems in the hypothalamus. From both these regions the activating
fibers converge into the ventral thalamus and motor zone of the jnidbrain and isthmus, where they are joined by olfactory fibers and
others from the supra-sensory centers of the hemispheres. Above and
below this central core of activating fibers are two systems of inhib
 
 
INTERPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS 211
 
itors — the olfacto-somatic system in the habenula and the olfactovisceral system in the hypothahimus — both of which discharge into
the interpeduncular nucleus. The efferents from this nucleus reach
the same lower motor centers as do the efferents of the activating
systems.
 
 
In all macrosmatic species, and especially in those of more primitive groups, the olfactory system is dominant in the forebrain, and
in all groups it plays an important part in nonspecific activation and
inhibition. In lower groups the deep neuropil of the gray substance
is a diffuse activator, and this sytem survives in mammals as the
dispersed periventricular fibers which converge to descend in the f.
longitudinalis dorsalis of Schiitz. Associated with this fasciculus is
the dorsal tegmental nucleus, which receives inhibitory fibers from
the interpeduncular nucleus. This complex discharges nonspecific
activating and inhibiting impulses into the bulbar tegmentum, and
these play an essential part in the maintenance of the appropriate
balance between activation and inhibition in all muscular activity.
The destruction of any major component of this equilibrated dynamic
system may result in pathological behavior which has no counterpart
in the normal animal but which may furnish clues pointing the way
toward successful analysis.
 
 
Though, as suggested above, this schematic outline is doubtless
oversimplified, the hypothesis or some variant of it may suggest
profitable lines of experiment. For this purpose the urodeles, with
great enlargement and elongation of the interpeduncular nucleus,
are favorable subjects. The larger species, like Necturus and Cryptobranchus, can be operated upon more conveniently than can the
salamanders and frogs, though their more sluggish behavior may
make interpretation more difficult.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XV
MIDBRAIN
 
IN THE preceding chapters the structure of the rhombencephalon
and the functions intrinsic to it were summarized. We now pass
to the cerebrum, with a radically different type of organization,
dominated by the optic and olfactory systems. In lower vertebrates
the major optic terminals in the midbrain evidently have determined
the course of its differentiation ; but, since optic fibers terminate also in
the diencephalon, a separate chapter is devoted to the visual system
as a whole.
 
 
DEVELOPMENT
 
Because the mesencephalon is the site of a remarkable series of
changes in the shape of the brain in early developmental stages, it is
appropriate to review here some features of this growth. Attention
has been called (p. 117) to the significance of von Kupffer's anterior
and posterior intraencephalic sulci as stable landmarks in the development of all vertebrate brains. These mark the loci of two strong
cerebral flexures, which are extremely variable in different species
and among individuals of the same species. These flexures so modify
the topographic arrangement of parts as to make morphological
analysis difficult. The posterior sulcus of von Kupffer (the development of which is described in chap, xiii) marks the posterior limit of
the great mesencephalic flexure, which bends the neural tube ventralward and backward so that, at the close of the early swimming stage
of Amblystoma tigrinum (Harrison's stages 36-38), the hypothalamus is closely appressed against the ventral surface of the peduncle
and isthmus ('38, figs. 1-4, 15-18). The tuberculum posterius marks
the ventral fulcrum around which this bend is made.
 
 
Beginning somewhat later than this ventral bending, there is a
flexure in the reverse direction more anteriorly at the site of von
Kupffer's anterior sulcus, which bends the cerebral hemispheres forward and upward. In the early feeding stage (Harrison's stages 44,
45) this movement is far advanced ('386, figs. 1, 2); and from this
stage onward to the adult stage these flexures appear to be somewhat
straightened and masked by intussusception of newer tissues.
 
 
212
 
 
 
MIDBRAIN >i;}
 
Baker and Graves (S*^) described the external form of the brain in
six stages of A. jeffersonianum (3-17 'mm.). Their figures 1 and 2 show
that in their 3-mm. embryo, which is 7 days and 16 hours old and
in a premotile stage, the mesencephalic flexure has begun. In Harrison's stage 30 of A. punctatum, about 24 hours younger than Coghill's nonmotile stage, this flexure is far advanced ('38, fig. 1), and
the reverse flexure leading toward the evagination of the cerebral
hemisphere is incipient.
 
 
Correlated with these changes in external form, cells are proliferating internally, and the fibrous connections are established. CoghilFs
charts show that differentiation is precocious in the peduncle, the
chiasma ridge, and the olfactory area of the hemisphere. Other local
areas of differentiation appear successively, and, before the early
swimming stage is reached, confluence of these areas has begun, and
fibers are descending from the peduncle and ventral thalamus in the
primary motor tract, which is the precursor of the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis. This development is well advanced before connection is made between the sensory field of the tectum and the motor
field of the peduncle (compare '37, figs. 1 and 2; '38, figs. 5 and 20).
Fibers from the retina enter the brain in early swimming stages, but
they do not reach the tectum until the close of this period. These optic fibers enter the tectum at its anterior end in the eminence of the
posterior commissure, and the first connection between optic tectum
and peduncle is by way of this commissure, in which fibers first appear in the coil stage (Harrison's stage 35), long before optic fibers
reach the tectum.
 
 
The commissura tecti in the remainder of the midbrain roof appears much later, beginning as an extension spinalward from the
posterior commissure. As late as the midlarval period (A. tigrinum
of 38 mm.) this commissure has matured only in the anterior half
of the tectum ('39a, figs. 1, 11, 12; '39/;, fig. 1). Full details of the
development of the optic nerve and its connections have been published ('41), as well as some features of the development of the
tectum ('42, p. 243).
 
 
In development the nucleus posterior tecti is retarded as compared
with the tectum opticum, more so in A. tigrinum than in A. punctatum ('386, p. 413; '39a, p. 265). The ventricle is here dilated as the
recessus posterior mesencephali, and in larval stages the deep sulcus
isthmi ends dorsally in this recess ('38, fig. 18; '14a, fig. 2). The roof
and side walls of the posterior recess remain relatively thin until late larval stages, and they are expanded so as to form a noticeable external eminence, which disappears in the adult except in the midplane.
 
 
SENSORY ZONE TECTUM OPTICUM: SUPERIOR COLLICULUS
 
Nothing need be added here to the statements in chapters iv and
xvi and the description of the mesencephalic V nucleus in chapter x.
For details my paper of 1942 may be consulted.
 
 
NUCLEUS POSTERIOR TECTi: INFERIOR COLLICULUS
 
The small nucleus posterior tecti is an undifferentiated primordium
of the inferior colliculus, with perhaps some additions in higher animals from the posteroventral part of the optic tectum.
 
 
The most characteristic cells of the posterior nucleus are small elements with thick bushy dendrites directed forward into the tectum
opticum. Slender axons arise from these dendrites and are directed
forward to the thalamus as an important component of the brachium of the inferior colliculus ('42, p. 265 and figs. 51 and 79).
Other efferent fibers go out in large numbers in tractus tecto-thalamicus et hypothalamicus cruciatus posterior (p. 297; '42, p. 221),
of which the strongest component decussates in the postoptic commissure and distributes to the tegmentum in tegmental fascicles (8)
and (6). Other shorter efferents reach all surrounding parts. The
chief connections of this region are shown diagrammatically in
figures 10-18 and 21.
 
 
In Amblystoma there is no sharp boundary between the optic
tectum and the nucleus posterior. The distinguishing features of the
latter are the absence of optic terminals and the presence of two
special tracts — the primordial lateral lemniscus {tr.b.t.l.) and the
efferent tr. tecto-bulbaris posterior (tr.t.b.p.). The spinal lemniscus
and the general bulbar lemniscus terminate chiefly in the optic
tectum, though the spinal lemniscus has a larger proportion of terminals in the nucleus posterior. The tecto-cerebellar tract arises
chiefly in the nucleus posterior. These connections suggest proprioceptive functions (chap. xii). This suggestion is strengthened by the
presence of many cells of the mesencephalic V nucleus here and by
the undeveloped condition of the auditory apparatus. The dominance
of the cochlear connection is a later acquisition in land animals, with
resulting transformation of the nucleus posterior into the colliculus
inferior and differentiation of the medial geniculate body. This trans
 
 
MIDBRAIN 215
 
formation is far advanced in the frog, for Aronson and Noble ('45)
report that the warning croak uttered during mating is abohshed by
extensive injury of the inferior colHcuH, though it is not lost after
complete ablation of the hemispheres, diencephalon, superior colliculus, cerebellum, and anterior parts of the tegmentum.
 
 
In Anura the optic tectum is greatly enlarged so as to cover the
dorsal convexity of the midbrain. The nucleus posterior is also
enlarged under the influence of the well-developed lateral lemniscus,
and it is folded into the aqueduct as the so-called "corpus posticum"
or "torus semicircularis." In some reptiles and in all mammals the
definitive inferior colliculus reappears on the dorsal surface.
 
 
INTERMEDIATE ZONE
 
The distinctive characteristics of the intermediate zone of Amblystoma are more clearly shown in the midbrain than elsewhere. This
band of subtectal tissue is well differentiated from the overlying
tectum and the underlying peduncle and isthmic tegmentum and is
given a distinctive name.
 
 
TEGMENTUM DORSALE
 
The dorsal tegmentum is separated from the isthmus by the sulcus
isthmi (s.is.) and from the peduncle by the limiting sulcus (s.) of the
nucleus of the tuberculum posterius (fig. 2). On the external and
ventricular surfaces there is no visible boundary between this zone
and the overlying tectum, but the internal structure is sharply contrasted. The gray of the tectum is irregularly laminated, with
plaques of cells separated by thin sheets of neuropil; that of the subtectal area is more homogeneous (figs. 34, 36, 93, 94). The texture
of the white substance is even more distinctive.
 
 
The neurons are rather small and are imbedded in dense neuropil,
which is continuous with that of adjoining areas. Typical illustrations are shown in figures 24, 48, and 49 (see also '42, figs. 29, 30, 44,
45, 48). Their dendrites ramify among dorsal and ventral tegmental
fascicles and into the tectum, peduncle, and isthmic tegmentum.
The axons arise from the dendritic tree, and most of them are short,
arborizing locally and in adjoining areas. Many divide with ascending and descending branches. Axons of the larger elements (fig. 49)
descend to the isthmic tegmentum in the dorsal tegmental fascicles
(fig. 21, tr.tegds.), these fibers being the largest component of fascicles
of group (7). All these neurons seem to be concerned with local correlation.
 
 
This is typical correlational tissue interpolated between the sensory zone above and the motor zone below, with both of which it is
connected by numberless short fibers, by long dendrites, and by the
intrinsic neuropil (fig. '24). In addition to these local connections, it
receives longer fibers from the cerebral hemispheres, dorsal and ventral thalamus, hypothalanms, and tectum, many of these fibers decussating in the anterior and postoptic commissures. There are long
efferent fibers which descend in the dorsal tegmental fascicles to the
isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum.
 
 
This field evidently contains important components of the apparatus of sensori-motor adjustment, but how this mechanism operates
is unknown. This relatively homogeneous area probably loses its
identity in higher animals, in which its parts are specialized and dispersed in the brain stem or perhaps supplanted by the more efficient
adjustors of the thalamus and hemispheres.
 
 
MOTOR ZONE
 
 
 
PEDUNCLE
 
 
 
At the sharp ventral cerebral flexure of the brain stem, a ventricular eminence marks the position of the nucleus of the tuberculum
posterius, which is called the "peduncle" in a restricted sense (p.
21). This peduncular area, which is boundetl by a shallow and
variable sulcus (fig. 2, s.), is an arbitrarily defined field at the ventral
surface of the midbrain, bounded dorsally by the dorsal tegmentum
and posteriorly by the isthmic tegmentum. It arises from the anterior
end of the embryonic basal plate of the neural tube, and nerve fibers
appear within it very early in embryogenesis. In the coil stage, fibers
are added to this tract from the ventral thalanuis and dorsal tegmentum ('37, fig. 1), and, before the early swimming stage is reached,
there are additions also from the tectum and other neighboring parts
('37, fig. 2). This basal sector of the midbrain is the nucleus of origin
of the first efferent fibers of this region for lower motor centers, and,
as early as the S-reaction stage, fibers go out from it to the periphery
in the oculomotor nerve. This is before any afferent fibers are connected with this region. The motor mechanism develops autonomously.
 
 
In Necturus the f . longitudinalis medialis is definitely organized in
the peduncle and is a well-defined anatomical structure from here
caudad ('36, p. 349); but in Amblystoma the fibers which compose
this bundle are mingled with others in tegmental fascicles numbered
(1), (4), (5), and (6) in the peduncle and isthmus, and below the
isthmus a residue of fibers from all these fascicles is assembled to
continue spinalward in the f. longitudinalis medialis ('36, figs. 9-16).
 
 
 
 
MIDBRAIN 217
 
The gray layer is relatively thin, and in the mid-plane most of its
cells are displaced by the massive decussations of the commissure of
the tuberculum posterius (figs. 2C, 29, 30, 31, 94). More laterally,
large and small cells are mingled in the gray, with little evidence
of local segregation except for the nucleus of the oculomotor nerve
at the posteroventral border.
 
 
The largest cells include dorsally the primordium of the nucleus of
Darkschewitsch, which is related primarily with the posterior commissure (figs. 6, 18, '2'2, 24; shown but not named in fig. 32), more
ventrally Cajal's interstitial nucleus of the f. longitudinalis medialis
(figs. 18, 22, 104), and posteriorly the III nucleus (figs. 18, 22, 24, 93,
104). Larval forms of these cells have been illustrated ('396, figs. 42,
53, 72, 73). They resemble those of Necturus ('17, figs. 23, 24, 30, 33).
 
 
These cells evidently are collectors of a wide variety of nervous
impulses brought into the peduncle by the numberless fibers which
converge to end here and by fibers of passage with collaterals in this
area. The axons of these cells descend in the ventral tegmental fascicles and seem to be primarily concerned with activation of mass
movements, particularly of locomotion. Most of these thick fibers
descend in ventral tegmental fascicles of group (5) and are uncrossed,
but some of them decussate in the ventral commissure, mingled with
the tecto-bulbar fibers of the ventral median fascicles of group (1)
('396, figs. 23, 24).
 
 
Small cells in the anteroventral part of the peduncle are intimately
connected with the underlying hypothalamus and are doubtless concerned primarily with olfacto-visceral adjustments (figs. 18, 21, 53).
There are numberless terminals here of the nervus terminalis, tr.
hypothalamo-peduncularis from the ventral hypothalamus ('42, p.
226 and figs. 3, 22, 23, 68, 69), tr. mamillo-peduncularis from the
dorsal hypothalamus ('396, fig. 22; '42, fig. 39), and tr. olfactopeduncularis from the anterior olfactory nucleus and primordial head
of the caudate nucleus ('396, fig. 1). This area also receives terminals
of the secondary and tertiary visceral-gustatory tracts, and there is a
strong pedunculo-hypothalamic connection (fig. 8; '42, p. 227). Ventral tegmental fascicles (3) and (4) from the hypothalamus ('42, fig.
3) are related with this area ('42, figs. 39, 40, 44), and these fascicles,
together with the related small cells, probably contain primordia of
those components of the mammalian dorsal longitudinal fasciculus of
Schutz which are related with the peduncle and hypothalamus
(Thompson, '42, p. 249).
 
 
Cells of medium size at the posterior end of the peduncular gray in the vicinity of the nucleus of the III nerve (fig. 59) have the chief
dendrites directed rostrad, some of them longer and more sharply
bent forward than those shown in figure 59. These dendrites engage
fibers from the basal optic tract, visceral-gustatory system, hypothalamus, tr. olfacto-peduncularis, and mesencephalic terminals
of the f. retroflexus, among other systems. Their axons also are directed forward; how far they extend within the basal forebrain
bundles is not evident, probably for a long distance because they are
thick, smooth fibers similar to those of the long descending and
ascending tracts. It is not improbable that they reach the primordial
corpus striatum, where similar fibers end in wide terminal arborizations ('396, figs. 39, 41, 50, 72, 73; '42, fig. 69). These fibers may be
comparable with those described in mammals as ascending from the
entopeduncular nucleus and substantia nigra to the corpus striatum.
 
 
The neuropil of the alba resembles that of the ventral thalamus,
but that of the gray substance is more dense and of different composition. In the white substance there are mingled terminals of axons
derived from a great variety of sources — tectum, basal optic tract,
posterior commissure and its nucleus, dorsal and isthmic tegmentum,
the entire diencephalon, and the basal forebrain bundles (figs. 12, 14,
15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22). There is little evidence of regional localization
of these terminals except in two places.
 
 
Posteriorly, in the vicinity of the nucleus of the III nerve, the deep
neuropil of the gray is very dense, with strands of fibers descending from the tectum and the dorsal and isthmic tegmentum
(fig. 24). These clearly envelop the cell bodies of the III nucleus, and
many of them decussate here in the ventral commissure. A second
and more sharply localized area of neuropil is the area ventrolateralis
pedunculi, extending superficially from the III root forward (fig. 23),
as described in chapter iii.
 
 
The commissure of the tuberculum posterius includes all fibers of
the ventral series of commissures which cross in the midbrain; for
details of its connections see chapter xxi.
 
 
Summary. — The peduncle of Amblystoma as here defined receives
fibers from practically all parts of the brain above the isthmus, and
its primary function is control of mass movements of the trunk and
limbs and conjugate movements of the eyes. Control of local reflexes
is effected elsewhere. It is intimately connected with the hypothalamus, and various visceral motor adjustments are made here, though
of these little is known.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XVI
OPTIC AND VISUAL-MOTOR SYSTEMS
 
THE eyes in Amblystoma are much better developed than they
are in Necturus, where they are degenerate, though functional.
The retina of Triturus is more highly differentiated, and vision is
evidently more efficient. In frogs this advance is carried much farther, with corresponding structural elaboration of the visual centers
of the tectum opticum and thalamus.
 
 
OPTIC NERVE AND TRACTS
 
The optic tracts and their connections of Necturus have been
described ('41a). An account of the development of the optic nerves
and tracts of Amblystoma was published in the same year ('41), and
subsequently ('42) a detailed analysis of the visual centers and their
connections, together with commentary on related physiological
problems. Some further theoretical considerations were published
later ('44a). These details need not be repeated. The salient features
were outlined in chapter iv, and some topics are amplified here.
 
 
In the coil stage (Harrison's stage 34), optic nerve fibers begin to
grow from the ganglion cells of the retina through the optic stalk
before the other retinal layers are histologically differentiated ('41,
p. 477; Coghill, '16, Paper II, p. 274). In the S-reaction stage (Harrison's stages 35, 36) these fibers reach the brain; in early swimming
stages (Harrison's stages 36, 37) they decussate in the chiasma ('41,
p. 480); and shortly thereafter they reach the tectum (Harrison's
stage 38) and the primordial basal nucleus in the peduncle. Up to this
stage, rods and cones and other retinal layers are incompletely differentiated. In stages immediately preceding effective feeding reactions (about stage 44) the retina is functional, and the larva can
orient itself with reference to an object moving in the field of view;
and shortly thereafter well co-ordinated lurching and snapping movements efficiently capture moving prey. The first visual responses are
probably activated by fibers from the tectum through the posterior
commissure to the nucleus of Darkschewitsch and the fasciculus
longitudinalis medialis and perhaps also by the basal optic tract, though the time of the appearance of these fibers has not been
recorded. Tecto-bulbar and spinal fibers mature very soon after
those of the posterior commissure, the uncrossed fibers preceding the
crossed fibers. These and the tecto-peduncular fibers described below
are apparently the pathways employed in the activation of the
skeletal musculature of the trunk and head when they are employed
in the capture of food. Early feeders (stage 46) have attained full
larval status, and in subsequent stages the visual system is not
radically changed except for an increase in the number of thin retinal
fibers and an enormous increment of these at metamorphosis, the
total number of fibers in adult Amblystoma tigrinum probably reaching about 8,000 ('41, p. 506).
 
 
Correlation of this developmental history with experimental work
by others has led me to the hypothesis that in Amblystoma the thick
retinal fibers, which appear first in ontogeny, activate generalized
total behavior patterns and that the thin fibers are concerned with
more refined analysis of visual experience. (It does not follow that
this is true in mammals, in which the visual responses are under
thalamo-cortical control.) What kind of mechanism is employed in
this analysis is still obscure. My opinion ('41, p. 528) that endings
of thin and thick fibers have separate locahzation in the tectum
proved on further study to be unfounded ('42, pp. 284, 293), and
there is little anatomical evidence of any other kind of visual localization here, though experimental evidence cited below indicates that
retinal loci are projected locally upon the tectum.
 
 
The more important known connections of the visual system are
shown in the simplified diagrams (figs. 6, 11-16, 18, 20-24, 93, 101;
'36, figs. 2, 6, 7; '42, figs. 4, 5, 79). Fibers of the optic nerve are distributed to five quite separate fields in the brain stem: (1) tectum,
(2) pretectal nucleus, (3) cerebral peduncle, (4) thalamus, and (5)
hypothalamus, as shown schematically in figure 14. This wide distribution is in marked contrast with the tendency of the other functional systems of peripheral nerves to converge into a single primary
central field. This dispersal appears to have been determined by the
types of motor response to be evoked rather than by the sensory
qualities of the visual excitations. These five receptive fields will now
be examined.
 
 
1. The tectum opticum evidently is the most extensive of these
fields and physiologically the dominant member (see below).
 
 
The pretectal nucleus may participate in the regulation of the intrinsic musculature of the eyeball and have other functions still
unknown.
 
 
3. The basal optic tract is present in all classes of vertebrates from
cyclostomes to man. It is evidently of major importance, though
little attention has been given to it in current studies of the physiology of vision. Two possible functions have been suggested for it in
Amblystoma. The more primitive of these is to act as a general activator of the ocular and somatic muscles in response to visual
stimuli, manifested in such behavior as the "regarding reaction" described by Coghill (pp. 38, 78). In the second place, the structure
and connections of the area ventrolateralis pedunculi, within which
the basal optic fibers terminate, suggest that this neuropil may be
part of the apparatus of conditioning of visual reflexes (p. 38).
 
 
4. Optic terminals are widely spread in the thalamus and are especially concentrated in its posterior part. This ill-defined area of neuropil receives the brachia of the superior and inferior colliculi and is
regarded as the primordium of the lateral and medial geniculate
bodies (p. 239; '42, p. 280). Large numbers of efferent fibers go
out from this field to the peduncle and the dorsal and isthmic tegmentum. The fibers to the tegmentum take four courses. Two are
superficial, the uncrossed tractus thalamo-tegmentalis rectus and a
crossed path ('42, p. 224, tr.thieg.d.c.A.) which decussates in the
postoptic commissure. Two other tracts take deep courses close to
the gray, one of which decussates ('42, p. 224, tr.th.teg.d.c.B.) and the
other descends uncrossed in dorsal tegmental fascicles of group (7).
For a detailed description see the analysis of the postoptic commissures in chapter xxi. These four tracts end chiefly in the dorsal
and isthmic tegmentum, two of them in the superficial neuropil and
two at deeper levels. They provide pathways for visual control of
local reflexes, particularly those employed in capturing food. There
is no separate optic projection tract from the thalamus to the cerebral
hemisphere, though visual influence may reach the hemisphere
through the thalamo-frontal tract, which is a common pathway of
sensory projection from the dorsal thalamus (pp. 95, 238, and fig.
19, tr.th.f.).
 
 
5. There is a small number of optic terminals and collaterals in the
hypothalamus near the chiasma ('42, pp. 219, 233, 237) . They connect
with the large cells of the preoptic nucleus, axons of which form the
hypophysial tract (p. 245). This is doubtless the pathway for visual
influence upon hypophysial endocrine activity. This connection is probably smaller in Ambly stoma than in some other vertebrates, and
different opinions have been expressed about it. Eugen Frey's description ('38) of a large hypothalamic optic root in some amphibians
was evidently based on inadequate material and faulty observation,
as I have pointed out ('396, pp. 558-76; '41a, p. 498; '42, pp. 218,
233). The same is probably true of Geiringer's ('38) description of a
passage of fibers from the optic nerve directly into the hypophysial
tract. I have preparations that give this appearance, but more critical
examination disproves it. There is some evidence that in fishes and
amphibians efferent fibers go out from the preoptic nucleus through
the optic nerve to the retina ('336, p. 254); but I have not been able
to confirm this or the claim of some authors that efferent fibers go
out to the retina from the tectum. Both these connections may exist.
In the chiasma the coarser optic fibers are segregated from the
finer, and most of them take deeper courses in the optic tracts — the
axial bundles. As the optic tracts traverse the thalamus, they separate
into medial (dorsal) and lateral (ventral) tracts, each of which contains both thick and thin fibers. In the tectum most of these fibers
end by wide arborizations in a common pool of intermediate neuropil
(fig. 93, layer 2).
 
 
TECTUM OPTICUM
 
In embryological development the first afferent fibers to reach the
tectum are those of the optic tract. These terminate in its anterior
part near the posterior commissure, and tectal structure matures in
subsequent stages from this region posteriorly. In the adult the common pool of neuropil, to which reference was made above, also receives similar terminals of the spinal and bulbar lemnisci, the brachium of the superior colliculus from the thalamus, the strio-tectal
and habenulo-tectal tracts, and some other fibers. This pool of neuropil is spread throughout the entire tectum, with little evidence of
localization of function within it.
 
 
The optic tectum is structurally nearly homogeneous, with two
exceptions: (1) a dorsal thickening on each side, which is related
with the dorsal tectal commissure and probably corresponds (in some
respects only) with the torus longitudinalis of fishes ('42, pp. 250,
287), and (2) the eminence of the posterior commissure at the anterior border of the tectum, likewise chiefly commissural in function.
The stratification of the tectum, which is so conspicuous in the frog
and many other vertebrates, is here notably absent. The only layers
 
 
 
OPTIC AND VISUAL-MOTOR SYSTEMS 223
 
that are clearly evident are the deep gray and the superficial white,
though there are obscure indications of the incipience of further
stratification, more evident in the alba than in the grisea. For descriptive purposes I have divided the optic tectum, somewhat arbitrarily, into eight concentric layers, as shown in figures 36 and 93;
for their characteristics see page 244 of 1942.
 
 
Two features of tectal structure merit special emphasis. The first is
that the convergence of most of the afferent fibers into a common
pool of neuropil of almost homogeneous structure suggests a totalizing or integrative function for the tectum as a whole. The second
point of major interest is that the efferent fibers from the tectum are
extremely diversified in structure and distribution. There are all
gradations from diffusely spread fibers in the deep neuropil to welldefined long myelinated tracts like the tecto-bulbar and tecto-spinal
systems. This suggests that such localization of function as exists in
this tectum is determined more by what is going on in the efferent
side of the arc than in the afferent side, a point which has been emphasized by Crosby and Woodburne ('38).
 
 
Five strong systems of myelinated fibers leave the tectum. These
take widely divergent courses. They are as follows:
 
1. Commissura posterior. — These are the first to appear in the
embryo. The crossed fibers are joined by uncrossed fibers from the
eminence underlying the commissure, and they spread widely in the
peduncle and adjoining parts of the thalamus and dorsal tegmentum.
The primary connection is with the nucleus of Darkschewitsch
(p. 217 and figs. 6, 18, 22) and thence to the f . longitudinalis medialis,
providing innervation of the trunk musculature in response to visual
stimulation.
 
 
2. Tractus tecto-peduncularis rectus et cruciatus (p. 303 and figs. 18,
22, tr.t.p.c; '42, p. 267). — These thick fibers arise from the anterior
part of the tectum, descend parallel with fibers from the posterior
commissure, decussate (in part) in the commissure of the tuberculum
posterius, and arborize in the alba of the peduncle of both sides more
ventrally than those of the posterior commissure. Their course as
seen in horizontal sections is shown in figures 30-36, tr.t.p.c.l. (see
also '42, p. 267, and the figures there cited). They activate the interstitial nucleus of the f. longitudinalis medialis and probably also
the oculomotor nucleus and appear to be adapted to regulate mass
movements of trunk, limbs, and eyes in the orientation and movements of the body with reference to objects in the visual field. These fibers are joined by similar thick fibers from the pretectal nucleus
and dorsal thalamus (tr.fh.p.c. of the figures).
 
 
Superficially of the connection just described, there is a large collection of uncrossed fibers passing between the pretectal nucleus
(pars intercalaris diencephali) and the peduncle. These were described in Necturus ('17, p. 264; '336, p. 110 and fig. 57) under the
name "tr. thalamo-peduncularis dorsalis superficialis." These fibers
are spread close to the pial surface in the wide di-mesencephalic fissure and end in large numbei-s in the neuropil of the area ventrolateralis pedunculi. Some of them also reach the hypothalamus. The
condition in Amblystoma is similar, thus bringing the pretectal
nucleus into intimate relation with terminals of the basal optic tract
and the oculomotor nucleus.
 
 
3. Tr actus tecto-thalamicus et hypothalamicus cruciatus (fig. 12,
tr.t.th.h.c.a. and p.\ see also the section on com. postoptica in chapter
xxi). — The anterior and posterior divisions of this complex were
described in 1942 (p. 221). The anterior tract passes from the dorsal
part of the superior colliculus to the hypothalamus, decussating in
the postoptic commissure. It is here termed "tr. tecto-hypothalamicus anterior" (figs. 25-36, tr.t.hy.a.; see further on p. 296). It has
connections with the thalanms and hypothalamus of both sides, and
some of its crossed fibers may reach the peduncle and tegmentum.
 
 
The posterior division arises chiefly from the inferior colliculus,
with accessions from the ventral border of the superior colliculus.
It lies parallel with the anterior division and, more posteriorly, partially decussates in the postoptic commissure and has terminals in
the thalamus and hypothalamus of both sides (figs. 25-35,
tr.t.th.h.c.p.). Its thicker and more myelinated fibers continue as tr.
tecto-tegmentalis cruciatus into tegmental fascicles of groups (6) and
(8), to end in the peduncle and tegmentum as far back as the VII
nerve roots. The distribution of these fibers suggests that they are
primarily concerned with mass movements and local reflexes of the
musculature of the head and probably also with conditioning of these
movements. What seems to be the equivalent of this tract is described as connected with the nucleus isthmi in all animals in which
that nucleus is well developed; but in urodeles this tract is very large,
though the nucleus isthmi is vestigial.
 
 
4. Tecto-hulbar and tectospinal tracts. — These tracts have been
described and illustrated in the papers of 1936 (p. 340) and 1942 (p. 268). They are the largest of the efferent tracts, and most of their
fibers are well myelinated. There are two crossed tracts (figs. 12,
27-36, tr.t.b.c.l. and ir.i.b.c.2.) and an uncrossed tract (tr.t.h.c.r.) from
the tectum opticum. The posterior crossed tract itr.t.h.c.2.) decussates transversely in the vicinity of the nucleus of the IV nerve. The
anterior crossed tract {tr.t.b.c.l.) takes a peculiar course, its fibers
entering the ventral medial tegmental fascicles, f.v.t.{l), within
which they decussate obliquely. There are about a dozen of these
anastomosing fascicles extending from the commissure of the tuberculum posterius backward to the level of the IV nucleus, where these
crossed fibers join those of tr.t.b.c.2. and descend to the medulla
oblongata and spinal cord (figs. 6, 12).
 
 
The uncrossed tecto-bulbar fibers — tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus —
were seen in my earlier studies to arise only from the posterior part
of the tectum, as drawn here in figure 12 (tr.t.b.r.); but later ('42,
p. 269) other fibers of this system were found to arise more anteriorly
and to pass backward by several pathways to join the posterior
group. The most anterior of these fibers enter dorsal tegmental
fascicles of group (7) , from which they separate to join the posterior
tract. Others pass spinal ward in layers 3 and 4 of the tectum, at the
posterior end of which they join the other fascicles. Here they send
collateral branches into the isthmic visceral-gustatory nucleus, as
shown in figure 23. Below the junction of these three divisions, the
tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus descends superficially in the isthmus, then
turns spinalward, under the lateral recess of the ventricle, passing
through the ventral border of the auricle into the medulla oblongata,
where it joins the crossed tecto-bulbar tract.
 
 
5. Brachia of superior and inferior colliculi. — These are large collections of fibers passing in both directions between the tectum and the
thalamus. They are widely dispersed, and most of them discharge
from tectum to dorsal thalamus. Those from the superior colliculus
are spread throughout the alba and form a massive tract (figs. 34, 35,
36, tr.t.th.r.). These are joined by some fibers from the inferior colliculus, and from the latter area other strands of unmyelinated fibers
take separate courses, some passing forward in the dorsal part of the
tectum and some at its ventral margin; most of these fibers pass from
inferior to superior colliculus, but some of them continue into the
thalamus, particularly ventrally, to enter the geniculate neuropil
(figs. 14, 15, 16, br.col.; '42, p. 264).
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
The internal structure of the optic tectum of Amblystoma and the
wide spread of its fibrous connections, both afferent and efferent, suggest that in this animal the primary function of the tectal system is
visual control over movements of the body as a whole and, in particular, the orientation of the body and conjugate movements of the
eyeballs with reference to objects in the visual field. Such other local
visual reflexes as the animal possesses are probably organized elsewhere.
 
 
TECTO-OCULOMOTOR CONNECTIONS
 
The visual location of food and enemies involves the innervation
of the muscles of the eyeballs, and our knowledge of the apparatus
employed in the conjugate movements of the eyes is scanty. The
anterior and posterior divisions of the crossed tecto-bulbar tract
decussate, respectively, in the vicinity of the nuclei of the III and IV
nerves (fig. 12). The anterior division {tr.t.h.c.l.) crosses in the ventral medial tegmental fascicles which span the rather long distance
between the III and the IV nuclei. When these ventral fascicles —
group (1) of my analysis in 1936 — were first identified as tecto-bulbar
fibers, it was supposed that this anomalous arrangement was a provision for activation of the eye-muscle nuclei by collaterals from these
fascicles. No evidence of this has been found, but the myelinated
fibers of both tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus 1 and 2 are accompanied by
very many shorter, unmyelinated fibers, which pass from the tectum
to the III and IV nuclei of both sides. This tr. tecto-peduncularis is
shown diagrammatically in figures 18, 22, and 24 (and in more detail
in '42, figs. 14, tr.t.p.2., and 45, tr.t.p.c.2.). In addition to the tectopeduncular fibers in the alba, there is a deep series (tr. tecto-peduncularis profundus, '42, p. 267 and fig. 14, ir.t.p.3.), which takes tortuous
courses in the neuropil of the grisea. From the anterior part of the
tectum and pretectal nucleus the well-defined tr. tecto-peduncularis cruciatus and the uncrossed tr. thalamo-peduncularis dorsalis
superficialis may participate in the regulation of conjugate movements of the eyes.
 
 
If pupillary constriction is controlled from the pretectal nucleus, as
in mammals, there are two available pathways to the III nucleus,
first, by way of the pretectal components of the two tracts last mentioned and, second, by tr. pretecto-hypothalamicus (p. 296 and fig.
15, tr.pt.hy.) and thence to the III nucleus by tr. hypothalamopeduncularis (figs. 18, 23, tr.hy.ped.).
 
 
 
 
OPTIC AND VISUAL-MOTOR SYSTEMS 227
 
VISUAL FUNCTIONS
 
Most of our experimental knowledge of visual functions of amphibians has been derived from Amblystoma, Triturus, and frogs.
In these animals there is no visual cortex, and in urodeles there is no
specific optic projection tract to the cerebral hemisphere. Here the
intrinsic features of the stem portion of the visual apparatus can be
studied, simplified by absence of the cortical connections; and yet the
complications of internal structure as just summarized present baffling physiological problems. Triturus has more efficient eyes than
Amblystoma, and in frogs this differentiation is much further advanced, so that the Anura offer the most promising approach for
experimental analysis, and for this we need more information about
the histological structure of the anuran brain than is now available.
 
 
The electrical activity of the optic tectum of the frog has been
investigated by Beritoff ('43, pp. 215-40) in co-operation with
Tzkipuridze, who present oscillographic records of its spontaneous
activity and of the effects of various kinds of stimuli. A distinction is
drawn between the quick oscillations due to excitation of the ganglion cells of the retina and slow oscillations ascribed to activity of
the neuropil. Similar studies with the aid of microelectrodes may
profitably be made of the properties of the layers of the tectum and
other central stations of visual activity.
 
 
Attention has been called ('41, p. 521) to evidence that the retina
of Triturus is more highly, differentiated histologically than that of
Amblystoma. That it is functionally superior is confirmed by the experiments of Stone and Ellison ('45), who exchanged eyes of adult A.
punctatum and T. viridescens. The Triturus grafts degenerated, but
the Amblystoma eyes on Triturus hosts followed a course of recovery
as they do in homoplastic transplantations, retinal degeneration
being followed by complete regeneration. Visual acuity appeared to
be higher than in normal Amblystoma but lower than in normal
Triturus.
 
 
In the feeding reactions of larval Amblystoma, the location and
seizure of prey can be successfully done, in the absence of eyes, with
the aid of the lateral-line organs (Scharrer, '32; Detwiler, '45). The
lemniscus systems may discharge lateral-line impulses into the tectum, in company with those of other sensory systems; the mesencephalic V system may participate in the reaction; and the habenulotectal tract may transmit an olfactory influence. In addition to these,
there is a large thalamo-tectal connection and a small strio-tectal tract. But there is no experimental evidence about the specific functions of any of these connections.
 
 
The tectum and thalamus are connected by fibers passing in both
directions (figs. 11, 12). These are precursors of the mammalian
brachia of the superior and inferior colliculus. It is evident that the
tectum and the dorsal thalamus may act as an integrated unit in
regulating the major activities of the body in adjustment to external
situations. With the emergence of the cerebral cortex in higher animals, this pattern is radically changed, and for the understanding of
these changes it is essential that the pre-existing organization be adequately known. The history of the transformation of this generalized
amphibian structure to those of reptiles and mammals has been
sketched by Huber and Crosby ('43).
 
 
Evidence has been published that in some vertebrates the several
quadrants of the retina have local representation in the optic tectum.
In a series of vertebrates, including several species of amphibians,
Stroer ('39, '39a, '40) described continuous fascicles of fibers from the
retinal quadrants to the tectum, where they end locally in an arrangement which projects the retinal quadrants upon the tectum in
reversed orientation. I have made diligent search for evidence of such
an arrangement in Necturus and in young and adult Amblystoma
without success ('41, '41a, '42). In Amblystoma thick and thin fibers
from the different retinal quadrants are inextricably intertwined in
the optic nerve. At the chiasma the thick .fibers are segregated from
the thin fibers, and in the tectum the terminals of both kinds of
fibers mingle and seem to be distributed nearly uniformly to all
parts. There is physiological evidence that Amblystoma can visually
localize objects in the field of view; and, by analogy with other animals, the presumption is strong that retinal loci are projected upon
the tectum in more or less definitely circumscribed areas.
 
 
In Triturus and Amblystoma good localization of objects in the
visual field is restored after transplantation of the eyes (Stone, '44;
Stone and Zaur, '40; Stone and Ellison, '45), and it is preserved after
rotation of the eyeball through 180°, though in the latter case motor
reactions to objects in the visual field are reversed from the normal
(Sperry, '43). Similar physiological results follow operations which
eliminate the chiasma and connect the retina with the tectum of the
same side, and also after transplanting an eye to the opposite side
of the head (Sperry, '45). These observations have been repeated
upon seven species of anurans, all of which have much more highly
 
 
 
OPTIC AND VISUAL-MOTOR SYSTEMS 229
 
differentiated visual apparatus, with similar results. After the cutting
of the optic nerve and its regeneration in the adult animal, the same
results were obtained. Vision was normal in those animals whose
retinas had been kept in normal position, but it was reversed about
the optic axis in animals whose retinas had been rotated through
180° prior to nerve section (Sperry, '44, '45). In frogs, destruction of
quadrants of the tectum of both normal and operated animals resulted in scotomas of local quadrants of the visual field in a pattern
which is in agreement with the anatomical observations of Stroer
('39rt); and, in cases in which the eyeball was rotated, the scotomas
were in arrangement reversed from that found when the eyes were
in the normal position.
 
 
These experiments increase the probability that, in Amblystoma,
retinal loci are in some way projected locally upon the tectum; but
the mechanism employed in localization of visual functions can be
clarified only by further experimentation. Sperry 's experiments demonstrate "the high degree to which the complex and precisely patterned neural mechanisms subserving adaptive visuomotor coordination are dependent upon inherently predetermined rather than upon
functionally acquired neural adjustments."
 
 
 
CHAPTER XVII
DIENCEPHALON
 
GENERAT. FEATURES
 
IN THE f()ll()win,t>- analysis tlie structures at the di-telenceplia ic
junction are omitted, since they are fully described in the next
chapter. The retina and the optic nerve are integral parts of the
diencephalon. The retina itself is more than a simple receptor, for it
contains elaborate apparatus for analysis and synthesis of v'sual
excitations (Polyak, '41).
 
 
The diencephalon combines characteristics of the sensory, intermediate, and motor zones, and the tissues involved are so closely
interwoven that toi)ographic subdivisions into zones is arbitrary and
misleading. The lai-gest number of afl'erent fibers enter by the optic
nerve and are distributed to the thalamus, pretectal nucleus, and
hypothalanms, in addition to their mesencephalic connections. The
nervus terminalis has widely spread terminals in the preoptic nucleus
and the hypothalamus. The parietal nerve contains a few fibers of
uncertain connections and functions. The hypo])hysial nerve carries
many fibers to the ])ars nervosa of the hypophysis ami a smaller number to the j)ars distalis.
 
 
Between the central stations of these peripheral nerves and interpenetrating them is correlating tissue of intermediate-zone type. As
repeatedly emphasized in several preceding contexts, the diencephalon as a whole (except for the retina) is a transitional sector of the
brain, inter})olated between the olfactory field anteriorly and all
other sensori-motor fields posteriorly. This apparatus of correlation
is supplementary to the more direct paths of through traffic which
organize the basic patterns of the stable action system characteristic
of the species. In urodeles the most direct descending olfactory connections are by way of the tractus olfacto-peduncularis for somatic
responses and to the hy})othalamus for visceral responses. Additional
diencephalic olfactory connections are ancillary to these. The apparatus of other stereotyped patterns of sensori-motor adjustment is
similarly organized in the stem below the diencephalic level. These
 
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 231
 
systems all have a collateral discharge into the thalamus, which is
probably concerned with conditioning and other types of "inflection"
of the stable components of behavior. In the most primitive vertebrates this primordial thalamic apparatus of higher synthesis and
conditioning is small and at a low grade of differentiation. In Amblystoma it is notably larger, but still relatively unspecialized and probably concerned more with regulation of central excitatory state and
the general physiological disposition and diathesis than with refined
analysis. In mammals this tissue is elaborately specialized, with provision for precise localization of function correlated with the simultaneous differentiation of the neopallial cortex. But even in man the
intrinsic functions of the thalamus are not supplanted by cortical
development. The thalamo-cortical connections carry two-way traffic and all cortical activity may be profoundly affected by diencephalic influence.
 
 
The primary subdivisions of the adult diencephalon are more
clearly evident in the gross preparation of the urodele brain than in
most other vertebrates, as illustrated in figures IB and 2. I emphasized this in the paper of 1910, and the analysis there proposed has
been widely accepted as applicable in all vertebrates. The epithalamus includes the habenular nuclei, the pars intercalaris, the epiphysis, and the membranous dorsal sac and paraphysis. The dorsal
thalamus is an undifferentiated nucleus sensitivus, the ventral thalamus a field of motor co-ordination, and the hypothalamujs an olfactovisceral adjuster, including the pars nervosa of the hypophysis.
These subdivisions and their more important connections have been
described in previous publications (see the summary, '42, p. 204;
also, '10, '21a, '27, '35a, '36, '39, '396, '41, '42; Necturus, '17, '336,
'346, '34c, '41a; for other urodeles see the works cited on p. 11).
 
 
DEVELOPMENT
 
The larger part of the wall of the diencephalic sector of the early
neural tube is evaginated to form the retina and the optic nerve. The
details of this development, which begins at the anterior end of the
medullary plate, have been recorded by Adelmann ('29, '36). I have
described later stages of the development of these structures ('41).
During these stages most of the dorsal median wall of this part of the
neural tube remains membranous and is elaborately enlarged and
folded to form the epiphysial vesicle, paraphysis, and diencephalic
chorioid plexuses, the development of which has recently been described in several species of amphibians by Rudebeck ('45). The adult
structure of these epithelial organs and the related meninges and
blood vessels I described in 1935. The ventral medial wall of the
adult (fig. 2) between the anterior commissure ridge and the tuberculum posterius is thin but nervous, except for the dorsal wall of the
infundibulum. It has a massive thickening — the chiasma ridge —
midway of its length. The arrangement of the chiasma ridge, the
anterior commissure ridge, and the adjoining preoptic recess and precommissural recess is peculiar in the amphibian brain (fig. 2 and p. 291).
 
 
The massive side wall of the adult diencephalon is composed of
four columns of gray substance, which project into the third ventricle as longitudinal ridges separated by deep sulci. As shown here in
figures 1 and 2, these are epithalamus, dorsal thalamus, ventral
thalamus, and hypothalamus. This adult configuration is achieved
by a series of local pulses of proliferation and differentiation of cells,
which shift in location and rate of growth from stage to stage, as indicated by changes in the sculpturing of the ventricular surface.
 
 
Rudebeck ('45) illustrates embryonic stages of Necturus, Triturus,
and the anuran Pelobates which are younger than any of my models
of Amblystoma. His pictures show that, in each of these species in
stages preceding hatching of the eggs, the first ventricular markings
to appear in the rostral part of the neural tube take the form of a
series of transverse sulci. The most anterior of these, his "sulcus subpalliahs," separates the subpallial from the pallial parts of the hemisphere. Next follows von Kupffer's sulcus intraencephalicus anterior
(p. 117), which separates the hemisphere and preoptic nucleus from
the diencephalon. Posteriorly of this sulcus is a high transverse ridge,
the di-telencephalic ridge, the adult derivatives of which apparently
are the habenula and those structures ventrally of it which are listed
in our next chapter as bed-nuclei of the di-telencephalic junctionnucleus of Bellonci, eminentia thalami, nucleus of tr. olfactohabenularis (p. 239), and part of the preoptic nucleus and hypothalamus. This ridge is bounded spinalward by his "sulcus
diencephalicus ventralis," the dorsal part of which persists as the
sulcus posthabenularis and the ventral part as the sulcus ventralis
thalami plus the sulcus hypothalamicus. Posteriorly of the ditelencephalic ridge is an undeveloped area, giving rise to the adult
pars intercalaris diencephali and the major parts of the dorsal
thalamus, ventral thalamus, and hypothalamus.
 
 
After swimming is well established (about Harrison's stage 37),
 
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 233
 
differentiation is much further advanced, though there is no radical
change in the topographic arrangement of the areas involved ('38,
figs. 15-18). But, by the time the larvae begin to feed (Harrison's
stage 46), the parts have shifted their positions toward the adult condition ('386, figs. 1, 2), which is fully attained in midlarval stages (38
mm, in length) of Amblystoma tigrinum ('39a, fig. 1).
 
 
These changes are brought about in two ways. There is, in the first
place, a gradual straightening of the two great flexures of the neural
tube, with a resulting rearrangement of the several areas in relation
to the long axis of the brain and to one another. In the second place
and accompanying these changes in the general shape of the forebrain, the regions of most rapid proliferation and difi'erentiation of
cells shift their positions. There results a change in the pattern of the
ventricular eminences and the intervening sulci. The original transverse ridges and sulci are broken up, and their parts are rearranged in
the longitudinal series which we see in the adult brain.
 
 
The details of these changes have been described during recent
years by a number of workers in Professor Holmgren's Zootomical
Institute at Stockholm. Rudebeck ('45), in his admirable paper on
the development of the forebrain of lungfishes, shows that the sequence of these changes is essentially the same in Dipnoi, Urodela,
and Anura. In the youngest stages, proliferation of cells is most active
along the lines of the primitive sulci. These active zones enlarge, and
this results in obliteration of the primary sulci or a shift in their positions. The primary grooves, accordingly, do not mark the boundaries
of the primordia of the different diencephalic centers, but, on the
contrary, they are zones of more active growth from which these centers are developed. In some regions the original proliferation grooves
disappear, in others they are gradually displaced and so become limiting sulci at the boundaries of the differentiated areas of the adult.
 
 
My interpretation of these changes as outlined above differs somewhat from that of Rudebek as summarized on page 63 of his monograph. Certainly, the details of these developmental processes vary
from species to species, and examination of still more species of
vertebrates along the lines of the critical studies made in the Stockholm Institute will doubtless clarify the questions which are still in
controversy. One is impressed by the close resemblance of this development in lungfishes and amphibians, which suggests that these
groups of animals are more intimately related phylogenetically than
has hitherto been generally admitted.
 
 
 
EPITIIALAMUS
 
The epithalamus, like all other parts of the sensory zone, combines
reception from the periphery with functions of correlation. It has
two radically different parts that are separated by the pineal recess
and the overlying pineal vesicle. The habenular nuclei comprise the
anterior division. The posterior division is the pars intercalaris
diencephali, which is relatively larger in urodeles than in higher
animals. Because of this enlargement and the small size of the dorsal
thalamus, the habenula lies farther forward than usual. The two
habenulae are connected by the habenular or superior commissure
and the pars intercalaris by the commissura tecti diencephali.
 
 
The pars intercalaris is sharply defined in front, but posteroventrally it merges with the posterior sector of the dorsal thalamus.
There is a narrow subependymal layer of small nerve cells imbedded
in dense periventricular neuropil, and externally of this lies a lentiform mass of crowded cells, mostly small, with some of larger size,
which I term the "pretectal nucleus" (figs. ^B, 14, 15, 35, 36, nuc.pt.)
without commitment about its homologies in other animals. It is
probable that the pulvinar of mammals has been derived from the
undifferentiated gray of the posterior part of this field.
 
 
As described in 1942 (pp. 205, 259, 279), the pretectal nucleus is
permeated and covered with dense neuropil, which is continuous with
that of all surrounding parts — tectum, habenula, and dorsal thalamus — with fibers passing in both directions. It receives terminals and
collaterals from all chiasmatic bundles of the optic tracts (figs. 14,
22), tectum (figs. 12, 14, ir.t.pi.), posterior commissure, dorsal thalamus, habenula, and tr. strio-tectalis (figs. 14, 101, tr.st.pt.). Efferent
fibers leave this nucleus for the tectum (figs. 11, 15, tr.pt.tec),
thalamus (fig. 15), hypothalamus (figs. 15, 16, 25-36, tr.pt.hy.), and
peduncle (tr. thalamo-peduncularis cruciatus and tr. thalamo-peduncularis dorsalis superficialis) . Some fibers accompany the fasciculus
retroflexus to reach the area ventrolateralis pedunculi (fig. 23).
 
 
In my previous publications the tr. pretecto-hypothalamicus was
not identified. Here its course is shown in figures 25-36. Many
unmyelinated fibers, accompanied by a few with myelin sheaths,
leave the pretectal nucleus (figs. 35, 36) and descend near the surface
rostrally and internally of the marginal optic tract. Many of these
fibers end in the thalamus (tr. pretecto-thalamicus, tr.pt. th.), and the
remainder descend to decussate in the postoptic commissure and
spread in the hypothalamus. These fibers and those here termed tr.
 
 
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 235
 
tecto-hypothalamicus anterior (tr.t.hy.a. of the figures) comprise the
mixed system which in my previous papers was called "tr. tectothalamicus et hypothalamicus cruciatus anterior" (p. 296). The
thickest myelinated fibers of this complex arise in the tectum and are
clearly followed through the postoptic commissure into the hypothalamus.
 
 
The dominant afferent connections of the pretectal nucleus apparently are optic. The efferent connections to the hypothalamus and
peduncle provide pathways for optic control of the intrinsic muscles
of the eyeball, as in mammals, and also for possible conditioning or
other influence upon the primary motor paths of the brain stem.
 
 
The pineal body appears in the premotile embryo as a low evagination from the roof of the diencephalon ('38, fig. 2). In early swimmers
it is a hollow vesicle with a lumen, communicating with the third
ventricle by a patent recessus pinealis ('38, figs. 3, 4, 18). Within
three days after the early swimming stage this communication is
closed ('38a, p. 18). The adult epiphysis is a small, flattened, simply
lobulated epithelial vesicle, entirely detached from the brain except
for a few fibers of the parietal nerve. No nervous elements other than
these fibers have been found in it, and their connections are still
unknown.
 
 
In Necturus there are more of these fibers, and their courses are
more easily followed ('17, p. 236). These myelinated fibers are spread
between the cells of the epithelial wall of the pineal vesicle, from
which they pass into the brain in several small fascicles associated
with the habenular commissure and posteriorly of it. They do not
cross the mid-plane and they appear to have no functional connection
with the epithalamus but to pass through it and join the f. retroflexus. They can be followed ventralward nearly to the cerebral
peduncle, where they mingle with other myelinated fibers. The parietal nerve of Amblystoma has a smaller number of myelinated fibers
than in Necturus (not more than 10), but their arrangement is similar
('42, p. 205). These certainly are not aberrant fibers of either the
habenular commissure or the com. tecti, but their central connections
and functions are uncertain. They resemble those associated with the
IV nerve, which are distributed peripherally to the meninges and
chorioid plexus (p. 181). It is not improbable that all these fibers
have sensory functions, but for this there is no evidence. All chorioid
plexuses are abundantly supplied with unmyelinated nerve fibers,
probably of vasomotor function, but in the search for the sources of these fibers in Amblystoma I have been no more successful than I was
with Necturus ('336, p. 15).
 
 
DOESAL THALAMUS
 
The dorsal thalamus is a well-defined part of the diencephalon and
is intimately related by a web of connecting fibers with all contiguous
parts and with many remote parts of the brain. It evidently is an important center of sensory correlation, but it is also the primary
terminal station of a considerable fraction of the fibers of the optic
nerve which come directly from the retina. The thalamic connection
of optic fibers is not a late acquisition incidental to the differentiation
of cerebral cortex, for it is present in all vertebrates, even the most
primitive types. In corticated animals the larger part of the thalamus
is clearly a cortical dependency, the neothalamus; but there is also a
paleothalamus, which is a primordial part of the vertebrate brain,
being present in all vertebrates, from the lowest to the highest. This
paleothalamic component is not lost in mammals, as is shown by the
surviving thalamic residue, which does not degenerate after total
decortication.
 
 
The amphibian dorsal thalamus shows only vague outlines of an
incipient subdivision into the local nuclei so characteristic of mammals. This is more evident in anurans than in urodeles, and in Amblystoma than in Necturus. In the urodeles, as in fishes, the undifferentiated dorsal thalamus may be regarded as a single "nucleus sensitivus," which acts, in the main, as a whole, without well-defined functional localization. Nevertheless, an early stage of local differentiation can be recognized. In Amblystoma there are three areas of gray,
separated by shallow and variable ventricular sulci, namely :
 
1. Anteriorly the nucleus of Bellonci (fig. 2, nuc.B) produces a
slight ventricular eminence wedged between the middle area, the
ventral habenular nucleus, the eminentia thalami, and the ventral
thalamus. Superficially of this gray is an area of very dense and complicated neuropil, which is intimately connected with that of all the
surrounding areas. It receives terminals of the optic tract, and this
justifies its inclusion within the sensory zone, though its other connections are those of correlating tissue of intermediate-zone type.
The nucleus of Bellonci is primarily a bed-nucleus of the neighboring
tracts — stria meduUaris, optic and postoptic systems, and others
(chap, xviii).
 
 
2. The middle part of the dorsal thalamus is marked by a low ven
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 237
 
tricular eminence inclosed by the dorsal and middle thalamic sulci
(fig. 2, s.d. and s.m.). It is the precursor of several of the sensory
nuclei of the mammalian thalamus, though there is no visible local
differentiation of its gray substance corresponding to these nuclei.
This homology is clearly established by the location of these cells and
their fibrous connections, which conform, as far as they are present,
with the mammalian pattern (figs. 14, 15). This area receives terminals and collaterals of the optic tract, terminals of the spinal and
bulbar lemniscus, strong tecto-thalamic tracts (precursors of the
brachia of the superior and inferior colliculi), some fibers from the
habenula, and probably also fibers from the hypothalamus by way of
the postoptic commissure systems and from the cerebral hemisphere
accompanying the tr. strio-pretectalis. These fibers all enter a common pool of neuropil, which is most dense in the intermediate alba
but which also pervades the entire structure.
 
 
From this thalamic pool, efferent fibers go out to all surrounding
parts of the brain, some in the diffuse neuropil and some as wellfasciculated tracts. An extensive and complicated system of efferents
discharges into the underlying motor zone of the same and the opposite side, including direct and crossed tracts to the ventral thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebral peduncle, and isthmic and bulbar tegmentum. The more important of these are shown in figure 15. A large
tract containing some thick myelinated fibers (tr.th.p.) joins similar
fibers from the pretectal nucleus and tectum (fig. 18, tr.t.p.c), partially decussates in the commissure of the tuberculum posterius, and
spreads through the alba of the peduncle on both sides, as illustrated
in figures 30-36 {tr.th.p.c. and tr.t.p.c. 1.). Parallel with these deeper
fibers there is a very large superficial uncrossed tract from the dorsal
thalamus and pretectal nucleus to the peduncle (not shown on the
figures) similar to that described in Necturus as tr. thalamo-peduncularis dorsalis superficiahs ('17, p. 264). Other similar fibers are dispersed in the neuropil, some of which go directly to the ventral part
of the thalamus — tr. dorsoventralis thalami (shown but not labeled
in figs. 15 and 16; see '17, p. 266). A small number of fibers go to the
habenula (tr.th.hab.), and a larger number to the tectum in the
brachia of the superior and inferior colliculus {br.coL). The large tr.
thalamo-tegmentalis rectus includes deep and superficial fibers to the
dorsal and isthmic tegmentum (figs. 32-34, 94, tr.th.teg.r.) ; for those
which decussate in the postoptic commissure see chapter xxi and
'42, p. 223.
 
 
 
 
?38 THE BRAIX OK THE TKJER SALAMANDER
 
The fibers wliich ascend to the heinispliere are in small, compact
fascicles (tr. thalamo-froiitalis; see figs. 15, 19, oO-lU. 71. 7-2, 75. 95,
101, 1(H. 10:>, tr.fh.f.). which enter the lateral forebrain bundle.
"Within this bundle the fibers pass to the strio-amygdaloid field in the
ventrolateral wall of the hemisphere. Here they spread out and, so
far as is now known, they end here, thus constituting a thalamostriatal system of projection fibers, which persists in mammals with
the addition of the thalamo-cortical projection system. The thalamofrontal fibers arise as axons of cells of the middle part of the dorsal
thalamus only, so that this "nucleus sensitivus thalami" may be regarded as the primordium of most of the mammalian thalamic nuclei
which have cortical connections. This is not a new connection in the
Amphibia, for it is pi-esent in various groups of fishes ('-2'-2a).
 
 
3. The posterior part of the dorsal thalamus is less differentiated
and less clearly delimited. Its tissue is confluent with that of the pars
intercalaris of the epithalamus. the eminence of the posterior commissure, the dorsal tegmentum, the peduncle, and the ventral thalamus. This suggests that it is functionally related with all these parts.
All the connections of the middle part are more or less evident, except the thalamo-frontal tract. AYhat structures of higher brains have
been derived from this area is not clear. Some of this tissue should
probably be assigned to the ventral thalamus.
 
 
This posterior sector develops prtxxu^iously in company with the
ventral thalamus vCoghill, "-2S, Paper VIII). Uncrossed impregnated
fibers pass from it to the ventral thalamus and peduncle in the
S-reaction stage — Harrison's stages 35, 36 (,'37, fig. 'i). In early swimmers these are more numerous, and similar fibers, which decussate in
the post optic commissure, make their appearance (,'38, fig. 5: Coghill, '30, Paper IX, fig. -4). Differentiation of the anterior parts of the
dorsal thalamus is relatively retarded.
 
 
The dense and intricate neuropil of the posterior part of the dorsal
thalamus spreads to surrounding parts with no well-defineil boundaries, being intimately joined with that of the luiddle part and the
ventral thalamus (fig. 73). This field (,figs. 14. 10, np.geu.) receives
two systems of fibers which seem to have special phylogenetic significance, viz., abundant terminals of the optic tracts and the brachium of the inferior colliculus. The arrangement of these connections
in Amblystoma is difi'erent from that seen in both Xecturus and the
frog l,'-!'^, p. "278). Optic terminals are spread through the alba of the
entire dorsal thalamus and most abundantly in this posterior neu
 
 
DIENCEPHALON >;{9
 
ropil. I have calleci tliis c'oiniiu)ii jxk)! of unditt'orentiated tissue of llie
dorsal thalainiis and dorsal part of the ventral thalamus tlie "genieulate neuropil," on the assumption that out of it the medial and lateral
geniculate bodies have emerged (]). '-I'-U). In the course of i)hylogeny
the more sharp segregation of the optic terminals was accompanied
by the differentiation of the lateral geniculate body, a process which
is well advanced in the frog ('"25), and the differentiation of the
cochlear apparatus and lateral lemniscus was accompanied by the
emergence of the medial geniculate body from the same common
pool. This hypothesis is held subject to revision, pending further
study of the related species.
 
 
VENTRAL THALAMUS
 
On the ventricular surface (figs. 1, '2, 15>, 95) the ventral thalanuis
is sharply delimited by the sulcus medius thalami (.s-.m.) above and
the sulcus ventralis (s.r.) below, and it is separated into anterior and
posterior parts by a depressed area containing in some si)ecimens a
shallow sulcus. The two parts differ in embryological origin and connections, yet in the adult brain their most fundamental features are
similar ('42, p. 207).
 
 
The posterior part of this field extends forward from the peduncle,
and in early functional stages it has similar structure and connections, though it is clearly in diencephalic territory. In these stages
the ])rimordium of the anterior i)art (area 7a of my analysis, ','??,
p. 393) lies at the di-telencephalic junction ('38, p. 213 and fig. 18),
and in prefunctional stages it is joined with area 7, which becomes
the corpus striatum. This anterior part of the ventral thalamus may
be genetically telencephalic, depending on how the arbitrary ditelencephalic boundary is defined.
 
 
In the adult ventral thalamus none of the nuclei of more highly
differentiated brains are well defined, though some local differentiation is evident. Anteriorly, the eminentia thalami (figs. 2, 16, cni.fh.)
belongs in a series of bed-nuclei related with important tracts of
fibers at the di-telencephalic junction (chap, xviii). Both this area
and the underlying nucleus of the olfacto-habenular tracts discharge
fibers backward into the unspecialized gray of the anterior part of the
ventral thalamus (fig. 17). Between the anterior part of the ventral
thalamus and the dorsal (mamillary) part of the hypothalanuis there
are fibers passing in both directions which seem to be precursors of
the mammalian tr. mamillo-thalamicus ('396, p. 554 and figs. 22, 35).
 
 
The posterior part has a thicker gray layer, which produces a rather high ventricular eminence, the structure of which is similar to
that of the peduncle. As illustrated by previously published figures
('396, p. 544 and figs. 23, 28), the large neurons of the ventral
thalamus have widely spread dendrites and are evidently collectors
of impulses from many sources (figs. 16, 17). Spinalward of the bednuclei at the anterior end, the two parts receive the strong tr. striothalamicus, which descends from the strio-amygdaloid field by way
of the lateral forebrain bundle (f.lat.t.). Short fibers descend into
both parts from the dorsal thalamus (tr. dorsoventralis thalami) and
from the pretectal nucleus by tr. pretecto-thalamicus et hypothalamicus. There are much larger connections from the tectum,
some uncrossed in the brachia of the superior and inferior colliculi
(br.col.) and some decussating in the postoptic commissure
(tr.t.th.h.c.p.).
 
 
Fibers stream backward from the ventral thalamus into the motor
zone of all lower parts of the brain stem and into the hypothalamus,
some uncrossed and some decussating in the postoptic commissure
and in the ventral commissure of the isthmus. These have been seen
especially clearly in larval brains ('39, fig. 2; '396, p. 546 and fig. 23).
Most of these fibers end in the cerebral peduncle and tegmentum of
the midbrain and isthmus ; many of them extend into the trigeminofacialis region; and relatively few which enter the f. longitudinalis
medialis may go into the spinal cord.
 
 
The connections just described indicate that the ventral thalamus
collects fibers from all parts of the cerebrum, and chiefly those concerned with somatic responses to exteroceptive stimuli. Its efferent
fibers descend to those motor fields which supply the skeletal musculature. These fibers take a surprising variety of courses, the details of
which need not be recounted here ('396, p. 544), but all the more important pathways are links in the chain of conductors which activate
the skeletal muscles. For this reason this field is regarded as part of
the motor zone, though it has no direct connections with the periphery.
 
 
This ventral thalamus corresponds in all essential respects with the
subthalamus of mammalian neurology. In contrast with the mammals, it is here far larger than the dorsal thalamus, as is evident upon
inspection of figure 2. This difference is probably due not to shrinkage
of the ventral thalamus in mammals but to the great enlargement of
the dorsal thalamus, i.e., to the addition of the neothalamus to the
primordial paleothalamus as the latter is seen in Amblystoma.
 
 
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 241
 
HYPOTHALAMUS
 
The liypothalamus as here defined inchides the ventral part of the
brain stem between the anterior commissure ridge and the tuberculum posterius. At its anterodorsal border the nucleus of the olfactohabenular tract might be included or assigned to the ventral thalamus. Its fibrous connections, like those of the preoptic nucleus, are
mainly of hypothalamic type. Posteriorly of the chiasma ridge the
deep sulcus hypothalamicus separates the dorsal from the ventral
part of the hypothalamus, and each of these parts is further subdivided. A shallow and variable sulcus hypothalamicus dorsalis separates the dorsal hypothalamus again into dorsal and ventral lobes,
both of which are confluent with the ventral thalamus and peduncle
(fig. 2). These parts contain the primordium of the mamillary
body, but this structure is not recognizably differentiated. The ventral hypothalamus is obscurely separable into posteroventral and
anterodorsal parts. All these subdivisions are more clearly seen in
Necturus than in Amblystoma ('35a, p. 253).
 
 
The sulcus preopticus separates the preoptic nucleus into anterior
and posterior lobes. The lateral preoptic recess at the anteroventral
border of the chiasma ridge is a remnant of the lumen of the hollow
epithelial optic stalk of the embryo ('41), which persists in the endocranial part of the optic nerve of adult Necturus ('41a, p. 494).
 
 
The sequence of differentiation of the nervous connections of the
hypothalamus has been summarized elsewhere, together with a description of these connections in midlarval stages ('396, p. 550). The
adult structure and connections of the hypothalamus of Necturus
have been fully described ('336, '346, '41a), and those of Amblystoma
are essentially similar, though with considerable advance in differentiation throughout ('42, pp. 211 ff.). None of the hypothalamic nuclei
described in mammals are here clearly segregated, though some of
them are recognizable in more dispersed arrangement. The preoptic
nucleus is an exception to this. It is very large, and its boundaries are
well defined except anterodorsally, where it merges with the nucleus
of the olfacto-habenular tract, and posterodorsally, where it merges
with the ventral part of the hypothalamus.
 
 
AFFERENT CONNECTIONS
 
The nervus terminalis, as described by McKibben ('11), has endings distributed throughout the hypothalamus both before and behind the chiasma ridge. The only other peripheral fibers which reach the hypothalamus are a few which separate from the optic tracts and
ramify in the vicinity of the chiasma (p. 221).
 
 
By far tlie larger part of the white substance of the hypothalamus
is occupied by the great medial forebrain bundles (f.med.t. of the
figures); and, since these bundles are composed chiefly of fibers descending from the olfactory field of the hemispheres, the implication
is that olfactory functions are dominant here. The olfacto-peduncular
tract arises chiefly from the head of the caudate nucleus and distributes some of its fibers to the dorsal part of the hypothalamus. Fibers
descend in the dorsal fascicles of the medial forebrain bundle from
the septum and primordium hippocampi and distribute chiefly to the
preoptic nucleus and dorsal hypothalamus. Included here are the precommissural fornix and part of the stria terminalis system. The
ventral fascicles have descending fibers from the olfactory bulb and
from the ventral and medial sectors of the anterior olfactory nucleus,
which spread throughout the preoptic nucleus and the ventral part
of the hypothalamus. Strong collaterals of both dorsal and ventral
fascicles enter the stria medullaris thalami. Many fibers descend from
the preoptic nucleus in diffuse formation, to spread throughout the
hypothalamus posteriorly of the chiasma ridge. One component of
this preoptico-hypothalamic connection is the compact tr. preopticus, as described below.
 
 
The dorsal olfactory projection tract (ol.p.tr.) is a compact fascicle
of unmyelinated fibers, which descend from the dorsal striatal nucleus and in larger number from the amygdala. This fascicle accompanies the lateral forebrain bundle, and above the chiasma it turns
ventrad to connect with its nucleus at the posterior border of the
chiasma ridge. This tract also contains ascending fibers. It was first
described in Ambly stoma and the frog ('21a) and subsequently in
Necturus ('336, p. 158) ; its course was fully illustrated in 1921 and is
shown in many other figures (figs. 19, 25, 26, 27, 95, 96, 97, 101, 102,
103; '27, figs. 11-20, 24-32; '36, fig. 5).
 
 
Afferent fibers of the visceral-gustatory system enter the dorsal
part of the hypothalamus (fig. 8) . The ventral part receives fibers
from the pretectal nucleus by tr. pretecto-hypothalamicus (figs. 15,
16), and much larger numbers by the accompanying tr. thalamohypothalamicus, and also by tr. thalamo-hypothalamicus cruciatus
(fig. 16). The entire tectum is connected with the hypothalamus by
two large tracts — (1) the anterior division of tr. tecto-thalamicus et
 
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 243
 
hypothalamicus cruciatus (tr. tecto-hypothalamicus anterior) from
the superior colliciilus and {%) the posterior division of this tract from
both inferior and superior colhcuh (fig. l'^).
 
 
Through these manifold afferent connections nervous impulses are
discharged into the hypothalamus from almost all parts of the brain,
directly or indirectly. All sensory systems are represented here, but
the olfactory connections evidently are preponderant. The significance of this convergence will appear after comparison with similar
pools in the habenula and several other places (p. 252).
 
 
INTRINSIC HYPOTHALAMIC CONNECTIONS
 
All parts of the hypothalamus are interconnected by dense and
intricately woven neuropil in both gray and white substance. Though
all activities of the hypothalamus may thus be integrated, the structure is diversified, indicating the inception of specialization of the
local nuclei as these are seen in higher animals. The most complicated
and interesting of these local fields of neuropil surrounds and permeates the chiasma ridge, of which I have given a detailed description ('42, p. 214). Neuroblasts of this area are differentiated very
early in embryogenesis ('37, '38), and some of their axons form tr.
hypothalamo-peduncularis (figs. 18, 23) and tr. hypothalamo-tegmentalis (fig. 21), as elsewhere described ('42, p. 226). This area
seems to be the primary focus into which converge all tracts of the
ventral part of the hypothalamus for discharge through the two
tracts just mentioned. Among these afferents are the intrinsic fibers
of tr. preoptico-hypothalamicus from in front and of tr. infundibularis ascendens from the postero ventral lobe.
 
 
The last-mentioned ascending tract divides. One moiety is directed
dorsally, providing a broad connection from the ventral part of the
hypothalamus to the dorsal, and a larger moiety is directed forward
into the medial forebrain bundle. Most of these ascending fibers apparently end in the postchiasmatic neuropil and preoptic nucleus,
but some may go farther into the hemisphere ('336, p. 250; '346).
This tract is quite independent of the ascending fibers of the olfactory
projection tract previously mentioned. There are probably other
fibers which ascend from the hypothalamus in the basal forebrain
bundles, but our preparations have not revealed them.
 
 
From the anterior part of the ventral thalamus, fibers stream backward into the dorsal part of the hypothalamus. These thalamomamillary fibers are accompanied by fibers passing in the reverse
direction — tr. mamillo-thalamicus — the combined tract being the
probable precursor of the mammalian mamillo-thalamic bundle of
Vicq d'Azyr.
 
 
EFFERENT CONNECTIONS
 
From the whole extent of the preoptic nucleus fibers pass dorsad
to enter the stria medullaris thalami. Others probably ascend to the
hemisphere in the basal bundles. The dorsal (mamillary) part of the
hypothalamus is connected with the anterior part of the thalamus,
as just mentioned. There is probably also a mamillo-cerebellar connection (p. 170). The other efferents from the mamillary region are
the very extensive and complicated systems of mamillo-tegmental,
peduncular, and interpeduncular fibers illustrated crudely in figures
18 and 21 and mentioned on page 278, where some references to
literature are given (for fuller description see '396, p. 551).
 
 
The efferents from the ventral part of the hypothalamus include
the ascending fibers and the hypothalamo-peduncular and tegmental
systems already mentioned. Fibers may go out with some components of the postoptic commissure to the thalamus and tectum, but
these have not been recognized.
 
 
The pars magnocellularis of the preoptic nucleus gives rise to the
large hypophysial tract, which is one of the major features of the
ventral hypothalamus. In most lower vertebrates, including some
amphibians, these large cells are aggregated as a well-defined nucleus, homologous with the supraoptic nucleus of mammals. But in
Amblystoma, as in Necturus, they are dispersed, being most numerous above and anteriorly of the chiasma ridge. These widely
scattered large cells in the aggregate are here termed the nucleus
magnocellularis. Their long dendrites are widely branched and may
be activated by practically all nerve fibers of the preoptic and epichiasmatic areas. In this mixed collection of fibers there are two systems which seem to be specifically related with these large cells.
 
 
The first of these systems is the tr. preopticus (fig. 2C, 96, 97,
tr.po.). These fibers are axons of cells at the postero ventral border of
the anterior commissure ridge and the anterior part of the preoptic
nucleus, which descend in the thin floor of the long preoptic recess,
then recurve dorsally along the anterior face of the chiasma ridge,
where they spread in the alba among dendrites of the cells of the
nucleus magnocellularis. In the catfish, Ameiurus, the course is simi
 
 
DIENCEPHALON 245
 
lar, and here the connection of these fibers specifically with the compact nucleus magnocellularis is unmistakable ('41&). This, accordingly, is one source of activation of the hypophysial tract, the course
of which in Ameiurus has been described by Palay ('45). His observations also indicate that in these fishes the nucleus magnocellularis
itself is a source of endocrine secretion, as is clear also from the work
of Scharrer and Scharrer ('40).
 
 
A second specific source of excitation of the nucleus magnocellularis is the small number of fibers which separate from the optic
tracts near the chiasma and arborize in the area where these cells
are most abundant (p. 221), thus providing visual control of endocrine secretion. This, however, is minimal in Amblystoma, and the
very extensive hypophysial innervation must be concerned in the
main with other functions.
 
 
The very numerous unmyelinated axons of the cells of the nucleus
magnocellularis are diflficult to follow, for they descend in dispersed
arrangement, penetrate the chiasma ridge, and then converge into
the compact tr. hypophysius in the thin floor of the infundibulum.
Their further course is clear. We have many brilliant Golgi impregnations of their distribution, some of which have been illustrated ('42,
figs. 55-65). In the pars nervosa of the hypophysis they form a very
dense neuropil, are less abundant in the pars intermedia, and a few of
them penetrate the pars distalis. They terminate in tiny end-bulbs
resting upon the epithelial cells. The pars nervosa is a rather thin
sheet of convoluted epithelium which forms the posterodorsal wall of
the wide infundibulum. These lobules take the form of irregular villi,
in the axis of each of which is a capillary loop.
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
In most lower vertebrates the hypothalamus is relatively much
larger than in the higher groups, and this seems to be correlated with
the dominance of the olfactory system in the organization of the forebrain of the lower forms. All other functional systems have extensive
representation here, and in this respect the hypothalamus resembles
the habenular complex, but with the difference that in the latter the
afferents converge into a very small compact area with one major
efferent path, the f . retroflexus, while the much larger hypothalamus
is diversified in structure and has a wider range of distribution of its
efferent fibers. Though both these complexes are evidently concerned
 
 
 
24(5 THE BRAIN OP^ THE TIGER SALAMANDER
 
with the correlation of olfactory with a wide variety of other types of
sensory experience, it is equally evident that the type of adjustment
made is radically different. To this topic we shall return (p. 252).
 
 
The intricate connections described above are very different from
those of the specialized fishes. How they are related with those of
mammals remains uncertain, pending further study of intermediate
species. The lack of differentiation of a localized mamillary body
here is probably explained by the failure of the fibers of the primordial postcommissural fornix to reach the hypothalamus (p. %55) ;
and this, in turn, is correlated with the primitive structure of the
hippocampal formation. The analysis of the intricate system of postoptic commissures (chap, xxi) probably provides an instructive point
of departure for further study of these connections, leading up to a
solution of still controversial problems about the mammalian supraoptic commissures.
 
 
The nervous connections of the hypophysis in urodeles are very
large, and they are so arranged as to be easily accessible for experimental study. It is hoped that advantage will soon be taken of this
favorable material for investigation of some problems of endocrinol
 
ogy.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XVIII
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS
 
IN ALL vertebrates with fully evaginated cerebral hemispheres the
deep transverse stem-hemisphere fissure separates the dorsal
parts of the hemisphere from those of the diencephalon. Ventrally of
the floor of this fissure there are two great systems of fore-and-aft
conduction — the basal forebrain bundles and the stria medullaris
thalami. These form a superficial ventrolateral eminence, which is
more conspicuous in the frog, where it was termed by Gaupp the
"prominentia fascicularis." Attention has been called to the fundamental difference between these two great systems of fibers. The
basal bundles are concerned primarily with the patterning of behavior, and, accordingly, their composition and connections vary
widely from species to species in conformity with diverse modes of
life. The composition of the stria medullaris, on the other hand, is
remarkably constant throughout the vertebrate series, and its functional role is obscure. This chapter is devoted to these fibers and their
widely dispersed connections, together with a few other systems of
fibers which are associated with them.
 
 
THE DI-TELENCEPIIALIC JUNCTION
 
All afferent fibers to the habenula, with the exception of the tectohabenular tract, enter the stria medullaris thalami for longer or
shorter parts of their courses. These fibers are assembled from all
parts of the cerebral hemisphere and preoptic nucleus and, in smaller
number, from the thalamus. They form a massive fasciculus, which
ascends vertically in the posterior lip of the stem -hemisphere fissure;
and associated with them is a series of bed-nuclei at the di-telencephalic junction, which will next be described. These nuclei have
diverse and complicated connections, and all have this in common,
that they are in functional relations with the stria medullaris. The
following are listed in this series; for their arrangement see figure 2B.
 
 
1. Preoptic nucleus. — Among the connections of this nucleus, as
described in the preceding chapter, are terminals and collaterals of
descending fibers of the nervus terminalis, medial forebrain bundle, precommissural fornix, stria terminalis, and ascending fibers of the
medial bundle. Fibers ascend from all parts of this gray to the habenula in the stria medullaris, some externally of the lateral forebrain
bundle (tractus olfacto-habenularis lateralis) and some medially of it
(tr. olfacto-habenularis medialis) . Among these fibers are strong collaterals from both dorsal and ventral fascicles of the medial forebrain
bundle ('396, p. 538).
 
 
2. Bed-nuclei of the anterior commissure (figs. 25, 26, 27, 97). —
These are cells sparsely scattered in the anterior commissure ridge
and massed laterally of it. They are related with tracts of the basal
forebrain bundles decussating here, the stria terminalis, and the tr.
septo-habenularis .
 
 
3. Nucleus of tr. olfacto-habenularis (figs. 27, 28, 29, nuc.tr. ol.h.;
'35a, p. 250; '396, p. 538).— This gray is interpolated between the
anterior commissure ridge, the anterodorsal part of the nucleus preopticus, the anterior end of the ventral thalamus, and the eminentia
thalami. It is penetrated by fibers of the tr. olfacto-habenularis
medialis, with which it is related by terminals and collaterals. It is
also connected with the amygdala by dispersed thick fibers, some of
which are myehnated, termed "tr. amygdalo-thalamicus," though
the direction of conduction is unknown (shown but not named on
figs. 19 and 30; also shown on fig. 96, where the nucleus of the
tr. olfacto-habenularis medialis is marked, p.v.th.). This tract is probably a part of the complicated stria terminalis system. It was described in Necturus ('336, p. 218) as connected with the nucleus of
Bellonci, but its main connection is with the nucleus of the olfactohabenular tract, as shown in figure 40 of the paper cited. Impregnated neurons of the posterior part of this nucleus are shown in figure
24 of the paper of 1942. Their unmyelinated axons take widely
divergent courses — to the stria medullaris, the amygdala, medial and
lateral forebrain bundles, and the ventral thalamus.
 
 
In describing the early development of both dipnoan and amphibian brains, Rudebeck ('45) recognizes two parts of the nucleus
preopticus: (1) an inferior "nucleus preopticus proper," most of
which is developed rostrally of the sulcus intraencephalicus anterior,
and (2) a pars superior, developed posteriorly of this sulcus in the
ventral part of the di-telencephalic ridge. The superior part he regards as the primordium of the amygdala of the adult amphibian.
This part is larger in dipnoan embryos than in amphibians and may
be the source of a more extensive area of the adult brain. In Amblys
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 249
 
toma the posterior lobe of the inferior or "proper" nucleus preoptions develops posteriorly of the sulcus intraencephalicus anterior; and,
more dorsally, Rudebeck's pars superior of this nucleus is clearly the
primordium of my nucleus of the olfacto-habenular tract, including,
perhaps, also the posterior end of the amygdala. In any case the two
nuclei last mentioned are very intimately related.
 
 
4. Eminentia thalami. — This name was given ('10, p. 419) to a
prominent ventricular eminence lying behind the interventricular
foramen between the anterior commissure ridge and the habenula,
which has been variously interpreted by authors. It is appropriately
named "nucleus commissurae hippocampi" by Addens ('46). I have
regarded it as the anterior end of the ventral thalamus, differentiated
as bed-nucleus of several large tracts which converge here. It is well
defined in early swimming stages (area 7a) , when the first fibers of the
stria medullaris are visible ('38, p. 213 and figs. 18, 19) ; and in early
feeding stages, with good development of stria medullaris and hippocampal commissure, it has acquired essentially adult form ('386,
p. 401, figs. 1, 2, 6). It is derived from the middle of the di-telencephalic ridge of Rudebeck's ('45) pictures of the embryonic brain.
 
 
This eminence receives collaterals from the stria medullaris and in
larger numbers from the fibers of the hippocampal commissure (figs.
31, 32, 71, 76; '27, p. 294; '35a, p. 250). As the latter fibers swing
downward behind the interventricular foramen toward their crossing
in the anterior commissure ridge, they are accompanied by similar
fibers which pass from the primordium hippocampi to the ventral
thalamus — tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis (figs. 31, 32, 33, 72, 75).
Like the fibers of the hippocampal commissure, these are mostly
unmyelinated, with a few thick, well-myelinated fibers scattered
among them. Many of them end in the eminentia thalami, and others
continue into the anterior part of the ventral thalamus. This tract is
probably the precursor of the mammalian column of the fornix,
though here none of its fibers have been seen to reach the hypothalamus.
 
 
Numberless short, thin, unmyelinated axons descend from the
small cells of this eminence to spread in the adjoining ventral thalamus ('21a, figs. 26-28; '27, p. 269), and thicker axons enter the complex crossed and uncrossed system of tr. thalamo-tegmentalis ventralis ('39, p. 120 and fig. 2; '396, p. 546; '42, p. 225).
 
 
5. Nucleus of Bellonci. — This name is applied to a group of cells
which form a low ventricular eminence between the anterior parts of the dorsal and the ventral thalamus. I have regarded it as part of the
dorsal thalamus, though its morphological status is uncertain. This
nucleus was not recognized by Bellonci ('88), hut he did describe in
the frog a peculiar field of very dense neuropil related with it, which
I term the "neuropil of Bellonci" in preference to his name, ''nucleus
anterior superior corporis geniculati thalami." This nucleus and associated neuropil I first described in Necturus ('17, p. 243) under the
name of "pars optica thalami," but this term also is inappropriate
and has been discarded. In Necturus and Ambly stoma this peculiar
neuropil receives terminals and collaterals from the optic tract, stria
medullaris, tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis, the anterior tectal fasciculus (p. 297), and other sources. Axons of the cells of the nucleus go
to the habenula and to the ventral thalamus and peduncle. This
neuropil has received much study ('25, p. 454; '27, p. 295; '33&,
p. 216; '34, p. 107), but, as recently remarked ('42, p. 279), many
details of its structure and connections are still obscure. The probable
equivalent of this nucleus has been found in all major groups of
vertebrates by Addens ('46 and papers there cited).
 
 
6. Habenula. — The general structure and chief connections of the
amphibian habenular nuclei are well known and have been summarized by Ariens Kappers, Huber, and Crosby ('36). There are two
habenular nuclei on each side, different in position from that of mammals but with similar fibrous connections. They are arranged one
above the other at the anterodorsal border of the diencephalon, dorsally of the eminentia thalami. The taenia thalami, or line of attachment of the membranous dorsal sac, extends from the eminentia
thalami along the anterior border of both nuclei and backward along
the dorsolateral border of the dorsal nucleus as far as the habenular
commissure. Posteriorly of this commissure the roof is again membranous as far as the recessus pinealis. The dorsal and ventral nuclei
are separated on the ventricular surface by a shallow sulcus intrahabenularis and bounded posteriorly by the sulcus posthabenularis,
which is the surviving dorsal end of the sulcus diencephalicus ventralis of Rudebeck ('45). Below the ventral nucleus is the deep sulcus
subhabenularis. This is essentially the embryonic arrangement, in
contrast with that of adult man, where the great enlargement of the
dorsal thalamus and reduction of the membranous dorsal sac and
paraphysis result in great changes in the relative positions of parts.
 
 
The ventral and dorsal habenular nuclei of Amblystoma are probably the equivalents, respectively, of the lateral and medial nuclei of
 
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 251
 
higher forms, but the details of their connections are not exactly
comparable. Both nuclei receive terminals of the stria medullaris
thalami (apparently all components of it), and the chief efferent path
of both nuclei is the tr. habenulo-interpeduncularis, which is the
largest component of the fasciculus retroflexus (of Meynert). The
dorsal nucleus is connected with the tectum and pretectal nucleus by
fibers running in both directions, and the ventral nucleus is similarly
connected with the dorsal thalamus, the ventral border of the tectum,
and the dorsal tegmentum.
 
 
In the ventral habenular nucleus the nerve cells are relatively few
in the usual arrangement at the ventricular side. The alba is almost
completely filled by the massive stria medullaris, internally of which
is neuropil, which invades the gray substance. Most of the cell bodies
are widely separated within this dense neuropil. The larger dorsal
nucleus has very numerous small cells, densely crowded on all sides
except dorsally of the commissure. This layer of cell bodies incloses a
central core of dense neuropil, which connects with the stria medullaris below and the habenular commissure above. The thick contorted
dendrites ramify in the central neuropil (fig. 73; '42, figs. 77, 79).
 
 
Primitively, these nuclei had direct connection with the parietal
eye, as is the case in some still living species. It is possible that in
some early ancestor of the vertebrates, now extinct, the dorsal parietal eye was better developed than the lateral eyes and that for this
reason the primordial olfacto-visual correlation was made in the
epithalamus rather than in the tectum of the midbrain.
 
 
The habenular system is one of the most conservative parts of the
vertebrate brain. Edinger's statement ('11, p. 370) that this is perhaps the only part of the brain the organization and connections of
which show no alterations during the whole course of vertebrate
phylogeny requires some qualification; yet, as we pass from cyclostomes to man, with revolutionary changes in all surrounding parts,
the chief habenular connections show a surprising uniformity.
 
 
In urodeles afferent fibers enter the habenula from all parts of the
cerebral hemisphere, except perhaps the olfactory bulb (some authorities would not make this exception) and also from the preoptic
nucleus, thalamus, and tectum. The largest of these tracts come from
areas which are under the strongest olfactory influence, and the
habenular complex is generally regarded as primarily concerned with
olfactory adjustments. That this is not its only function is evident
from the fact that in anosmic animals, like some birds and cetaceans, the habenular system, though reduced in size, retains most of its
components. The associational connections of the habenula with the
tectum, dorsal thalamus, and adjacent regions justify the conclusion
that the complex, viewed as a whole, is adapted to insure the correlation and integration of the activities of all parts of the olfactory
field with those of all other exteroceptive systems.
 
 
The sense of smell is both interoceptive and exteroceptive. Olfactory nervous impulses of exteroceptive type are somehow sorted out
from the entire olfactory field and converged into the epithalamus,
and those of interoceptive type are similarly converged into the
hypothalamus. In the former of these areas they may be correlated
with all relevant somatic sensory experience, and in the latter with
the sum total of visceral experience. The habenula discharges into
that portion of the motor field known to control the activities of the
skeletal musculature and chiefly into the interpeduncular nucleus,
which is imbedded within this motor field and articulated with it in
very complex patterns (chap. xiv). The olfacto-visceral correlations
of the hypothalamus may come to expression in overt action of the
skeletal muscles or in less obvious visceral changes. The chief nervous
pathways involved in the overt responses can be identified, but those
of visceral activities are still obscure. There is a strong connection
from the hypothalamus to the interpeduncular nucleus.
 
 
Since both the hypothalamic and the epithalamic olfactory systems are large in all vertebrates, it was suggested by Edinger ('11,
p. 371) that these regulate the feeding activities, or muzzle reflexes
{Oralsinnapparat) — dorsally the exteroceptive components and ventrally the interoceptive. This attractive hypothesis seems to explain
the different courses and connections of the medial forebrain bundle
and stria medullaris, but it leaves out of account the equally large
lateral forebrain system. Moreover, the chief connections of the
medial and lateral forebrain bundles are localized in the hemisphere,
respectively medially and laterally of the ventricle; but the habenular
connections are drawn equally from both sides of the hemisphere.
The habenular connections seem to be of a different kind, something
added to an existing adequate provision for both visceral and somatic
adjustments.
 
 
The chief efferent discharge from the habenula is to the interpeduncular nucleus, and there is a large efferent tract from the hypothalamus to this nucleus (figs. 18, 21). It is suggested in chapter xiv
that the habenulo-interpeduncular system is the inhibitory com
 
 
THE IL\BENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 253
 
ponent of an equilibrated dynamic system, of which the basal forebrain bundles comprise the activator component. On this hypothesis
the activation of all olfacto-motor systems goes out through the basal
forebrain bundles, and this activation is accompanied by an inhibition of all conflicting activities, the inhibitory component of the reaction being centered in the interpeduncular nucleus. This implies
that inhibitory influences derived from exteroceptive fields are transmitted to the interpeduncular nucleus by the f . retroflexus and from
interoceptive fields by the mamillo-interpeduncular tract. This hypothesis seems to be consistent with the known structure, but it lacks
experimental proof. If there is factual basis for it, the activating and
inhibitory systems must not be regarded as independent units of
structure; they are everywhere interconnected, and all their activities are balanced one against the other in an integral dynamic system.
The literature contains many fragmentary accounts of the habenular connections of Amphibia, with some conflict of observation and
confusion of nomenclature. When these descriptions are assembled,
together with additional observations here reported, the salient features of the habenular connections may be grouped into three classes.
These are:
 
1. There are two groups of commissural connections between the
two cerebral hemispheres. Group 1 comprises the commissura superior telencephali, with fibers from the anterior olfactory nucleus,
piriform area, and amygdala (components 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the list
given on pp. 257-60). This is the larger part of the habenular commissure. It was seen by van Gehuchten in Salamandra ('97rt), though
its true origins were not recognized and his belief that none of these
fibers have connection with the habenular nuclei needs confirmation.
Group 2 is the com. pallii posterior (component 8 of the list). These
fibers come from the primordium hippocampi and are probably comparable with the com. aberrans of some reptiles.
 
 
2. The habenula is an important way-station for through traflSc
from all parts of the cerebral hemisphere and preoptic nucleus to the
brain stem below this level, particularly to the peduncle and interpeduncular nucleus. All these conduction pathways except the commissural fibers are interrupted by synaptic junctions in the habenula,
and the habenular synaptic field is connected with neighboring regions by fibers passing in both directions.
 
 
3. The through traffic is influenced by these local connections with
areas of the sensory zone concerned primarily with exteroceptive functions. The habenula, accordingly, may be regarded as a bednucleus interpolated in one of the main pathways from higher centers
of correlation, where olfaction as an exteroceptive function is integrated with other functions of this type and transmitted to lower
centers in the motor zone, where patterns of response are organized.
The hypothalamus is a similar way-station for through traffic from
the same higher centers to lower motor fields, with olfacto- visceral
functions dominant.
 
 
Most of the afferent connections of the habenula are in the stria
medullaris, and most of the efferent connections in the f. retroflexus.
Before describing this chief thoroughfare of through traffic, mention
should be made of two systems of fibers which are in intimate functional relation with the stria medullaris, though not component parts
of it. These are the fornix and stria terminalis.
 
 
 
 
In mammals this name is given to a complicated system of fibers
which descends medially from the hippocampal formation to the
underlying brain stem in two groups separated by the anterior commissure. Both groups descend within or adjacent to the lamina terminalis dorsally and rostrally of the interventricular foramen. The
postcommissural fornix, commonly called columna fornicis, passes
downward between the foramen and the anterior commissure and
thence across the thalamus to end chiefly in the mamillary body.
The precommissural fornix is a complex system of more loosely
arranged fibers descending in front of the anterior commissure to the
gray of the septal nuclei and neighboring parts and continuing spinalward in the medial forebrain bundles to preoptic nucleus, hypothalamus, and (according to some descriptions) as far as the cerebral
peduncle.
 
 
Primordia of the two main divisions of the mammalian fornix are
obviously present in the amphibian brain, but the topography of the
region of the lamina terminalis is here so different that these tracts
take peculiar courses. The anterior and hippocampal commissures
cross, not in the lamina terminahs, but in a commissural ridge behind
the interventricular foramen (fig. 2; '27, p. 235; '35, p. 299). To reach
this crossing, the fibers of the massive hippocampal commissure
swing downward behind the foramen (figs. 72, 76), and here they are
accompanied by the fibers of tr. cortico-habenularis medialis and tr.
cortico-thalamicus mediahs (fig. 20, nos. 8 and 9), which, as pointed
 
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS ^55
 
out in the preceding description of the eminentia thalami, marks the
beginning of the differentiation of the mammahan columna fornicis.
Some of these fil)ers are collaterals of those of the com. hippocampi
and tr. cortico-habenularis medial is. In Ambly stoma none of these
fibers have been followed as far as the dorsal (mamillary) part of the
hypothalamus, so that the homology with the mammalian postcommissural fornix is incomplete. In other urodeles it has been described
as reaching the hypothalamus (Rothig, '24, pp. 10, 15; Salamandra,
Kreht, '30, p. 252). The precommissural fornix is an ancient system,
being well developed in many fishes. In Ambly stoma it is large and of
typical pattern. These fibers descend from the hippocampal formation rostrally of the foramen to the medial forebrain bundle (figs. 98,
99), within which they descend for an undetermined distance.
 
 
' The transverse sections described in 1927 revealed clearly the relations of the precommissural fornix ('27, p. 311), but the postcommissural connections were obscure. In Necturus these connections
are perfectly clear, and the morphological relations of precommissural and postcommissural fornix fibers have been discussed ('336,
p. 188). Amblystoma resembles Necturus. Accompanying the unmyelinated fibers of the hippocampal commissure there are similar
fibers of tr. cortico-habenularis medialis and tr. cortico-thalamicus
medialis, and among these are a few myelinated fibers. In the horizontal Cajal sections (figs. 28-32) the very numerous thin, fibers of
this complex are not impregnated, but the thick axons are deeply
stained. Few of the thick fibers decussate in the hippocampal commissure (figs. 28, 29, 30). Many of them ascend in the stria medullaris (figs. 32, 33, 34, tr.c.h.m.), and most of the others pass backward
and downward through the eminentia thalami into the ventral
thalamus and (probably) the preoptic nucleus (figs. 31, 32, tr.c.th.ni.,
72, 75). These thick fibers and the much more numerous thin fibers
by which they are accompanied I have termed "tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis." An extension of this tract into the hypothalamus
would give the connection described by Kreht ('30) in Salamandra
and by Loo ('31, p. 84) as tr. cortico-hypothalamicus in the opossum.
The mammalian tr. cortico-mamillaris is a further addition to this
system.
 
 
STRIA TERMINALIS
 
In mammals the ventromedial septal field is connected with the
ventrolateral amygdala by fibers, passing probably in both directions, some ventrallv of the basal forebrain bundles (diagonal band of Broca) and some dorsally of them (stria terminalis, stria semicircularis, or stria cornea). Here the enormous enlargement of the
basal forebrain bundles, particularly the internal capsule system of
fibers, displaces the dorsal stria so that its course between medial and
lateral ends is a wide arc, in some species almost a complete circle.
At both of these terminal areas the stria makes complicated connections with the preoptic nucleus and hypothalamus, some of which
were termed by Cajal the "olfactory projection tract." In Amblystoma, with smaller basal forebrain bundles, these fibers take more
direct courses, and they are more dispersed so that there is no compact stria terminalis as in mammals. For description and illustrations
of these tracts the reader is referred to my paper of 1927 (p. 302).
The following connections have been described:
 
1. The com. amygdalarum, crossing in the anterior commissure
 
(fig. 97). '
 
2. The stria terminalis sensu strido (fig. 96), a massive connection
passing downward from the amygdala medially of the basal forebrain
bundles. Some of its fibers are directed rostrad toward the septal
area, but most of them turn posteriorly in the dorsal fascicles of the
medial forebrain bundle to reach the preoptic nucleus and dorsal part
of the hypothalamus. The rostrally directed fibers of this group and
the commissural fibers are comparable with the fascicles of the stria
which in mammals follow the taenia semicircularis and tail of the
caudate nucleus, arching over the internal capsule and connecting
the amygdala with the septal field. None of the fibers of this tract are
drawn in the figures of horizontal sections. At the levels of figures
27-30 the descending fibers accompany the tr. olfacto-habenularis
medialis and then turn spinalward in the dorsal fascicles of the medial
forebrain bundle. Accompanying these are shorter myelinated fibers
which pass between the amygdala and the nucleus of the olfactohabenular tract— the tr. amygdalo-thalamicus (p.- 248).
 
 
3. The ventral olfactory projection tract, descending from the
amygdala externally of the basal forebrain bundles. These fibers are
shown but not named in figure 16 of 1927.
 
 
4. The dorsal olfactory projection tract (p. 242, figs. 19, 25, 26, 27,
ol.p.tr.) .
 
 
STRIA MEDULLARIS TIIALAMI
 
In cyclostomes, with incomplete evagination of the cerebral hemisphere, the connections between the dorsal parts of the telencephalon
 
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 257
 
and of the diencephalon are massive and direct ('22«, fig. 8), and the
habenular tracts are not fasciculated to form a stria medullaris. With
further evagination of the hemisphere in amphibians and the appearance of a deep stem-hemisphere fissure, the habenuhir connections of
the palHal parts of the hemisphere must turn downward to pass under
the floor of this fissure. Here they are joined by other habenular
tracts to form the stria medullaris thalami. These tracts of Amblystoma were described in 1910 (and further details, '27, p. 284 and figs.
15-18; '396, p. 538), and now some corrections and additions can be
contributed. Compare also my description of the habenular connections of Necturus ('336, pp. 204-14).
 
 
The components of the stria which have been identified in Amblystoma are shown in figure 20, where they are projected upon the
median plane. The courses of four of the more lateral components are
shown as projected upon the lateral aspect of the brain in figure 85.
Their arrangement as seen in horizontal sections is shown in figures
25-36 and in sagittal sections in figures 74-78. Some components are
electively impregnated in our Golgi preparations, and these specimens have been especially useful in demonstration of the truly commissural connections of several of the tracts listed below. Components 3, 4, 5, and 6 are known to decussate in com. superior telencephali and component 8 in com. pallii posterior. On the figures the
components of the stria are numbered as in the following list:
 
1. Tractus olfacto-habenularis medialis.
 
 
2. Tractus olfacto-habenularis lateralis.
 
 
Most of the fibers of these two tracts are axons of cells of the preoptic nucleus, ascending, respectively, medially and laterally of the
basal forebrain bundles (figs. 25-30, 74-77; '27, fig. 16; '42, figs. 18,
24), but some of them are collateral branches of axons of the medial
forebrain bundle ('396, p. 538). This is doubtless true in Necturus
also, though I was not able to demonstrate it ('336, p. 208). In the
passage last cited, references are given to descriptions of this connection in other urodeles. The fibers of these tracts are assembled from
all parts of the preoptic nucleus, ascending on both sides of the sulcus
preopticus. The fibers of the medial tract pass through the gray of the
nucleus of this tract, with many terminals and collaterals, and here
the tract receives accessions from the nucleus. More dorsally both
tracts have collateral connections with the eminentia thalami and
neuropil of Bellonci. They form the most posterior component of the
stria medullaris, and within the habenular nuclei they spread out in the neuropil. Wliether any of them cross in the habenular commissure
has not been determined. A few of these fibers are myehnated.
 
 
3. Tractus olfacto-habenularis anterior, ventral division.
 
 
4. Tractus olfacto-habenularis anterior, dorsal division.
 
 
As shown in figure 85, these fibers arise chiefly in the medial sector
of the nucleus olfactorius anterior, from which they diverge ventrally
and dorsally in a medial fascicle of fibers, which I have called the
"f. postolfactorius" (fig. 100; '27, p. 283, figs. 2-4). The fibers of this
system which are directed ventrally (no. 3) arise also in the ventral
sector of the anterior nucleus and the septum. They take a posterolateral course along the ventral surface of the hemisphere, turning
dorsally at the level of the anterior commissure to enter the stria
medullaris under the posterior pole of the hemisphere ('27, p. 284 and
figs. 5-17, tr.ol.hah.ant.). In the stria they lie anteriorly of the tr.
olfacto-habenularis (1 and 2) and posteriorly of the tr. corticohabenularis lateralis (5), as shown in sagittal sections (figs. 75, 76, 77,
tr.ol.h.a.v.). In the horizontal sections (figs. 25-34) this tract is
marked ir.ol.h.a. Some of these fibers terminate in the habenular
neuropil, and some cross at the posterior end of the habenular commissure in the com. superior telencephali.
 
 
The dorsal fibers of this system (no. 4) cross from the medial to the
lateral side of the hemisphere in the f. postolfactorius between the
olfactory bulb and the anterior olfactory nucleus (fig. 5) and then
turn posteroventrally across the lateral aspect of the hemisphere in
company with the large tr. olfactorius dorsolateralis ('27, p. 284).
Over the piriform area these fibers are joined by those of tr. corticohabenularis lateralis (no. 5), and the mixed fascicle enters the stria
medullaris under the posterior pole of the hemisphere. In the stria
the mixed fascicle 4 + 5 ascends anteriorly of no. 3, and at the
boundary between ventral and dorsal habenular nuclei it splits into
lateral and medial bundles. The lateral fibers are dispersed in the
habenular neuropil, and the medial fibers decussate in the com.
superior telencephali (figs. 74-77, tr.c.h.l.). This component is shown
in horizontal sections in figures 30-34, and its entire course is seen in
transverse sections in figures 6-17 of 1927 {tr.c.hah.L).
 
 
The anterior olfacto-habenular tract is the first component of the
stria medullaris to mature in ontogeny, its fibers appearing in early
swimming stages ('38, pp. 222, 238, figs. 10, 19); and its relations in
cyclostomes indicate that it is very ancient phylogenetically ('336,
 
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 259
 
p. 212). In Necturus the arrangement of these tracts is somewhat
different ('336, pp. 210-13).
 
 
5. Tractus cortico-habenularis lateralis. These unmyelinated
fibers, as just described, pass from the piriform and dorsal pallial
areas in company with those of no. 4 (fig. 20) to the habenula, where
the majority of them decussate in the com. superior telencephali.
Although there is no differentiated cortex in the amphibian brain,
this tract is so evidently homologous with the one so named in mammals that this name is preferable to Ariens Kappers' term, "tr.
olfacto-habenularis lateralis," because the latter term is commonly
applied to a different tract, no. 2 of the present list. In my paper of
1910 (p. 428) the tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior was not recognized
as a separate entity but was regarded as a forward extension of the
tr. olfacto-habenularis from the preoptic nucleus. This usage has
some justification in cyclostomes and other most primitive vertebrates and is still employed by some authors, but the distinction
between the fibers which arise from the preoptic nucleus and those
from the hemisphere is significant and should be recognized in the
nomenclature. In most species tr. cortico-habenularis lateralis is well
defined. To avoid confusion, the terms "tr. olfacto-habenularis
lateralis et medialis" should be restricted to fibers which enter the
stria medullaris between the anterior commissure and the optic
chiasma, arising either in the preoptic nucleus or as collaterals from
the medial forebrain bundle.
 
 
6. Tractus amygdalo-habenularis. These are thick fibers, some of
which are myelinated, passing from the gray of the amygdala to the
habenula. Some of them may connect farther forward with the primordial corpus striatum — tr. strio-habenularis. These fibers ascend
in the stria between nos. 5 and 8, and many of them end in the
habenular neuropil (figs. 31-34, 74-78; '27, p. 302 and figs. 13, 14).
As they approach the habenular commissure, these thick fibers
mingle with those of the medial cortico-habenular tract, and these
components can be separated only in electively impregnated specimens. In one such preparation of adult Amblystoma (no. 2257) the
sections are inclined about 45° to the sagittal plane and the tr.
amygdalo-habenularis is heavily and electively impregnated on both
sides. The only other component of the stria stained is a small number of fibers of tr. cortico-habenularis medialis on one side only. The
large tract from the amygdala is clearly followed through the commissure to the amygdala of the opposite side.
 
 
7. Tractus septo-habenularis. These fibers arise from the septal
area and the bed-nuclei of the anterior commissure and ascend to the
stria medullaris between this commissure and the interventricular
foramen (fig. 75) . They spread in the ventral habenular neuropil and
have not been followed farther. In some preparations there is evidence that these fibers are accompanied by others from the anteroventral part of the corpus striatum complex (primordial nucleus
caudatus) — a strio-habenular connection.
 
 
8. Tractus cortico-habenularis medialis (figs. 32, 33, 34, 71, 76;
'27, figs. 11-17, here marked, str.med.). This is a large component of
unmyelinated fibers and a few thick fibers with myelin sheaths. They
arise from all parts of the primordium hippocampi, leaving its posteroventral border in company with similar fibers of the hippocampal
commissure and tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis. Under the stemhemisphere fissure they turn sharply dorsad, to ascend as the most
anterior component of the stria medullaris. They spread widely in
the habenular neuropil, and some of them decussate at the anterior
end of the habenular commissure, thus forming the com. pallii
posterior.
 
 
9. Tractus cortico-thalamicus medialis (figs. 31, 32, 72, 75). These
fibers are regarded as primordia of the columna fornicis. They accompany the tr. cortico-habenularis medialis, and some of their
fibers are collaterals from that tract and the hippocampal commissure. They cross the stria medullaris obliquely and are not integral
parts of it except for the collateral connection mentioned.
 
 
10. Tractus olfacto-thalamicus. This name was given to a collateral connection from the stria medullaris to the neuropil of Bellonci in Necturus ('336, p. 205). It is present also in Amblystoma.
 
 
11. Tractus thalamo-habenularis. These fibers arising from the
dorsal thalamus and regions posteriorly of it enter the stria medullaris within the ventral habenular nucleus (fig. 76).. They are accompanied by fibers passing in the reverse direction, the tr. habenulothalamicus ('396, p. 539; '42, p. 261 and fig. 77). This connection has
been described in mammals by several authors, recently by Marburg
('44, p. 220) in man, where its fibers arise from the anterior nucleus
and pulvinar.
 
 
The tr. strio-habenularis is probably present in Amblystoma but
has not been clearly seen. If so, its fibers may accompany those of the
tr. amygdalo-habenularis and tr. septo-habenularis, as mentioned
above. The former of these probable striatal connections is compa
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS CONNECTIONS 261
 
rable with the pallido-habenular connection described in man by
Marburg ('44).
 
 
Number 12 of figure 20 is an afferent tract to the habenula from
the tectum and nucleus pretectaHs, which has no connection with the
stria medullaris — tr. tecto-habenularis. These fibers are accompanied
by others which pass in the reverse direction — tr. habenulo-tectaUs.
 
 
FASCICULUS RETROFLEXUS
 
Efferent fibers leave the habenula, so far as is known, in three
tracts: (1) from the dorsal nucleus to the tectum by the tr. habenulotectalis, (2) from the ventral nucleus to the dorsal thalamus by the
tr. habenulo-thalamicus accompanying the tr. thalamo-habenularis,
and (3) between these from both nuclei in the much larger f. retroflexus of Meynert. There may be other efferent fibers, e.g., to the
cerebral hemispheres accompanying those of com. superior telencephah and com. pallii posterior, but these have not been observed.
One habenula of the newborn rabbit was destroyed by von Gudden
('81), and subsequently Meynert's bundle of the same side was found
to be atrophied.
 
 
The chief component of the f. retroflexus is the habenulo-interpeduncular tract, the fibers of which arise from both dorsal and ventral habenular nuclei (figs. 20, 71, 73, 77, 103). This tract is composed
chiefly of thin unmyelinated fibers, which form the central core of
Meynert's bundle. Surrounding this core, other thicker fibers are
loosely arranged, some of these being myelinated. Weigert sections
show that a few myelinated fibers arise from both dorsal and ventral
habenular nuclei and that these are joined by a few others from the
dorsal thalamus, pretectal nucleus, and eminence of the posterior
commissure. This fasciculus is also accompanied for part of its course
by the few myelinated fibers of the parietal nerve (p. 235). No fibers
have been seen to enter it from the tectum. The myelinated fibers
leave the fasciculus and scatter in the alba of the nucleus of the
tuberculum posterius; none of them enter the interpeduncular nucleus. In addition to these myelinated and other thick axons which
terminate in the alba of the peduncle, there are many fine fibers from
the axial core which take similar courses ; some of these are probably
of habenular origin.
 
 
The fasciculus descends across the thalamus at the outer border of
the gray and is partly imbedded within it. Its course as seen in horizontal sections is shown in figures 30-35 (for the course in transverse
 
 
 
^6» THE liRAIX OF THE TIGER SALAMANDER
 
sections see '"io, ^gs. -2-7. and 'il , figs. '■28-oo, tr.hab.pcd.). As it enters
the peduncle, it turns outward, passing ventrolaterally thriiugh tlie
alba to reach the surface near the superficial origin of the III nerve
root. Passing ventrally of these emerging root fibers, it turns medially
at the fovea isthmi, immediately spinahvard of which it enters its
decussation in the ventral commissure (figs. 50, 51, 53). The spiral
endings of these fibers are described in chapter xiv. In the alba of the
peduncle it passes internally of the area ventrolateralis pedunculi and
well separated from this superficial neuropil {fig. 94). Here many
thin axons separate from the fasciculus to enter the superficial neuropil. A little farther spinalward. at the level of the III nerve root, a
larger number of fine fibers leave the fasciculus and turn forwartl into
the posterior end of the neuropil, as shown in a favorable (lolgi section ('4^, fig. 40, fibers from, f.retr. to a.I.t.).
 
 
This is the usual arrangement. That the connection of the f. retroflexus with the area ventrolateralis pedunculi is important physiologically is evident from atypical courses of the fasciculus which have
been observed in a number of specimens, always on one side only.
One such anomaly is well illustrated in figures 56. 57. and 58. In this
specimen (horizontal Golgi sections) the right f. retroflexus is unstained but can be seen to take the usual course; the left is abundantly impregnated from the habenula to its decussation. As it enters the
alba of the peduncle it divides into two bundles. The medial bundle,
containing about one-third of the fibers, takes the typical course: the
larger lateral bundle passes along the inner border of the area ventrolateralis pedunculi with numberless terminals or collaterals entering
this neuropil and spreading in the surrounding alba. Both bundles
pass spinalward under the emerging III root fibers and converge to
the decussation below the fovea isthmi. Many of these fibers spread
in the alba rostrally and caudally of the fovea without decussation.
 
 
Another adult specimen (^no. "2'-217) from the same. lot and similarly
prepared is like that just described except that the lateral bundle is
smaller than the medial. This smaller bundle enters the area ventrolateralis and here breaks up into several slender fasciculi. Posteriorly
of this area of neuropil, these fasciculi, somewhat diminished in volume, i-ejoin the medial bundle at the level of the III nerve root and
both bundles then enter the decussation. This arrangement is found.
on one side only, in the series of sagittal Golgi sections from which
figures 7'2 and 73 were drawn. A somewhat different atypical feature
 
 
 
THE HABENULA AND ITS COXNECTIOXS 263
 
is seen in the series of sagittal Cajal sections from which figures 74-78
were drawn. The fasciculus is well impregnated on both sides, and on
one side it takes the typical course. At the decussation the thinnest
fibers cross in the usual way, and some fibers of thicker caliber
descend uncrossed at the lateral border of the interpeduncular neuropil. Whether they ultimately decussate and enter the interpeduncular spiral is unknown, because the impregnation fails below the decussation. On the opposite side the f . retroflexus divides as it enters the
peduncle. The larger medial bundle takes the txT^ical course. A small
compact fascicle separates from it and passes more laterally to reach
the area ventrolateralis pedunculi, where its fibers spread in the
neuropil and disappear. Modifications of the arrangements just described have been seen in several other series of Golgi sections of late
larv^ae and adults. The lateral bundle may be larger or smaller than
the medial bundle, and in the latter instances it may end in the
peduncle or rejoin the medial bundle at the decussation.
 
 
From these observations it is concluded that in Amblystoma the
f. retroflexus is a mixture of fibers of different physiological characteristics. The main axial bundle of fine unmyelinated fibers is the
habenulo-interpeduncular tract. Most of these fibers decussate below
the fovea isthmi and enter a peculiar elongated spiral in the interpeduncular neuropil within which they end. A smaller number, including some thicker axons, descend uncrossed along the lateral
border of the interpeduncular neuropil. These endings are in isthmic
territory. Rostrally of the fovea many thin unmyelinated fibers, evidently of habenular origin, end uncrossed in the posteroventral
border of the cerebral peduncle near the level of the nucleus of the
III nerve. This area may be regarded as a mesencephalic sector of the
interpeduncular nucleus, though there is no cellular differentiation
here, like that of this nucleus below the fovea. Other similar fibers,
doubtless also from the habenula, leave the f. retroflexus farther forward and terminate in the superficial neuropil termed "area ventrolateralis pedunculi." In some specimens these are very numerous.
The few myelinated fibers of f . retroflexus derived from the habenula
end in the cerebral peduncle. This fasciculus receives accessions of
fibers, a few of which are myelinated, from the dorsal thalamus,
pretectal nucleus, and eminence of the posterior commissure. All
these fibers probably end in the cerebral peduncle; there is no evidence that any of them reach the interpeduncular nucleus. In a series of sagittal Golgi sections (no. 2215), in which the tr. habenulointerpeduncularis is impregnated, a few thick axons are seen to arise
in the gray of the dorsal thalamus and join the f . retroflexus, which
they accompany almost to the ventral surface. Here some of them
end by wide arborization in the area ventrolateralis pedunculi. This
area of neuropil, accordingly, receives fibers by way of the f . retroflexus from both the habenula and the dorsal thalamus.
 
 
The connections just described are a simplified version of the complicated structure of the f. retroflexus of Ceratodus described by
Holmgren and van der Horst ('25, p. 105). The fact that the atypical
arrangements occur on only one side in Amblystoma probably is explained by the asymmetry of the habenular system in Ceratodus and
other primitive species.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XIX THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
 
SUBDIVISIONS OF THE HEMISPHERE
 
LITTLE need be added here to the general descriptions given in
^ chapters iv and vii. For details the reader is referred to the
paper of 1927. That description was based mainly on a survey of a
small number of well-preserved specimens cut in the transverse plane.
There are in our collection many more instructive Golgi sections cut
in longitudinal planes which have not been critically studied, though
preliminary surveys have been made. It is deemed unprofitable at
this time to continue the study of these sections because their interpretation should be based on physiological experiments correlated
with the anatomical analysis.
 
 
At the present time our knowledge of the details of the internal
structure of the cerebral hemispheres of Necturus ('336) is more complete than of any other amphibian. This brain is not only larger than
most of the others, but it is less compact and its great elongation is
favorable for accurate localization of experimental studies by a wide
variety of methods. This generalized brain provides a norm or basic
pattern for the vertebrate phylum as a whole. The other urodeles and
the anurans present a series of progressively more differentiated
brains, and the sequence of stages of this process of specialization
can readily be followed. That such a program of correlated histological and experimental work is practicable was demonstrated by Coghill in a restricted field of embryological research. With the refined
experimental methods now at our disposal and with some reorientation in the fields of developmental mechanics, localized experimental
extiipations, and electrical excitations, supplemented by oscillographic records, the steps in progressive phylogenetic differentiation
of structure can be correlated with changes in overt behavior. For the
completion of such a program frogs will probably prove to be more
serviceable animals than the more sluggish salamanders (p. 98).
These data will enable the comparative psychologists to identify and
interpret prodromal stages of some of the basic patterns of human
mentation.
 
 
Comparison of the amphibian cerebral hemisphere with the human
shows a common plan of organization, and in the amphibian brains
we find evidence of the beginning of differentiation of some mammalian structures at the earliest stages of their emergence from an
undifferentiated matrix. The formative agencies which are operating
to produce this local specialization are open to inspection and experimental investigation.
 
 
On the basis of position, internal structure, and connections the
following mammalian organs have been identified in the brain of
Amblystoma. First, the pallial field is distinguishable from the stem,
and within this field primordia of hippocampal and piriform cortical
areas are unmistakable. Some connections are suggestive of influences which may be precursors of neopallial differentiation, but these
are vague and uncertain. Most of the mid-dorsal pallial area is probably represented in higher brains at the margins of archipallial and
paleopallial cortex — such transitional cortex as the subicular and
perirhinal areas.
 
 
In the subpallial part the lateral and medial walls of the hemisphere are organized essentially as in mammals. Laterally, the strioamygdaloid complex is well defined, though its subdivisions are not
clearly separable. Of these, the amygdala is definitely organized, with
connections very similar to those of mammals. In the corpus striatum
the nucleus accumbens septi is present as in lower mammals, and
associated with it is an area which probably corresponds with the
head of the caudate nucleus. The remainder of the corpus striatum is
an undifferentiated lentiform nucleus, within which large and small
cells are mingled. The connections of these cells suggest that the
dorsal part of this area becomes the putamen and the ventral part
the globus pallidus (p. 96).
 
 
On the medial side of the hemisphere the structure and connections
of the septum conform with the mammalian arrangement, and below
this is an undifferentiated area which gives rise in some of the fishes
and in mammals to the tuberculum olfactorium.
 
 
THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM
 
As outlined in chapter vii, the olfactory nerve and its connections
have played the dominant role in the morphogenesis of the cerebral
hemispheres of lower vertebrates. The brief summary of the structure
at the end of chapter iv is here supplemented by further description
of the distribution of the olfactory tracts.
 
 
 
 
THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES 207
 
Nervns terminalis. — These unmyelinated fibers enter the brain in
small compact fascicles mingled with those of the olfactory nerve.
Their peripheral and central courses can be accurately followed only
in elective Golgi impregnations, which, fortunately, are frequently
obtained. All fibers of the olfactory nerve end in the olfactory bulb,
but none of the terminalis fibers do so. The latter enter the brain at
the ventral border of the olfactory bulb and course backward in several small fascicles, which terminate in the septum, preoptic nucleus,
and hypothalamus. In Necturus some of them reach the interpeduncular nucleus, and this may be true in Amblystoma also. This nerve
is present in vertebrates generally, from fishes to man, but our knowledge is incomplete about its terminal connections and functions
(McKibben, '11; for Necturus see my '336, p. 120, and '346, '34c; for
the frog, '09). It is regarded here as a sensory nerve, but even this is a
debatable question.
 
 
Olfactory bulb. — In the olfactory bulb, as in the retina, the peripheral receptors discharge into a field which receives few afferent fibers
of other functional systems. In the other primary sensory centers
there is a common pool of neuropil within which terminals of peripheral fibers of diverse sensory modality are mingled, and to these there
are added terminals of other correlating fibers of central origin. The
bulbar formation of Amblystoma receives an enormous number of
fibers of the olfactory nerve and no others from the periphery. There
are also terminals of fibers ascending from other parts of the brain:
 
(1) many of these are collaterals from the secondary olfactory tracts;
 
(2) some are axons of cells of the anterior olfactory nucleus; (3) some
may be commissural fibers by way of the anterior commissure; (4)
some may come from more remote parts of the hemisphere. By far
the larger number of these ascending fibers belong to the first two
classes, in which olfactory influence is clearly dominant. From this
it follows that the impulses conducted by the secondary olfactory
tracts are influenced relatively little by other functional systems. In
this respect they differ from the lemniscus systems of the lower brain
stem; and the fact that these almost purely olfactory tracts reach all
parts of the cerebral hemisphere is probably the reason why this
hemisphere remains at a low level of structural differentiation and
physiological specificity.
 
 
Necturus and Amblystoma exhibit two well-defined stages in the
histological differentiation of the olfactory bulb, but the mammalian
type of structure has not been attained ('246, '31). Throughout the bulbar formation, except for the accessory bulb, the structure is
nearly homogeneous, with little evidence of localization of function.
The sense of smell lacks any provision for localizing in external space
the source of odorous excitations. In the retina there is very complicated mechanism for analysis of the components of visual excitation
(Polyak, '41). The analysis of olfactory sensibility for discrimination
of odors is evidently a much simpler process. Judging by analogy with
Polyak's description of the retina, there is little provision for this in
the olfactory bulb. It is possible that the periglomerular cells may
perform this function, but the structural organization of the bulbar
formation gives clear evidence that the dominant activity here is not
analysis but summation and intensification. The correlation of olfaction with other sensory systems is effected throughout the cerebral
hemisphere, hypothalamus, and epithalamus, beginning in the nucleus olfactorius anterior.
 
 
Anterior olfactory nucleus. — This nucleus was first defined in Ambly stoma ('10, p. 497) as undifferentiated olfactory tissue of the second order, closely associated with the olfactory bulb and extending
backward a longer or shorter distance between the bulbar formation
and the more specialized parts of the hemisphere. It is of large extent
in the amphibian brain, and to it considerable attention has been
given ('246; '31; '27, p. 288; '336, p. 133; '34, p. 99). In higher brains
it shrinks in size as progressively more of this generalized tissue is
specialized. Its comparative anatomy was discussed in connection
with a detailed description of it in the Virginia opossum ('24c?). In
the amphibian brain it is a broad ring of gray bordering the bulbar
formation on all sides. This cylinder is divided topographically into
ventral, medial, dorsal, and lateral sectors, each of which has its own
distinctive connections with other parts of the hemisphere. The ventral sector and the lower part of the medial contain the primordium
of the tuberculum olfactorium. The arrangement of these sectors in
Necturus is shown in figures 111 and 112, and their structure and
connections have been described in detail ('336, p. 133). Transverse
sections through this region of Ambly stoma are in the paper of 1927
(p. 288 and figures 2-5). The neurons and neuropil of this nucleus are
illustrated in figures 105, 108, and 109 and in 1934, figures 1 and 2.
 
 
Typical neurons of the anterior nucleus have widely spread thorny
dendrites, and axons which enter the olfactory tracts. Many other
forms of cells are seen, some of which are transitional to those of the
olfactory bulb. The axons of some of its cells are directed peripheral
 
 
THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES 3G9
 
Iv, to end with wide arborizations in the granular layer of the bulb.
Most of the smaller cells have short, much branched axons, which
participate in the formation of the dense axonic neuropil of this
region.
 
 
Olfactory tracts. — Strictly defined, a tractus olfactorius includes
axons of olfactory neurons of the second order only, that is, axons of
mitral cells ; but practically all these fibers are mingled with those of
higher order from the anterior olfactory nucleus and other parts of
the hemisphere, so that the tracts so designated on the figures are all
mixed })undles. These axons of mitral cells stream backward from all
margins of the olfactory bulb. Only the shorter fibers to the anterior
nucleus are drawn in figures 111 and 112. As shown in figure 6, these
are accompanied by longer fibers, which join the tracts descending
from the anterior nucleus. Olfactory tracts from the lateral and ventral borders of the bulb take direct courses backward in three series.
The more dorsal fibers enter tr. olfactorius dorsolateralis for distribution to the dorsolateral olfactory nucleus, which is primordium piriforme. This is the largest of the olfactory tracts and is comparable
with the lateral olfactory stria of mammals. Other lateral fibers pass
to the corpus striatum and amygdala. Some of these fibers join tr.
olfacto-peduncularis, most of the fibers of which arise in the anterior
nucleus and primordial caudate nucleus. Fibers from the ventral
border of the bulb enter tr. olfactorius ventralis and descend for an
undetermined distance in the medial forebrain bundle.
 
 
As shown by figure 4, the lateral ventricle extends forward almost
to the anterior end of the olfactory bulb. Many of the longer fibers
from the bulb take tortuous courses to reach their terminal stations.
They accumulate in the medial sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus and primordium hippocampi, where they form a very large
compact sheet of fibers termed "fasciculus postolfactorius" (fig. 100,
f.po.; '27, figs. 2, 3). These fibers run vertically around the tip of the
lateral ventricle, some directed ventrally to enter tr. olfactorius
ventralis and some dorsally to enter tr. olfactorius dorsolateralis
(fig. 5).
 
 
Olfactory tracts of the third and higher orders, i.e., those separated by two or more synapses from the periphery, are generally
designated by hyphenated compound words, as tr. olfacto-peduncularis; but, as mentioned above, many of these tracts are mixtures containing some axons of mitral cells. For further details of these connections see the summaries ('33&, p. 124; '27, p. 282).
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XX
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS
 
THE principles of classification and nomenclature of nerve fibers
here employed are explained on page 9. A systematic account
of them is very difficult because of their dispersed arrangement,
their many deviations from the familiar mammalian pattern, and a
cumbersome and confused nomenclature; yet gratifying success has
attended efforts to resolve the amphibian tissue and discover mammalian homologies or their primordia. It is not our purpose in this
chapter to give a comprehensive list of the tracts of Amblystoma
that have been identified and named. References are given to the
literature in which incomplete lists have been published and to pages
of this book where particular systems of fibers are described. To these
there are added descriptions of a few other systems of fibers of special
importance and complexity.
 
 
Lists of tracts of Necturus have been published for the medulla
oblongata ('14rt, '30), midbrain and thalamus ('17), and forebrain
('336). At the end of the latter paper is an alphabetical list of abbreviations which includes many tracts, with references to previous descriptions and synonyms. For Amblystoma a similar list of abbreviations ('36, pp. 309-12) includes many tracts of the cerebral peduncle,
with page references to the text. Other lists of tracts of Amblystoma
have been published ('27, '36, '39, '396, '42), and Bindewald ('14)
gave in tabular form a useful summary of previous descriptions of the
parts of the amphibian forebrain and related fiber tracts, with
homologies. The tracts of several species of urodeles have been described in the literature cited on page 11. The following systems of
fibers of Amblystoma have been more or less completely described:
peripheral nerves (Coghill, '02), olfactory tracts ('27, p. 282; Bindewald, '14; compare Necturus, '336, p. 124, '346), optic tracts and
tectal connections ('25, '41, '42; compare Necturus, '41a), postoptic
(supra-optic) commissures ('42, p. 219; Necturus, '41a, p. 513), the
visceral-gustatory system ('44a, '446), cerebellum (Larsell, '20, '32),
tegmental fascicles ('36).
 
 
In this work under appropriate headings there are lists of tracts
 
270
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 271
 
related with the several parts of the brain, accompanied by diagrams, and some classified lists, including the lemniscus and visceralgustatory systems (chap, xi); connections of the interpeduncular
nucleus (chap, xiv) ; some tectal connections (chap, xvi) ; stria medullaris thalami, fasciculus retroflexus, stria terminalis, and fornix (chap,
xviii); some olfactory connections (chap, xix); and in the next following sections the basal forebrain bundles, tegmental fascicles, f.
tegmentalis profundus, and the commissural systems.
 
 
THE BASAL FOREBRAIN BUNDLES
 
In a survey of the forebrains of fishes, attention was called to the
important part played in morphogenesis by these great systems of
longitudinal conduction ('22a, p. 175), and here this theme has received further consideration in chapter vii. These bundles of Necturus were described in comparison with those of other amphibians
('336, p. 166), and their arrangement in Amblystoma has been illustrated ('27, p. 285; '36, p. 335 and figs. 5, 6; '396, p. 533 and fig. 1).
In sections of these brains the basal bundles are the most obvious
landmarks, extending from the hemispheres backward through the
brain into the medulla oblongata. Some of their fibers, in other
species, have been described as extending into the ventral funiculi of
the spinal cord, but our material yields no evidence that in Amblystoma any fibers which descend from the hemispheres in these bundles go back without interruption farther than the level of the roots
of the VIII nerve. These bundles contain ascending and descending
fibers, many of the latter decussating in the anterior commissure.
In addition to these main lines of through descending traffic, many
other kinds of fibers enter these bundles, and these connections will
now be summarized.
 
 
The fibers of these bundles are arranged in three groups of fascicles
as indicated in figures 19, 20, 21, 101; but these groups are not
sharply separated, for there is much interchange of fibers among
them. Their descending fibers are roughly comparable with the subcortical components of the mammalian extra-pyramidal systems, and
the more dorsal ascending fibers of the thalamo-frontal tract (figs. 19,
101, tr.th.f.) correspond with the thalamo-striatal system. The dorsal
group of fascicles, the lateral forebrain bundle (i. lateralis telencepha\\,f.lat.t.), connects with the lateral wall of the hemisphere and has
dorsal and ventral components with different connections. The ventral group, the medial forebrain bundle (f. medialis telencephali,
f.med.t.), connects with the medial and ventral walls and also has
dorsal and ventral components related, respectively, with the dorsal
and ventral parts of the hypothalamus. The third group of fascicles
comprises the tractus olfacto-peduncularis (tr.ol.ped.), which lies between the lateral and the medial bundles, connecting the anterior
olfactory nucleus and the head of the caudate with the hypothalamus, peduncle, and interpeduncular nucleus.
 
 
Lateral forebrain bundle. — Most of these fibers are connected with
the primordial corpus striatum and amygdala, and some of them
with the piriform area. The descending fibers correspond with the
human ansa lenticularis, and most of them are well myelinated. They
appear earlier in ontogeny than do the ascending fibers. The dorsal
and ventral fascicles of this bundle interchange fibers and in Necturus
are not clearly separable ('336, p. 170). They are connected mainly,
though not exclusively, with the dorsal and ventral nuclei, respectively, of the corpus striatum, as described in chapter vii. When first
studied, this relationship could not be demonstrated ('27, p. 286),
but subsequent examination of sagittal sections ('36, p. 335) convinces me that this incomplete separation marks the beginning of
differentiation of the globus pallidus. In 1927 the ventral fascicles
were named tr. strio-peduncularis ('27, p. 287) and the dorsal
fascicles tr. strio-tegmentalis, but these terms are inappropriate because both of them terminate in the peduncle and also in the tegmentum, though in different areas and evidently with different physiological import. The dorsal fascicles enter group (9) of the tegmental
fascicles and the ventral fascicles enter group (10), as described
below.
 
 
The descending fibers of the ventral fascicles {f.lat.t.v. and (10) of
the figures) arise from the large cells distributed throughout the
striatal gray. Their terminals are widely spread in the ventral parts
of the peduncle and isthmic tegmentum. They d6 not extend so far
spinal ward as do some fibers of the dorsal fascicles. In the analysis of
the tegmental fascicles ('36) these fibers comprise group (10). They
make their chief synaptic connections with the large cells of the
peduncle and tegmentum, the axons of which enter the ventral tegmental fascicles of groups (4), (5), and (6), descending to the medulla
oblongata, and some of which continue in the f . longitudinalis medialis
into the spinal cord. This connection is regarded as provision for
cerebral control of mass movements of the trunk, limbs, and eyeballs.
 
 
The descending fibers of the dorsal fascicles (f.lat.t.d. and tegmen
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 273
 
tal fascicles of group (9)) extend farther spinalward with different
distribution. They give numberless collaterals to the thalamus, the
dorsal part of the peduncle, and the dorsal and isthmic tegmentum;
and posteriorly they turn laterally into the trigeminal tegmentum
dorsally of its motor zone (figs. 29, 30). The chief synaptic connections of these fibers are not with the primary motor column but with
areas of intermediate-zone type. They appear later in embryonic development than do the ventral fascicles, and their functions are believed to be cerebral control and conditioning of bulbar reflexes.
 
 
Another important descending component of these dorsal fascicles
is the recently described tr. strio-tectalis (figs. 11, 101, tr.st.tec; '42,
p. 262) and the associated tr. strio-pretectalis (figs. 14, 101, tr.st.pt.).
These fibers probably arise from the corpus striatum, though this has
not been demonstrated. They end by wide arborizations in the optic
tectum, pretectal nucleus, and geniculate neuropil of the thalamus.
 
 
Some fibers descend from the dorsal striatal nucleus in company
with more from the amygdala in that component of the stria terminalis complex known as the dorsal olfactory projection tract
(ol.p.tr.), as described on page 242.
 
 
The most noteworthy ascending system of fibers of the lateral
bundle is tr. thalamo-frontalis {tr.th.f.). These slender unmyelinated
axons arise from cells of the middle sector of the dorsal thalamus and
descend in several small compact strands to the dorsal fascicles of the
lateral forebrain bundle, within which they turn forward. As in Necturus ('336, p. 170), they probably all end in the striatal neuropil,
though their terminals in Ambly stoma have not been described.
These are precursors of the ascending thalamic radiations of mammals. They arise from the undifferentiated nucleus sensitivus of the
thalamus, and no evidence has been seen of any separation among
them of projection tracts related with different functional systems.
The course of these fibers, so far as known, has been fully illustrated
(figs. 3, 15, 30-34, 75, 95, 101, 102, 103; '396, figs. 1, 7, 8, 13-17).
 
 
Medial forebrain bundle. — Most of the fibers of this large system
are unmyelinated, passing in both directions between the olfactory
bulb and the medioventral parts of the olfactory area of the hemisphere and the preoptic nucleus and hypothalamus. Many of these
fibers decussate in the ventral part of the anterior commissure ridge.
Analysis of this complex is possible only with the aid of elective
Golgi impregnations, and there are few of these in our collection of
Amblystoma sections. The Necturus material has been more instruc
 
 
274 THE BRAIN OF THE TIGER SALAM.\NDER
 
live, and the following summary is based on data from both species
(Amblystoma, figs. 6, ^25, 71, 75; '^27, p. 285; '396, p. 534 and figs. 1,
79; Necturus, '336, pp. 173, 261 and fig. 14; '346). The medial bundle
is incompletely separable into dorsal and ventral fascicles connected,
respectively, with the dorsal and ventral parts of the hypothalamus.
Both fascicles have extensive connections with the preoptic nucleus,
and both contain descending and ascending fibers. Posteriorly of the
anterior commissure ridge, thick collaterals of fibers of both groups
of fascicles ascend to the habenula in tr. olfacto-habenularis of the
stria medullaris (p. 257; '396, fig. 79).
 
 
The dorsal fascicles contain descending fibers arising in the septum
(tr. septo-hypothalamicus) and in the primordium hippocampi (precommissural fornix, p. 254), also some components of the stria terminalis system (p. 256). These are accompanied by some ascending
fibers the connections of which are not clear.
 
 
The ventral fascicles contain secondary olfactory fibers from the
bulb and some of higher order from the ventral and medial sectors of
the anterior olfactory nucleus. These fibers are distributed to the
preoptic nucleus and ventral part of the hypothalamus and are accompanied by many preoptico-hypothalamic fibers. Slender filaments
of the nervus terminalis are spread among these fascicles for their
entire length. The large hypophysial tract arises from neurons which
are widely scattered throughout the hypothalamic field reached by
both the ventral and the dorsal fascicles of the ventral bundle. In the
floor of the preoptic recess there is a median fascicle of unmyelinated
fibers, among which are a few with myelin sheaths. This is tr.
preopticus (p. 244).
 
 
Very slender unmyelinated fibers arise from small cells at the extreme posterior end of the ventral hypothalamus and ascend for
undetermined distances in the ventral fascicles. There are doubtless
other ascending fibers, but their courses have not been recorded.
 
 
Olfacto-peduncular tract. — This is a well-defined round bundle,
lying between the lateral and the medial bundles and less myelinated
than the former (figs. 18, 21, 25-30, 53, 54, 59, 72, 95-99, 101; '27,
p. 286; '36, p. 336; '396, p. 534, figs. 1, 79, 80). Its fibers arise from
the head of the caudate nucleus and neighboring parts and distribute to the dorsal part of the hypothalamus, ventral part of the
peduncle, and interpeduncular nucleus. The hypothalamic connection allies this tract with the dorsal fascicles of the medial forebrain
bundle, the peduncular connection with the ventral fascicles of the
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 275
 
lateral forebrain bundle. The connection with the interpeduncular
nucleus is extensive and physiologically distinctive. This tract is the
most direct connection between the olfactory area and the primary
motor field of the peduncle and the interpeduncular nucleus. It is an
internuncial of intermediate-zone type, with the olfactory influence
predominant.
 
 
THE TEGMENTAL FASCICLES
 
The strio-thalamic and strio-peduncular components of the lateral
forebrain bundle activate large neurons of the ventral thalamus and
peduncle, and the axons of these cells transmit impulses downward
to the tegmentum from the isthmus to the spinal cord. These descending fibers form the most conspicuous components of a series of
ventral tegmental fascicles, some of which at lower levels are assembled in the f. longitudinalis medialis (figs. 6, 18, 91). Ventrally
and dorsally of these are many other tegmental fascicles, composed
chiefly of descending fibers; and still farther dorsally are the ascending lemniscus systems (fig. 14). The analysis of the composition of
these longitudinal fascicles has been very diflficult, yet this knowledge
is essential for an understanding of the brain stem.
 
 
The topographical analysis of the brain stem of 1935 was followed
in 1936 by a reconnaissance survey of the related fibers in the peduncle and tegmentum. The more obvious and constant bundles of
longitudinal fibers were enumerated as ten fascicles or groups of
fascicles ('36, p. 303), and the specific tracts represented in these and
some other bundles, so far as then known, were Hsted ('36, pp. 33446). These fascicles are divided into a ventral and a dorsal series, the
former including fascicles (1) to (6) and part of (10); the latter, (7)
to (10). Figures 91, 92, 94, and 102-4 are here reproduced from the
paper of 1936; compare figures 30-33 and 101.
 
 
This classification was arbitrary for descriptive purposes only and
included only the most clearly defined and constant fascicles bordering the gray substance. The symbol for each group is an Arabic number inclosed in parenthesis. Externally of these ten groups, in the
intermediate alba, there are other less well-defined fascicles with a
larger proportion of unmyelinated fibers. These are imbedded in
much neuropil and are more variable than the deeper fascicles. Superficially in the subpial neuropil there is another series of fascicles,
chiefly of unmyelinated fibers, some of which form recognizable
tracts. Dorsally of all these fascicles are the lemniscus systems; these
and the ascending secondary visceral-gustatory tract are described elsewhere in this work. Further study has yielded additional details
about the composition of the ten groups of tegmental fascicles.
These and some other fascicles and tracts of this region are here
analyzed as far as their composition is now known. Most of these
fibers are descending. There are ascending fibers also, but our material has yielded little information about them.
 
 
During the preliminary study it was anticipated that each group
of tegmental fascicles would prove to be composed chiefly or wholly
of fibers of a single tract or related group of tracts, as are the
lemniscus systems. This proves not to be the case, for most of these
bundles are mixtures of fibers of diverse sorts from unexpectedly
widely separated sources. The reasons for their fasciculation in the
pattern observed are not clear. Some specific tracts, like the mamillointerpeduncular and strio-tegmental, are fairly clearly segregated (in
groups (2) and (9) in the cases mentioned), but most of the bundles
are heterogeneous mixtures. The pattern of fasciculation seems to be
determined more by the ultimate destination of the fibers than by
their nuclei of origin. In Weigert and especially in reduced silver
preparations these fascicles, particularly those bordering the gray,
are clearly defined for long distances; but Golgi sections show that
there is much anastomosis among them and that there are numberless unmyelinated fibers which are not fasciculated but spread diffusely in the alba.
 
 
As the lateral forebrain bundles recurve dorsally at the anterodorsal border of the peduncle (figs. 6, 16, 101, 102; '36, figs. 5, 6),
sagittal Weigert sections show that the compact bundles of myelinated fibers disintegrate, with diffuse spread of the fibers in the alba
of the posterior part of the thalamus, dorsal tegmentum, and peduncle. Some of these fibers are reassembled farther spinal ward in
fascicles (9) and (10). Golgi sections show a similar dispersal of the
thinner unmyelinated fibers. Reduced silver preparations, however,
reveal many slender fascicles of unmyelinated fibers which traverse
this region without loss of their individuality. It is evident that these
bundles, like most of the other tegmental fascicles, are mixtures of
fibers of diverse distribution and physiological significance. In transverse Golgi sections of adult brains, in which the myelinated fibers
of the deeper fascicles are slightly darkened and the unmyelinated
fibers are electively impregnated, it is seen that the proportion of
unmyelinated fibers is greater in the dorsal fascicles than in the ven
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 277
 
tral and that almost all fibers bordering the gray in the ventral
fascicles are myelinated.
 
 
Ventromedian fascicles (1). — These are limited to the midbrain and
isthmus, extending spinalward from the commissure of the tuberculum posterius. Most of their fibers decussate obliquely in the ventral commissure. They comprise 5 to 12 well-defined bundles of rather
thick myelinated fibers arranged close to the gray under the ventral
angle of the ventricle, with some admixture of unmyelinated fibers.
These fibers are derived from various sources, and they are variously
distributed. The bundles as definite anatomical entities are assembled only in the space bounded approximately by the levels of the
nuclei of the III and IV cranial nerves. This distance is greater in
urodeles than in most other vertebrates, and the arrangement of
these fascicles found in Amblystoma has not been described in any
other species. In Necturus reduction of the optic system involves
corresponding shrinkage of these median fascicles ('36, p. 348),
though the general plan is similar. Three components of these
fascicles have been distinguished.
 
 
a) Tractus tecto-bulbaris et spinahs cruciatus, pars anterior (fig.
12, tr.t.h.c.l.). — This is by far the largest component of the group.
Its fibers, chiefly myelinated, descend from the tectum and turn
spinalward in the mid-plane, here decussating in component 4 of the
commissure of the tuberculum posterius, and posteriorly of this very
obhquely in the ventral commissure ('36, pp. 303, 330, figs. 2, 7).
At the level of the nucleus of the IV nerve they turn laterally and
descend in tr. tecto-bulbaris et spinalis within the ventromedial alba
of the medulla oblongata. The course of this tract, as seen in horizontal sections, is shown in figures 27-36 (for complete description
see '36, p. 340, and '42, p. 268). The posterior division of this tract
(figs. 27-36, tr.t.h.c.2.) does not enter the tegmental fascicles but
decussates transversely, at the level of the nucleus of the IV nerve.
 
 
b) Tractus pedunculo-bulbaris ventralis cruciatus ('36, figs. 2, 7,
f.m.t.{l)hr, '39&, p. 582 and figs. 23, 24).— These fibers arise from the
ventral thalamus and peduncle and enter ventral fascicles (1). Here
they decussate obliquely, mingled with those of the crossed tectobulbar tract; and after crossing they separate from the latter to
descend in the ventrolateral fasciculi of the medulla oblongata, and
some of them in the f. longitudinalis medialis, as described in the
references cited.
 
c) Tractus pedunculo-tegmentalis cruciatus ('36, figs. 2, 7,
fjn.t.{l)c.). — These fibers enter the ventral fascicles from the peduncle and perhaps also from the ventral thalamus. At the posterior
end of these fascicles they do not turn laterally with the others but
continue posteriorly and dorsally as one of the components of the
f. tegmentalis profundus. They arborize in the deeper layers of neuropil of the isthmic tegmentum.
 
 
V entromedian fascicles {2) . — These fascicles of thin unmyelinated
fibers comprise tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis, lying laterally and
ventrally of those of group (1). These are shown in figure 19 and
separating from tr.mam.teg. in figure 21. They assemble in the periventricular neuropil of the ventral lobe of the dorsal part of the
hypothalamus. Figure 27 {tr.mam.inp.{2)) shows them converging
into a ventricular protuberance of this lobe, which, immediately
dorsally of this level, extends across the mid-plane to join the corresponding structure of the opposite side at the attenuated ventral
border of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius (compare the
median section, fig. 2C). Here some of these fibers decussate as component 1 of this commissure, as shown in figure 28. The crossed and
uncrossed fibers continue dorsalward and then spinalward, recurving
around the cerebral flexure at the extreme ventral surface (figs. 29,
30), to end in open arborizations within the interpeduncular neuropil.
Their entire course in the larva is shown in a published diagram
('396, fig. 22; other details are also illustrated in that paper — figs.
6-9, 35, 41, 42, 57-61). These fibers comprise the whole of group (2)
of the tegmental fascicles, described in 1936. They do not form a
compact bundle but are rather loosely spread, and their courses can
be followed only in favorable Golgi sections. Unlike the other connections of the dorsal part of the hypothalamus, these fibers are aggregated in the deep periventricular neuropil, and evidently their
physiological properties are radically different, from those of the
mamillo-peduncular and mamillo-tegmental tracts.
 
 
V entral fascicles {3). — The chief component is tr. mamillo-tegmentalis (fig. 21; '36, figs. 3, 8; '42, fig. 3). These thin myelinated and
unmyelinated fibers pass, probably in both directions, between the
dorsal hypothalamus and the tegmentum in close association with
similar fibers related with the peduncle and thalamus. The mammalian equivalents of the complex are found in the mamillo-thalamic
and mamillo-peduncular tracts and the mamillary peduncle.
 
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 279
 
Aniblystoma has no differentiated corpus inamillare; its primordiuni is in the dorsal part of the hypothahiniiis, from which efferent
fibers go out dorsalward to the peduncle, forward to the ventral
thalamus, and backward to the tegmentum. They are dispersed in
the alba of the hypothalamus, and as they leave it those for the
thalamus and tegmentum accumulate rostrally of those for the peduncle. Some of them decussate in components 1 and 2 of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius ('36, fig. 2). Afferent fibers to the
hypothalamus are known to be present in the mamillo-peduncular
and mamillo-thalamic tracts, and this may be true also of the mamillo-tegmental.
 
 
Mamillo-peduncular fibers have wide distribution in the alba of
the nucleus of the tuberculum posterius, including the neuropil of the
area ventrolateralis pedunculi (figs. 6, 18, 27-30, tr.mam.ped.; '36,
p. 338, figs. 3, 8; '39/;, p. 338, figs. 6-12, 22, 35, 42, 89; '42, fig. 39;
Necturus, '336, p. 246; '346, p. 422). The accompanying pedunculomamillary fibers transmit visceral sensory, gustatory, and optic impulses received by the area ventrolateraHs pedunculi to the hypothalamus. The mamillo-thalamic tract and the accompanying thalamo-mamillary tract put the mamillary region into reciprocal relations with the anterior part of the thalamus, as has been fully illustrated ('396, figs. 22, 35; '42, fig. 39; Necturus, '336, p. 247; '346, p.
423, figs. 2, 8, 9).
 
 
The fibers of tr. mamillo-tegmentalis arise in company with those
of the two preceding systems and form a loose fascicle rostrally of
those of tr. mamillo-peduncularis (figs. 27-31; '36, p. 338, figs. 3,
8-21; '396, p. 552, fig. 43; '42, fig. 3). Most of these fibers enter
ventral tegmental fascicles of group (3), as shown in figures 92 and
94, some of them first decussating in the two ventral components of
the commissure of the tuberculum posterius. These fascicles lie ventrolaterally of those of group (4), which contains thicker and more
heavily myelinated fibers from^ the ventral hypothalamus. They terminate in the alba of the isthmic tegmentum, chiefly through the
f. tegmentalis profundus. Mingled with these hypothalamic fibers are
some thicker well-myelinated fibers of tr. pedunculo-tegmentalis.
Some of the latter, and probably some of the hypothalamic fibers
also, descend for long distances in the f . longitudinalis medialis.
 
 
Ventral fascicles (4). — These are mixed bundles derived chiefly
from the postoptic commissure. The largest component is tr. hypothalamo-peduncularis et tegmentalis (figs. 21, 23), which contains
both descending and ascending fibers. In the first description these
were designated simply as "fibers from the postoptic commissure"
('36, p. 304, figs. 3, 8, 19, po.{Jt-)); but now their connections are
better known ('42, p. 226 and fig. 3), thanks to the fact that they
mature very early in ontogeny and so can be seen in young stages,
despite their dispersed arrangement. A few elective Golgi impregnations confirm these findings in the adult.
 
 
Fibers related with the entire ventral part of the hypothalamus
converge into the commissura tuberis in the caudal part of the
postoptic commissure complex. After crossing here in diffuse arrangement, they recurve around the tuberculum posterius, where most of
them spread and end in the peduncle (tr. hypothalamo-peduncularis) .
Others descend in ventral tegmental fascicles of group (4) as tr. hypothalamo-tegmentalis. Only the longer fibers of the latter tract are
entered on the drawings of the horizontal sections (figs. 25-32,
marked tr.hy.teg.{Jf.), or simply (4)). Figure 32 cuts these fibers (^)
at the most dorsal level of their arched course through the peduncle;
compare their projection on the sagittal plane ('36, fig. 3, po.{4-)).
Other similar fibers extend dorsally from both ventral and dorsal
parts of the hypothalamus to enter the midbrain without decussation
in the chiasma ridge ('42, figs. 22, 23, 39). Some of these decussate in
component 2 of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius, but
most of them are uncrossed.
 
 
This system of fibers is evidently the main descending pathway
from the ventral hypothalamus and neuropil of the chiasma ridge to
the motor field of the peduncle and tegmentum. The associated fibers
connected with the dorsal part of the hypothalamus probably shoiild
be classed with the mamillo-peduncular system, though they are not
included in the bundles so designated. This more dorsal system, and
perhaps the ventral system also, contain some fibers which are afferent to the hypothalamus, though most of them evidently are
efferent. Most of the longer fibers of this system which reach the tegmentum descend in bundles of group (4), and here they are joined
by thalamo-tegmental and pedunculo-tegmental fibers ('42, p. 225
and fig. 4). The longest fibers enter the f. longitudinalis medialis
(figs. 27, 28), and it is uncertain whether these are of hypothalamic
or of peduncular origin.
 
 
Most of the hypothalamic fibers of groups (3) and (4) pass into
f. tegmentalis profundus, and most of these end in the neuropil
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 281
 
related with the central nucleus of the isthmic tegmentum. These are
doubtless precursors of the hypothalamic component of the mammalian f. longitudinalis dorsalis of Schiitz.
 
 
Tegmental fascicles of groups (5) to (10) contain fibers of diverse
origin, and there is much anastomosis of their finer fibers. The
coarser fibers, however, are well fasciculated in an arrangement
which seems to be determined primarily by the terminal distribution
of the descending systems. Their analysis has been clarified by the
previously published embryological studies; see particularly the general survey ('396) and for the decussating systems the description of
the postoptic commissure of the adult ('42). The data upon which
this summary of the composition of the several fascicles is based are
to be found mainly in the two papers just cited.
 
 
Ventral fascicles (5). — This is a group of large fascicles mainly composed of fibers (chiefly myelinated) descending from the ventral
thalamus and peduncle. Most of them are uncrossed, but some
decussate in company with those of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus in the
ventromedial fascicles of group (1) ('396, p. 546 and fig. ^S,f.v.t.{5)).
They arise from all parts of the ventral thalamus and peduncle, and
most of them terminate in the alba of the isthmic and trigeminal
tegmentum, where they are in synaptic contact with the large cells
of this region. The thicker and more heavily myelinated fibers are
closely fasciculated laterally of the ventral angle of the ventricle, and
many of these descend for undetermined distances in the f . longitudinalis medialis. The origin of these fibers from the ventral thalamus
is shown in figures 31 and 32. At those levels similar thick fibers enter
fascicles (5) from large cells of the peduncle, but they are not drawn
in these figures. Figures 6 and 18 show fibers entering the f. longitudinalis medialis from large cells of the dorsal and ventral parts of
the peduncle. The former (shown but not named in fig. 32) are in
synaptic connection with terminals of the posterior commissure and
doubtless correspond with the mammalian nucleus of Darkschewitsch (p. 217). The more ventral large cells of the peduncle (fig.
31) correspond with the interstitial nucleus of Cajal. In Amblystoma,
unlike Necturus and most other vertebrates, the f. longitudinalis
medialis is definitely organized only spinalward from the isthmus
('36, p. 334).
 
 
The fascicles of group (5) also receive some fibers from other systems, as will appear below. For their courses as seen in horizontal sections see figures 27-32; in transverse sections, figures 91-94 and '36,
figures 9-16; in sagittal sections, '36, figures 3, 18-21. The thalamoand pedunculo-tegmental fibers of this group are similar in many
respects to the crossed and uncrossed fibers of tr. thalamo-tegmentalis ventralis of groups (4), (6), and (8). Those of group (5) arise
chiefly from the peduncle, the others from the thalamus. In the aggregate these thick descending paths comprise the chief final common paths from the cerebrum to the peripheral neuromotor apparatus of the primary activities of the skeletal musculature, notably
those of locomotion and feeding. In early larval development these
long fibers from the peduncle and ventral thalamus are among the
first to appear in the cerebrum. Their adult distribution in the several tegmental fascicles seems to be determined primarily not by the
arrangement in space of the groups of cells from which they arise but
by the lower motor fields into which they discharge their nervous
impulses. Those in groups (4), (5), and (6) descend more medially
and ventrally, the longest in the f. longitudinalis medialis. These
longer fibers evidently activate the trunk and limbs. Collaterals of
these fibers and accompanying shorter fibers end throughout the
isthmic and bulbar tegmentum ('396, figs. 84, 93), thus insuring coordination of head movements with those of the trunk and limbs.
These more ventromedial fibers, accordingly, comprise the final common paths of fundamental mass movements, total patterns of behavior.
 
 
The more dorsal fibers of group (8), accompanied by the striotegmental fibers of group (9), descend along the outer border of the
isthmic gray (figs. 29, 30) to end far laterally in the white substance
of the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum. Here the fundamental
reflexes of the musculature of the head, concerned primarily with
feeding, are organized. These more dorsal fibers, crossed and uncrossed, have innumerable terminals and collaterals in the peduncle,
dorsal tegmentum, and lower tegmental fields ('396, figs. 79-82).
 
 
Ventral fascicles (6). — These fascicles, like those of the fourth
group, were originally designated as fibers from the postoptic commissure ('36, figs. 4, 8, 18, po.{6)). They are now known to be composed chiefly of two systems of thick myelinated and unmyelinated
fibers which decussate in the postoptic commissure, derived, respectively, from the tectum and the ventral thalamus — tr. tecto-thalamicus et hypothalamicus cruciatus posterior ('42, p. 221 and fig. 5) and
tr, thalamo-tegmentalis ventralis cruciatus ('42, p. 225 and fig. 4).
The coarsest fibers of these fascicles, probably including some of both
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 283
 
the systems just mentioned, traverse the whole length of the peduncle
and isthmic tegmentum, and some of them enter the f . longitudinalis
medialis. Figure 3^2 cuts these fascicles a few sections ventrally of
their most dorsal course as they arch across the peduncle; compare
the sagittal section (fig. 103).
 
 
The thickest fibers of tegmental fascicles (4), (6), and (8) decussate
in the dorsal and posterodorsal part of the postoptic commissure,
those of group (8) being the most dorsal fibers of this complex at their
crossing in the mid-plane. Most of the latter enter group (8), but
some enter group (6). These are fibers of tr. tecto-thalamicus et
hypothalamicus cruciatus posterior of my former descriptions, but
these longer fibers are properly called tr. tecto-peduncularis et tegmentalis cruciatus. Posteriorly and ventrally of these at the decussation are similar coarse fibers of tr. thalamo-tegmen talis ventralis cruciatus, which cross in more dispersed arrangement posteriorly and
ventrally of the preceding system. These enter the three groups of
fascicles, (4), (6), and (8). In the horizontal sections here illustrated
the courses of these fibers are in some places not very clearly seen, for
they are not separately fasciculated. Their courses are indicated on
the drawings as determined (where doubt arises) by comparison with
sections in other planes and with the early larvae, where their courses
are clear. It should be noted that this crossed system of ventral
thalamo-tegmental fibers is accompanied by similar uncrossed fibers,
most of which enter fascicles of group (8). These were first described
in the larva ('39&, p. 546, figs. 13-16, 81) and in the adult are seen
here in figures 30-33 as fibers joining bundle (8) from the thalamus.
There is also a broad uncrossed connection from both ventral and
dorsal parts of the thalamus to the tegmentum by tr. thalamotegmentalis rectus (figs. 30-34, tr.th.teg.r.). These fibers pass from the
thalamic gray to the pial surface of the tegmentum and end here in
the superficial neuropil and obviously have physiological properties
different from the deeper fibers of groups (4), (6), and (8), which
make synaptic contacts with the large cells of the tegmentum in the
intermediate and deep neuropil.
 
 
Dor ml fascicles (7). — Two systems of fibers have been identified
in these fascicles: {a) one from the dorsal thalamus and dorsal tegmentum and (6) one from the tectum.
 
 
a) Tractus tegmento-isthmialis (fig. 21). — This tract was first described as the chief component of fascicles of group (7) under the
name tr. tegmento-bulbaris ('36, p. 334, figs. 4, 6, f.d.t.{7); '39&, p. 584). That name is inappropriate for two reasons, first, because few
of its fibers reach the bulb and, second, because there is a large
tegmento-bulbar tract more ventrally (figs. 27, 28, 29, tr.tecj.h.). The
tract here under consideration passes from the posterior part of the
dorsal thalamus, eminence of the posterior commissure, and dorsal
tegmentum into fascicles of group (7). Its fibers enter f. tegmentalis
profundus and end in relation with the small cells of the central
nucleus of the isthmic tegmentum. Its entire course is shown in
figures 29-33, here marked (7). The isthmic tegmentum is regarded
as the pool within which the bulbar reflexes concerned with feeding
are organized, and this tract probably plays a critical role in l)ringing
to this center the appropriate aft'erents from the intermediate zone.
This tract carries only part of the efl^erent fibers from the dorsal tegmentum. Many of these fibers pass directly ventrally to enter the
peduncle and lower tegmental levels uncrossed or with decussation
in the ventral commissure. Others ascend or descend in various other
tegmental fascicles.
 
 
b) Tractus tecto-bulbaris rectus. — It has recently been found that
these fibers leave the tectum by various courses and that many of
those from the anterior part of the tectum enter fascicles of group
(7), from which they separate in the isthmus to enter the medulla
oblongata in company with other tectal fibers (p. 225). These are the
fibers which in 1936 were followed from fascicles (7) into the bulb.
 
 
Dorsal fascicles (8). — This conspicuous group contains thick and
thin fibers, many of which are well myelinated. Those which come
from the postoptic commissure ('36, pp. 304, 338, figs. 4, 8, 17, 18,
■po.{8)) comprise two quite separate systems, («) from the tectum and
{})) from the ventral thalanms. The latter are joined by many uncrossed fibers of the same system.
 
 
a) Tractus tecto-thalamicus et hypothahinueus cruciatus i)osterior. — The coarsest and most heavily myelinated fibers of the complex so named in earlier papers, after decussation in the postoptic
commissure, enter fascicles of group (8) and distribute to the dorsal,
isthmic, and trigeminal tegmentum ('42, p. 221). Other shorter fibers
enter fascicles (6) to reach the isthmus, and others end in tlie peduncle and hypothalamus. These longer and coarser fibers to the
tegmentum were variously interpreted and named in my earlier
papers, but good elective impregnations have now clarified their connections as tr. tecto-tegmentalis cruciatus.
 
 
b) Trjictus thalamo-tegmentalis ventralis.— As previously men
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 285
 
tioned, this large and complicated system of crossed and uncrossed
fibers was overlooked until early larval stages revealed its essential features ('396, p. 546). These thick fibers arise in all parts of the
ventral thalamus. Some of them decussate in the postoptic commissure and enter fascicles (4), (6), and (8). Others descend uncro sed
in all these groups and also in group (5). Golgi sections show that
these tracts have numberless terminals and collaterals throughout
their lengths. The thicker fibers of group (8) course more dorsally
and terminate more laterally in the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum.
 
 
The composition of group (8) as it leaves the postoptic commissure
is shown in figures 25 and 26 and its further course in figures 27-33.
Figures 30-33 show uncrossed fibers from the ventral thalamus joining the bundles of crossed fibers (compare '39&, fig. 2, and see the
concluding comment about fascicles of group (9)).
 
 
Dorsal fascicles (.9). — These are composed chiefly of tr. strio-tegmentalis (fig. 101; '27, p. 287; '36, pp. 304, 335; '396, fig. 79), which
is the dorsal component of the lateral forebrain bundle, passing from
the dorsal nucleus of the primordial corpus striatum to the trigeminal
tegmentum. Some of these fibers decussate in the anterior commissure, and a small number descend as far as the level of the VII nerve
roots, with terminals and collaterals along the way.
 
 
These fascicles are easily followed in both horizontal and transverse sections (figs. ^S-SS,f.lat.t.d. and (9)), and especially clearly in
sagittal sections (figs. 16, 19, 21, 72, 102; '36, fig. 5; '39, figs. 3, 7-12;
'396, figs. 1, 79). There is interchange of fibers between these fascicles
and those of groups (7a) and (8), and the thicker fibers of both
groups turn laterally in the trigeminal tegmentum close to the gray
and spray out dorsally of the V and VII nuclei, where they apparently activate both large and small tegmental cells. As the fascicles of
group (9) reach the posterior end of the ventral thalamus, they turn
sharply dorsad, parallel witlv the limiting sulcus, s, around the anterodorsal border of the nucleus of the tuberculum posterius. Here
those of (9) lie ventrolaterally of (8) (figs. 16, 91-94; '36, fig. 5), with
much anastomosis between them. The finer fibers of both groups
spread widely in the neuropil of the peduncle and dorsal and isthmic
tegmentum, and some descend in fascicles of group (7). The primary
function of groups (7), (8), and (9) appears to be the control of the
feeding musculature of the jaws and hyoid from the corpus striatum,
thalamus, and tectum.
 
 
Fascicles {10). — These comprise the greater part of the ventral
fascicles of the lateral forebrain bundles (figs. 26-32, 101, 102,
f.lat.t.v. and (10)). In 1927 (p. 287) this was termed tr. strio-peduncularis, but it now appears that these fibers arborize not only in the
peduncle but also throughout the length of the isthmic tegmentum,
though they do not extend as far spinalward as those of group (9).
This tr. strio-peduncularis et tegmentalis arises from the ventral
nucleus of the corpus striatum, decussates partially in the anterior
commissure, traverses the ventral thalamus, and in the peduncle
breaks up into a number of small fascicles which are widely distributed among the ventral and dorsal tegmental fascicles. Its fibers are
less myelinated than those of group (9), and, in general, they distribute in the alba more ventrally and laterally (figs. 92, 102, 103;
'36, pp. 304, 336, fig. 6; '396, fig. 79; '42, figs. 2, 17); compare the
preceding description of the lateral forebrain bundles.
 
 
Most of the numbered groups of fascicles which have just been
listed lie in the deeper layers of the alba close to the gray. Superficially of these and in part mingled with them are many dispersed
fibers, loosely fasciculated in variable arrangements. These include
many of the shorter tracts mentioned in the descriptions of the several regions, such as thalamo-tegmental, pedunculo-tegmental, tectotegmental, and tegmento-bulbar tracts. The well-defined tr. olfactopeduncularis also belongs in this series. The thalamo-tegmental fibers
are very numerous, and some of them are well fasciculated. From
both dorsal and ventral thalamus uncrossed fibers stream backward
to the isthmus, some deeply and some superficially — tr. thalamotegmentalis rectus (figs. 15, 31-34, tr.th.teg.r.). These are in addition
to the thick fibers from the ventral thalamus, which enter tegmental
fascicles (6) and (8), some uncrossed and some decussating in the
postoptic commissure (fig. 17, tr.th.teg.v.r. and c. '3.96, p. 546). Analysis of the fibers from the dorsal thalamus which decussate in this
commissure is very difficult. The earlier accounts are confused and
inaccurate, but the essential features are now clear, as described in
the next chapter.
 
 
FASCICULUS TEGMENTALIS PROFUNDUS
 
This name has been given to a loosely arranged sheet of fibers
which borders the gray in the tegmental region of the midbrain and
the isthmus. Most of these fibers are unmyelinated and are part of an
 
 
 
THE SYSTEMS OF FIBERS 287
 
extensive tegmento-peduncular and tegmento-bulbar system of internuncials, passing obliquely from the tegmental to the motor field;
but fibers of various other systems are mingled with these. They
comprise important components of the periventricular, deep and intermediate tegmental neuropil, with a dorsoventral trend. At the
outer border of the gray they are especially numerous, and here some
of the components are fasciculated as anatomically separate tracts
for part of their courses. Other more dispersed components also are
named as tracts in cases in which their terminal connections are
revealed by elective impregnations. Many of these fibers decussate
in the ventral commissure in the tuberculum posterius and spinalward of it through the medulla oblongata. In the midbrain and upper
rhombencephalon there are numberless short crossed and uncrossed
fibers, some strictly commissural between the tegmental fields and
larger numbers passing from the tegmentum obliquely rostrad or
caudad, with or without decussation, to other parts of the motor
field.
 
 
The list below includes all the tracts which have been identified in
this complex, and in addition to these there are diffuse connections
through the neuropil with all neighboring regions. This summary is
based upon what has been seen in both Amblystoma and Necturus.
 
 
Brachium conjunctivuni (p. 176 and fig. 10). — This is one of the
largest and most compact components of the complex, though rarely
impregnated in our material. From the cerebellum to its decussation
it accompanies the isthmic sulcus, as is well shown in figure 71.
 
 
Tertiary visceral-gu.s-tatory tract (p. 169 and figs. 8, *23). — These
fibers accompany those of the brachium conjunctivuni and are indistinguishable from them except in elective impregnations.
 
 
Tegmento-inter peduncular and inter pedunculo-teginental fibers (pp.
199, 201 and figs. 19, 60-68, 79, 80, 83, 84).— These very numerous
fibers, passing in both directions between the interpeduncular nucleus and the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum, are diffusely spread
in the neuropil of the gray and the deeper layers of alba.
 
 
Tractus tegmento-pedimcularis (p. 215 and fig. 18). — These fibers
pass from the dorsal and isthmic tegmentum to the peduncle, dispersed at all depths of gray and white substance. Some of them
decussate in the ventral commissure in the vicinity of the fovea
isthmi. They accompany similar fibers of tr. tecto-peduncularis
(fig. 24).
 
 
 
Tractus tegmento-isthmialis (p. 283 and fig. 21).— These fibers from
the dorsal to the isthmic tegmentum form a large part of the dorsal
tegmental fascicles of group (7), but many of them are mingled with
more dispersed fibers of tr, tecto-tegmentalis.
 
 
Tractus tecto-tegmentalis (fig. 21).— Fibers from all parts of the
superior and inferior colliculus stream backward into the isthmic
tegmentum. Most of the former enter dorsal tegmental fascicles of
group (7) in company with longer fibers of tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus
(p. 225), but many of them descend dispersed in the neuropil (fig. 79).
 
 
Tractus pedunculo-tegmentalis crticiatus.— These, as described
above (p. 278), enter the ventral median tegmental fascicles of group
(1) from the peduncle and, after decussation here, pass to the isthmic
tegmentum by way of f . tegmentalis profundus.
 
 
Tractus 7namillo-tegmentalis .—^ome fibers from the dorsal hypothalamus reach the isthmic tegmentum accompanying the superficial tr. mamillo-cerebellaris (p. 170). Others take a deeper course in
ventral tegmental fascicles of group (3) and f . tegmentalis profundus,
as described on page 279.
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XXI
THE COMMISSURES
 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
 
THE commissures are in two series, dorsally and ventrally of the
ventricles. The fibers which cross the mid-plane are of two sorts:
(1) some are strictly commissural, connecting corresponding regions
of the two sides; (1) most of them are decussations, like the optic
chiasma, connecting dissimilar regions. Those of the dorsal series
include fibers of correlation which arise and terminate within the
sensory zone and also connections between the sensory zone and
other zones. Those of the ventral series are concerned in the main
with motor co-ordination on the two sides of the bod3% some passing
from sensory and intermediate zones to the motor zone, others lying
wholly within the motor zone, and both sorts being accompanied by
uncrossed fibers.
 
 
In addition to the crossed systems of correlation and co-ordination
to which reference has just been made, it is a noteworthy fact that
the main lines of fore-and-aft ascending and descending conduction
in the brains of all vertebrates decussate, so that the adjusting centers for organs on the right side of the body are in the left side of the
brain and vice versa. This applies especially to the apparatus of
somatic adjustment, but not so generally to the visceral systems.
Most of the fibers of the ascending secondary visceral-gustatory tract
{tr.v.a.) and of the olfacto-hypothalamic tracts are uncrossed. The
proprioceptive systems are both crossed and uncrossed.
 
 
The reason for the decussation of the major conduction pathways
of the somatic sensori-motor systems has puzzled neurologists for
many years, and fantastic theories have been expressed, some bearing the names of great masters — Wundt, Flechsig, Cajal, and others.
This extensive literature has been reviewed by Jacobsohn-Lask ('24),
who, instead of elaborating a theory in terms of the highly specialized
human brain, like his predecessors, reviews the entire history of the
evolution of the nervous system, from its first appearance in coelenterates, in relation to the bilateral symmetry of the body. None of
these speculations have yielded satisfying conclusions.
 
 
 
A survey of the commissures and decussations of all vertebrate
brains shows that some of them, like the posterior commissure and
optic chiasma, hold constant positions throughout the series, while
others vary widely in position and composition. It is evident that in
the latter cases the site of crossing of a particular system of fibers is
determined by the topographic arrangement of the parts to be connected. These arrangements are widely diversified in the lower groups
of vertebrates and the crossing fibers tend to take the shortest available pathways. But when the course of a particular decussating tract
has been established in an ancestral species, the original site of the
decussation may be retained, despite great changes in the relative
sizes of parts of the brain in phylogenetic descendants of the ancestral
form, so that the tract may take a circuitous course to reach its decussation, as illustrated by some components of the postoptic complex in
fishes. This conservatism may be accounted for by the fact that the
decussating fibers may have collateral connections at any part of the
course both before and after crossing. These considerations suggest
that great caution should be observed in using the actual sites of
crossing of the various systems of fibers as criteria of homology.
Some of them are very stable; in other instances fibers with similar
origins and terminations may cross in surprisingly different places,
as illustrated by the various courses taken by fibers of the hippocampal commissure.
 
 
Primitively the roof plate of the brain, unlike the floor plate, was
membranous, and the locations of commissures which invade it are
determined by the functional requirements of the organs differentiated below it in the various species of animals. In the telencephalon
the topographic arrangements of parts are extremely variable. In all
cases there is a wide interruption of the commissures at the site of
the stem-hemisphere fissure, paraphysis, dorsal sac, and their derivatives. In the diencephalon the habenular commissure is separated by
the pineal recess from the commissura tecti, and the latter is continuous spinal ward with the posterior commissure and the com. tecti
of the mesencephalon. In cyclostomes the middle part of the mesencephalic tectum is a membranous chorioid plexus, and the com. tecti
is here interrupted.
 
 
At the posterior end of the tectum its commissure is continuous
with a thin sheet of crossed and uncrossed fibers in the anterior
medullary velum, and this, in turn, with the massive cerebellar commissures. Between the cerebellum and the calamus scriptorius the
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 291
 
roof is a membranous chorioid plexus except in some fishes, in which
the large acousticolateral areas fuse over the ventricle, with some
decussating fibers. In the region of the calamus there is a dorsal
crossing of visceral sensory fibers (com. infima of Haller) and of
somatic sensory fibers between the funicular nuclei. This dorsal commissure, reduced in size, is present through the entire length of the
spinal cord.
 
 
The ventral series of commissures is concentrated in the anterior
commissure of the telencephalon, the chiasma ridge of the diencephalon, the so-called ansulate commissure of the midbrain; and posteriorly of this it extends continuously as the ventral commissure of
the rhombencephalon and spinal cord. The ventral decussations of
Necturus from the tuberculum posterius to the spinal cord were
described in 1930 ('30, p. 89) and the other commissures in papers
before and after that date.
 
 
The arrangement of the telencephalic commissures of the Amphibia differs radically from that of all animals higher in the scale.
As seen in median section (fig. 2), the anterior and hippocampal commissures do not cross in or above the lamina terminalis but in a high
anterior commissure ridge which projects upward from the floor
posteriorly of the interventricular foramina. This ridge is separated
from the lamina terminalis by the wide precommissural recess, or
aula, which is the vestibule of the interventricular foramina (fig. IB).
Both pallial and subpallial parts of the hemispheres contribute fibers
to the commissures in this ridge, and many fibers from the olfactory
and hippocampal areas also cross in the habenular commissure.
 
 
The peculiar arrangement of the anterior and hippocampal commissures, the lamina terminahs, and the related chorioid plexuses of
Ambly stoma has been described and illustrated ('35). It is explained
by the topography at the di-telencephalic junction and the presence
of unusually wide interventricular foramina. The explanation of this
topography, in turn, is to be^ sought in the phylogenetic ancestors of
existing Amphibia. In Protopterus as described by Rudebeck ('45),
pallial formation is confined to the lateral wall of the hemisphere, and
the hippocampal commissure passes down behind the foramen to
cross in close association with the anterior commissure in essentially
the same way as in amphibians. In view of the close similarity of
development of the brains of amphibians and lungfishes, it is probable that the ancestral amphibian resembled Protopterus in this
region.
 
 
The arrangement of myelinated fibers in all the commissures of
Amblystoma as seen in the median plane is shown in figure 2C. The
components of these commissures will now be summarized, with
references to more detailed descriptions.
 
 
THE DORSAL COMMISSURES
 
Commissura hippocampi. — These fibers converge from all parts of
the hippocampal area to its ventral border, from which they descend
behind the foramen to cross in the dorsal part of the anterior commissure ridge (figs. 96-99). Many of these fibers join a mixed longitudinal fascicle, termed "fimbria," which borders the primordium
hippocampi for its entire length at the ventromedial margin. Another
fascicle, composed exclusively of commissural fibers, assembles at the
ventrolateral border of the primordium. Most of these fibers are
unmyelinated. Weigert sections show a few brilliantly stained myelinated fibers scattered among them.
 
 
Accompanying this commissural bundle as it leaves the hippocampus are other similar fibers of tractus cortico-thalamicus medialis
and tr. cortico-habenularis medialis. Some of the latter cross in the
habenular commissure and return to the hippocampal area of the
opposite side, this being the com. pallii posterior (figs. 32, 34, 71,
72, 76).
 
 
Commissura hahenularum {com. superior). — The analysis of the
stria medullaris as detailed in chapter xviii reveals the following components of the habenular commissure: (1) The most anterior member
is the com. pallii posterior (fig. 20, no. 8). (2) Posteriorly of this the
com. superior telencephali includes components 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the
diagram, viz., tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior, tr. cortico-habenularis
lateralis, and tr. amygdalo-habenularis. (3) Still more posteriorly are
crossing fibers of uncertain connections, some of which may come
from other components of the stria medullaris. There are doubtless
strictly commissural fibers connecting the habenulae of the two sides.
The commissural fibers from the hemisphere are accompanied by
uncrossed fibers. It is possible that these tracts are accompanied by
crossed and uncrossed fibers, which pass from the habenular nuclei
forward into the hemispheres, but this has not been demonstrated.
Commissura tecti dieiicephali.— Most of these fibers are commissural, connecting the two pretectal nuclei. Some tecto-habenular and
habenulo-tectal fibers decussate here.
 
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 293
 
Commissura posterior. — This is the primary pathway from the
anterior part of the optic tectum to the motor zone of the midbrain.
Its decussating fibers appear very early in embryogenesis, accompanied by uncrossed fibers from the tectum and eminence of the
posterior commissure. In the adult many of the commissural fibers
end in this eminence. Crossed and uncrossed fibers spread widely in
the posterior part of the thalamus, the nucleus of the tuberculum
posterius, and the dorsal tegmentum. The largest fascicles connect
with the big cells of the nucleus of Darkschewitsch (p. 217).
 
 
Commissura tecti mesencephali. — This thin sheet of crossing fibers
is continuous between the posterior commissure and the anterior
medullary velum. It contains thin and thick fibers (many of the latter
myelinated) which spread widely through all layers of the tectum.
Most of these seem to be commissural between the tecti of the two
sides, but no satisfactory analysis has been recorded. Some fibers of
the mesencephalic root of the V nerve apparently decussate here, but,
if so, the number is small.
 
 
Commissures of the anterior medullary velum. — Most of the fibers in
the velum are longitudinal — tr. tecto-cerebellaris — and some of these
may decussate here. The most constant and noteworthy component
is the decussation of the IV nerve roots ('36, p. 342; '42, p. 255). The
velum contains cells and fibers of the mesencephalic V root, and some
of these may decussate here. Our preparations give no clear evidence
of crossed fibers of this root; if present, the number is certainly not
large.
 
 
Cerebellar commissures. — Larsell's analysis of these commissures
is confirmed. The two systems are quite distinct. (1) The com. cerebelli is related with the median body of the cerebellum, including
decussating fibers of tr. spino-cerebellaris, sensory root fibers of the
V nerve, secondary trigeminal fibers from the superior sensory V
nucleus in the auricle, and commissural fibers between these nuclei
and between the two sides of the corpus cerebelli. (2) The com.
vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli is a more dispersed system of fibers related with the vestibular and lateral-line centers of adjustment in the
auricles. It is composed of root fibers of the VIII nerve and secondary
fibers of both vestibular and lateral-hne systems. There are doubtless
also commissural fibers between the two auricles. None of these fibers
make significant connections with the median body of the cerebellum
through which they pass. Their terminal relations are with auricular tissue which is the primordium of the floccular part of the mammahan flocculonodular lobe.
 
 
Commu-sura infima Halleri. — This is a decussation of the fascicuH
soHtarii at the calamus scriptorius, containing both root fibers and
secondary fibers of the visceral-gustatory system and doubtless also
commissural fibers between the two commissural nuclei of this system.
 
 
Commifisure of the funieular nuclei. — Intimately associated with
the preceding are commissural fibers between the nuclei of the dorsal
funiculi in the calamus region, with which decussating fibers are
mingled. This dorsal commissure of somatic sensory fibers is extended, reduced in size, downward through the entire length of the
spinal cord. There is some evidence that the visceral sensory com.
infima is also represented in the cord (p. 125).
 
 
This completes the summary of the dorsal commissures. We now
turn to the ventral series, beginning, as before, at its anterior end.
 
 
THE VENTRAL COMMISSURES
COMMISSURA ANTERIOR
 
The complex com. anterior occupies the entire anterior commissure
ridge except its dorsal border. Its largest components are the partial
decussations of the medial forebrain bundles below and the lateral
forebrain bundles above (figs. 25-28). Associated with these fibers
are others, including the com. amygdalarum (which is part of the
stria terminalis system, p. 256), some fascicles of the nervus terminalis, and a dispersed decussation between the olfactory fields of
the anterior parts of the hemispheres ('396, fig. 21).
 
 
The crossing fibers of the anterior commissure ridge are enveloped
by a thin layer of gray which expands laterally as the large bednuclei of the anterior commissure. The thin floor of the long preoptic
recess between the anterior commissure ridge and the chiasma ridge
contains the longitudinal fibers of tr. preopticus, some of which
decussate here.
 
 
CHIASMA OPTICUM
 
All fibers of the optic nerves decussate in the chiasma opticum.
The crossing occupies the anterior border of the chiasma ridge (figs.
2B and 2C). At the posterior border of the chiasma there is some
mingling of optic fibers with those of the postoptic commissure, but
in some of our Golgi preparations the optic fibers are electively impregnated and can be separated from the others ('41, '42).
 
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 295
 
COMMISSURA POSTOPTICA
 
The complex com. postoptica is represented in mammals by the
supra-optic commissures, but its composition is so different in
urodeles and mammals that exact homologies cannot be established.
Further analysis of intervening species is requisite before these relationships can be clarified.
 
 
In Amblystoma this complex includes decussating fibers derived
from the superior and inferior colliculi, the entire diencephalon, the
amygdala, and the subpallial olfactory field of the cerebral hemisphere. Many of these tracts have collateral connections along their
courses, both before and after crossing, and are accompanied by
uncrossed fibers. There are also strictly commissural fibers connecting some of these regions (for evidence of such fibers in the frog see
'25, p. 480). These decussating systems connect, after crossing, with
extensive fields of the intermediate and motor zones, including the
strio-amygdaloid area, preoptic nucleus, hypothalamus, ventral thalamus, geniculate neuropil, dorsal tegmentum, peduncle, isthmic tegmentum, and bulbar tegmentum. The posterior part of the postoptic
commissure is comparable with the com. tuberis of some other vertebrates and consists mainly of decussating fibers from the ventral part
of the hypothalamus to the peduncle and interpeduncular nucleus.
The direction of conduction of most of these fibers has not been
clearly determined, though most of the larger systems evidently
converge from the sensory zone into the motor field.
 
 
The fibers of few of these components are assembled in wellorganized tracts ; most of them are so dispersed and commingled that
analysis is very difficult. Some of them are myelinated, and these
tend to be assembled in recognizable tracts. These myelinated tracts,
as seen in Weigert sections, were the first to be described, but their
distribution after crossing baffled analysis. These tracts are accompanied by much larger numbers of unmyelinated fibers in more dispersed arrangement. The courses of some of these have been revealed
by elective Golgi impregnations, and other systems have been clarified by study of the sequence of their development as published in a
series of papers from 1937 to 1941. In view of the complexity of these
connections and the technical difficulties encountered in their study,
it is not surprising that the earlier descriptions were incomplete and
not free from error. It is believed that now it is possible to present an
analysis of this complex which, though still incomplete, reveals its
major features.
 
 
This generalized arrangement as seen in urodeles is probably
primitive and may be taken as the point of departure in the study of
the postoptic systems of more specialized brains of both fishes and
higher vertebrates. These commissures have been analyzed in Necturus ('41a, p, 513), where they are still more generalized. Our present knowledge of these systems of Amblystoma was summarized on
pages 219-28 of the paper of 1942, with diagrams illustrating the connections of the principal tracts. All known components are assembled
in the following list. Here some of the earlier names of tracts have
been replaced by more accurate terms; some others are retained,
though now known to be inappropriate or inadequate. In this list
there are included, first, the groups of fibers which descend to the
chiasma ridge from the tectum and pretectal nucleus, followed by
those descending from the thalamus, next, the systems arising in the
hypothalamus, and, finally, a heterogenous group with hypothalamic
connections. For additional details about some of these tracts in
preceding chapters consult the Index.
 
 
1. Tr actus tecto-thalamicus et hypothalamicus cruciatus anterior (fig.
12, tr.t.th.h.c.a.). — This anterior tectal fasciculus is a mixture of
myelinated and unmyelinated fibers from the dorsomedial part of the
tectum opticum and the pretectal nucleus which descend across the
thalamus in company with the more anterior fascicles of the optic
tract. After partial crossing in the antero ventral part of the chiasma
ridge, its fibers spread in the neuropil of the chiasma ridge and
hypothalamus. Some of them may reach beyond this region. This
cumbersome name was applied in my earlier papers to a mixed
fascicle which had not been analyzed. It can now be replaced by the
names of the several tracts of which it is composed. Some of these
are uncrossed (notably tr. pretecto-thalamicus) , and some fibers of
two of them decussate in the chiasma ridge, nos. 2 and 3 below. The
arrangement of these components as seen in horizontal sections is
shown in figures 25-36.
 
 
2. Tractus tecto-hypothalamicus anterior (tr.t.hy.a.). — This is the
tectal component of the preceding fasciculus; it is evidently an optic
pathway to the hypothalamus (p. 224). It passes through the pretectal nucleus and is accompanied by tecto-pretectal fibers. It probably
is physiologically related with no. 3.
 
 
3. Tractus pretecto-hypothalamicus (fig. 15, tr.ptJiy.). — This tract as
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 297
 
it leaves the pretectal nucleus is accompanied by a large tr. pretectothalamicus (p. 234 and figs. 35, 36).
 
 
4. Tr actus tecto-ihalamicu.s ei hypothalamicus cruciatus posterior
(fig. 12, tr.t.th.h.c.p). — This, like no. 1, is a mixed fascicle which has
been analyzed. Both these names may now be discarded in favor of
shorter terms — anterior and posterior tectal fascicles. The posterior
fascicle arises chiefly from the nonoptic nucleus posterior tecti and
the adjoining ventrolateral margin of the optic tectum, the latter
region in Necturus receiving few terminals of the optic tract ('41a,
p. 516). This fascicle is probably activated primarily by lemniscus,
rather than optic, fibers or by a combination of the two. The tracts
of which it is composed have collateral connections with the geniculate neuropil and ventral thalamus both before and after crossing.
These fibers descend from the tectum parallel with those of the lateral
optic tract and internally of them. So far as known they have a common origin in the tectum, but, after crossing, they take widely
divergent courses. The tracts, consequently, are named according to
their terminal distribution. The most important components are the
following, nos. 5 and 6.
 
 
5. Tractus tecto-hypothal amicus posterior. — These are finer fibers
which terminate in the postoptic neuropil and neighboring regions of
the hypothalamus. They are more clearly seen in Necturus ('41a,
p. 516) than in Ambly stoma.
 
 
6. Tractus tecto-tegmentalis cruciatus (fig. 12, tr.t.teg.c). — The
course and distribution of the thicker fibers of the posterior tectal
fascicle were not clarified until they were identified in larval stages,
in which they were electively impregnated because they mature
precociously. These were first recognized in early feeding larvae ('39,
p. 106) and later in adult Necturus ('41a, p. 516) and Amblystoma
('42, p. 222). Some erroneous descriptions of these fibers in my
earlier papers have been corrected ('39, p. 110).
 
 
The more heavily myelinated fibers of this tract decussate in the
dorsal part of the chiasma ridge (figs. 2C, 12, 16, 25, tr.t.th.h.c.p.),
and after crossing they enter tegmental fascicles of groups (8) and
(6), and in smaller numbers they are dispersed in other fascicles. The
dispersed fibers spread in the peduncle. Those which enter fascicles
numbered (8) take a longer and more dorsal course, distributing to
the dorsal, isthmic, and trigeminal tegmentum, some of them extending as far as the level of the V nerve roots. The entire course of
these fibers can be followed in the horizontal sections, figures 25-35, where they are marked tr.t.th.h.c.p. before their decussation and (8)
 
beyond the crossing.
 
 
There are two strong systems of crossed tecto-peduncular and
tecto-tegmental fibers, both of which are drawn in figure 12. The
system just described descends chiefly from the nonoptic part of the
tectum {tr.t.th.h.c.p.) and, after crossing, spreads in the peduncle by
way of tegmental fascicles (6) and throughout the tegmentum by way
of fascicles (8). The second system is tr. tecto-peduncularis cruciatus
(tr.t.p.c), which arises in the optic part of the tectum, crosses in the
commissure of the tuberculum posterius, and then spreads out in the
peduncle. This well-myelinated tract is accompanied by similar fibers
from the pretectal nucleus and dorsal thalamus. These two tectopeduncular systems evidently have quite different physiological significance.
 
 
Attempts to analyze the postoptic components arising in the
thalamus were unsuccessful until the sequence of development of
these fibers was revealed by embryological studies. These findings
were then confirmed by elective Golgi impregnations of older larvae
and adults. Some errors in the earlier descriptions have been corrected, and now it is possible to give a fairly complete account of
both the crossed and the uncrossed fibers which diverge from the
thalamus. Since the direct and crossed fibers are evidently intimately
related physiologically, both series are included in the following description. Efferent fibers from the thalamus are arranged in two
sharply contrasted series, which arise, respectively, from the dorsal
thalamus and the ventral thalamus.
 
 
The efferent series from the dorsal thalanuis includes uncrossed
fibers to the tectum, habenula, cerebral hemisphere, ventral thalamus, hypothalamus, and peduncle which need not be further considered here; but some of the other uncrossed tracts, which evidently
are in reciprocal physiological relation with the crossed tracts, should
be specifically mentioned. Decussating fibers from the dorsal thalamus are in two groups. The first includes thick myelinated fibers of
tr. thalamo-peduncularis cruciatus (tr.th.p.c), which, as already
mentioned, joins tr. tecto-peduncularis cruciatus {tr.t.p.c.) to decussate in the commissure of the tuberculum posterius as described under that caption below. The second group is a much larger number of
thin unmyelinated or lightly myelinated fibers which decussate in the
postoptic commissure and will next be described.
 
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 299
 
7. Tractus thalamo-hypothalamicus et peduncnlaris cruciatus
{tr.ih.h.p.c.). — In the earlier descriptions of both Aniblystoma and
Necturus this name was given to a large collection of unmyelinated
and lightly myelinated fibers which descends in disj^ersed arrangement from the dorsal thalamus to the postoptic commissure. Their
distribution beyond the decussation could not be clearly followed,
and some of those descriptions now require correction. As elsewhere
pointed out ('42, p. 223), this name should now be discarded because
at least three quite distinct tracts are represented here and relatively
few of these fibers have any connection with the peduncle. The three
tracts represented in this complex (nos. 8, 9, and 10) have a common
origin in the dorsal thalamus, chiefly its middle sector, and, after
crossing, take widely different courses. Their decussation is posterior
to that of the tectal components of the commissure in a band which
is narrow dorsally and spreads ventrally through a wide area of the
neuropil of the chiasma ridge (fig. 2C, tr.th.h.d.c).
 
 
8. Tractus thalamo-hypothalamicus dorsalis cruciatus (tr.th.h.d.c). —
These fibers, most of which are unmyelinated, cross in the middle
region of the chiasma ridge (figs. 2C, 15, 25) and then spread in the
hypothalamus. In figures 27-33, 95, 102, and 103 the symbol
tr.th.h.d.c. refers to the mixture of fibers of tracts 8, 9, and 10 in their
descending course from the thalamus to the commissure. The fibers
of nos. 9 and 10 cross dorsally of those of no. 8, though there is mingling of the fibers of the three tracts with one another and with those
of surrounding decussations.
 
 
The remaining fibers of this complex, after crossing, are distributed
to the tegmentum in two tracts which take parallel courses, one superficially, the other at the border of the gray. These are designated
components A and B, respectively. In figures 15 and 21 the components A and B are not separately designated.
 
 
9. Tractus thalamo-tegmentalis dorsalis cruciatus A {tr.th.teg.d.c.A.).
— This tract was first described in the early feeding larva ('39, p. 116)
and later in the adult ('42, p. 224). After decussation, these unmyelinated fibers ascend from the chiasma ridge parallel with the course of
the descending uncrossed limb of this commissure and more superficially. Their further course is shown in figures 26-34, here marked
A . In the dorsal tegmentum they turn spinal ward along the ventrolateral border of the tectum. Here they lie close to the pial surface
and immediately ventrally of the lateral optic tract (fig. 94, A). In
this part of their course they join an uncrossed tract with similar origin from the dorsal thalamus and similar distribution in the tegmentum — tr. thalamo-tegmentalis rectus (figs. 15, 31-34, 94,
tr.th.teg.r.). This latter tract arises from both dorsal and ventral
thalamus, but only the dorsal component of it is under consideration
here (fig. 21, tr.th.teg.d.r.). In some Golgi preparations there is evidence that axons from the dorsal thalamus may divide, with branches
entering both the uncrossed and the crossed thalamo-tegmental
tracts ('42, p. 224). Evidently, the crossed and uncrossed tracts are
reciprocally related physiologically.
 
 
10. Tractus thalamo-tegmentalis dorsalis cruciatus B. — This is a
deep component of the same system as the preceding, receiving
nearly all the myelinated fibers of no. 7 of this list. In the chiasma
ridge these fibers separate from the others of the group and cross at
the dorsal border of the postoptic commissure (marked B in figs. 26
and 95). Beyond the decussation they scatter widely, and most of
them enter the well-myelinated tegmental fascicles of group (8),
within which they may descend as far as the V nerve roots.
 
 
The two crossed tracts to the tegmentum, nos. 9 and 10 of this list,
seem to have the same origin and about the same field of distribution,
except that one of them {A) terminates in the superficial tegmental
neuropil and the other {B) arborizes in the deep neuropil. The
physiological properties of these zones of neuropil evidently are
different.
 
 
11. Tractus thalamo-tegmentalis ventralis cruciatus (figs. 2C, 17,
tr.th.teg.v.c). — These thick fibers (many of them well myelinated)
converge into the postoptic commissure from all parts of the ventral
thalamus. In this part of their course they are not fasciculated but
are scattered among other similar fibers so that their courses could
not be followed until they were studied embryologically. They mature early and may be impregnated with reduced silver at stages
when few other fibers respond to this treatment. We also have good
elective Golgi impregnations of them in later larval stages ('39, pp.
98, 120; '396, p. 546; '42, p. 225).
 
 
These fibers cross in the posterodorsal part of the chiasma ridge,
mingled with those of other systems. The thickest of the myelinated
fibers are crowded together at the dorsal margin of the postoptic complex. After crossing, they spread widely in the peduncle and tegmentum. Most of those from the posterior part of the ventral thalamus enter ventral tegmental fascicles of group (4), and some of these
may descend in the f . longitudinalis medialis. Many fibers from the
 
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 301
 
middle and anterior parts of the ventral thalamus reach the tegmentum through fascicles of groups (6) and (8) . These crossed fibers
are accompanied by many others that take similar courses without
decussation.
 
 
The hypothalamic components of the postoptic commissure include, in addition to the terminals of extrinsic tracts already described, a few well-defined tracts and several other less-well-known
connections.
 
 
12. Tractus hypothalamo-peduncularis et tegmentalis (figs. 18, 23,
tr.hy.ped.; fig. 21, tr.hy.ieg.). — This is the most noteworthy component originating within the hypothalamus. Its fibers assemble from
the whole of the ventral part of the hypothalamus and comprise the
main pathway from this region to the motor field of the peduncle and
tegmentum. Some of them decussate in the posterior part of the
chiasma ridge ; others are uncrossed ; still others decussate in the commissure of the tuberculum posterius. They connect by terminals or
collaterals with the dorsal part of the hypothalamus, ventral part of
the peduncle (including the neuropil of the area ventrolateralis
pedunculi), and isthmic tegmentum. The last-mentioned group includes thick fibers, some of which are well myelinated, which enter
ventral tegmental fascicles (4); and some of these may take long
courses in the f. longitudinalis medialis (for further description see
p. 280, and '42, p. 226).
 
 
13. Olfactory projection tract (fig. 19, oLp.tr.). — This name has been
given to a thin strand of unmyelinated fibers which pass in both
directions between the strio-amygdaloid area and a specific nucleus
at the posterior border of the chiasma ridge ('21, p. 247; '27, p. 304;
'36, fig. 5). Some of these fibers decussate here.
 
 
14. Tractus pedunculo-hypothalamicus. — A large component in the
posterodorsal part of the postoptic commissure was provisionally
given this name, though the exact connections of its fibers could not
be determined ('42, p. 227).
 
 
15. Medial forebrain bundle. — The fibers of the medial forebrain
bundle are interlaced with all components of the postoptic commissure laterally of the chiasma ridge. Many of these fibers of both
descending and ascending systems enter the postoptic neuropil and
participate in its formation. This implies a transfer of more or less of
this activity to the opposite side of the brain, but no details of specific
decussational or commissural pathways have been revealed.
 
 
Postoptic neuropil. — In the mid-plane, the postoptic decussations
occupy most of the chiasma ridge, and these fibers are enveloped on
all sides except ventrally by a gray layer, the bed-nucleus of the
postoptic commissure. This nucleus is expanded laterally. From this
gray layer, richly arborized ependymal elements and dendrites of
neurons are spread among the decussating fibers. Similar long dendrites enter it from all surrounding parts, including the nucleus
magnocellularis, from which tr. hypophysius arises ('42, fig. 51).
The entire chiasma ridge is also permeated with dense axonic neuropil which is continuous with that of surrounding parts. This neuropil receives terminals and collaterals of axons of hypothalamic
neurons, medial forebrain bundles, tractus preopticus, and most of
the decussating systems. The chief outflow from it seems to be by
axons of the nucleus of the postoptic commissure directed into tr.
hypothalamo-peduncularis. Other fibers enter the medial forebrain
bundle (for further details see '42, p. 219; Necturus, '336, p. 251;
'Mb, p. 383).
 
 
This neuropil is clearly one of the major adjusting centers of the
urodele brain. Situated in the center of the great olfacto-visceral field,
its connections indicate that it may be activated from every correlation center of the cerebrum. Undoubtedly it plays an important part
in all general visceral activities. It is equally evident that there is no
provision here for localization of specific functions. This is probably
the undifferentiated primordium from which some of the specialized
hypothalamic nuclei of mammals have been elaborated.
 
 
COMMISSURA TUBERCULI POSTERIORIS
 
The commissure of the tuberculum posterius was defined in 1917
(]). 224) as the ventral mesencephalic decussations between the
infundibulum and the fovea isthmi. Posteriorly of the latter the
ventral tegmental commissure extends backward without interruption through the rhombencephalon and spinal cord. In Necturus
there is a very short interruption of the ventral commissural system
at the fovea isthmi ('30, p. 89), but in most urodeles this gap does not
appear.
 
 
The composition and arrangement of these ventral commissures
are very diversified in different vertebrates. The hypothalamic connections at the anteroventral end of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius of Amblystoma are in some other vertebrates widely
separated as the retro-infundibular decussations, or decussatio hy
 
 
THE COMMISSURES 303
 
pothalamicus posterior. The remainder of the commissure of the
tubercuhim and the anterior part of the ventral tegmental commissure comprise the ansulate commissure of the literature.
 
 
In Amblystoma I have recognized four chief components of the
commissure of the tubercuhim posterius ('36, p. 305 and fig. 2), arranged as shown in sagittal section in figures 81, 104; in horizontal
sections in figures 28, 29, 30, 31 (component 4 being here marked,
tr.t.b.c.l.); and in transverse section in figure 94 (components 2 and
3 shown here, components 1 and 4 being shown in a neighboring
section, '36, fig. 11). The connections of these components are as
follows :
 
1. This is the partial decussation of unmyelinated fibers from the
dorsal (mamillary) part of the hypothalamus to the interpeduncular
nucleus ('36, p. 338 and figs. 3, 8, 11-13). Most of them enter ventral
tegmental fascicles of group (2) as marked tr.mam.inp., on figures 19,
27-30, 71, 81, 92, 103.
 
 
2. This component contains partly myelinated fibers from the
dorsal hypothalamus to the peduncle and tegmentum, accompanied
by many uncrossed fibers and by fibers conducting in the reverse
direction from the peduncle to the hypothalamus (p. 278; figs. 8, 21,
tr.mam.feg., 23, tr.mam.ped.). Most of them spread in the alba of the
peduncle or enter ventral tegmental fascicles of group (3). Another
system is tr. hypothalamo-peduncularis et tegmentalis from, the ventral part of the hypothalamus to the peduncle and tegmentum (fig.
21, ir.hy.teq. and fig. 23, tr.hy.ped.). There is interchange of all these
fibers with those of component 1 and with other tegmental fascicles.
They are marked tr.mam.ped., tr.mam.teg., and (3) on figures 18, 21,
23, 27-31, 79, 82, 92, 94, 103.
 
 
3. The third component contains heavily myelinated fibers from
the tectum, pretectal nucleus, and dorsal thalamus to the peduncle,
accompanied by many uncrossed fibers — tr. tecto-peduncularis cruciatus {tr.t.p.c.) and tr. thalamo-peduncularis cruciatus (tr.th.p.c), as
elsewhere described (p. 223; '42, p. 267). These are shown on figures
12, 15, 18, 22, 29-36, 94, 103.
 
 
4. The dorsal component of this commissure is larger than the
others and is composed chiefly of tecto-bulbar and tecto-spinal fibers
from the anterior part of the tectum opticum, marked tr.t.b.c.l. on
the figures. Its fibers after oblique decussation enter ventral tegmental fascicles of group (1) (see p. 277 and figs. 12, 27-36, 93, 94).
 
 
In addition to these four well-defined components, there are unmyelinated fibers which descend from the tectum and dorsal tegmentum through the gray and deeper layers of the alba to the region
of the nucleus of the III nerve (fig. ^2, tr.t.ped.). Some of these tectopeduncular fibers decussate in the ventral commissure both before
and behind the fovea isthmi. In Necturus some fibers of the nervus
terminalis probably decussate in the commissure of the tuberculum
posterius (McKibben, '11), and this may be true in Amblystoma.
 
 
COMMISSURA VENTBALIS
 
The ventral decussations of Necturus were analyzed in the paper
of 1930 (p. 89), and those of Amblystoma are similar. For the details
the reader is referred to that description and to a later contribution
on larval Amblystoma ('396).
 
 
 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
 
 
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ILLUSTRATIONS
 
 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS
 
GENERAL STATEMENT
 
All of the 113 figures are of adult or late larval Amblystoma tigrinum, except
figures 86B, 86C, 111, 112, and 113 of Necturus and figure 107 of Rana pipiens.
The indicated magnifications of the drawings show wide diversity in actual sizes
of the specimens due to two things: in the first place, the fresh specimens vary greatly
in size, and, in the second place, shrinkage during preparation may amount to as
much as one-fourth of the original linear dimensions. Figures 2-85 are original
drawings, and figures 1 and 86-113 are selected from previous publications, with
minor alterations in some of them.
 
 
The internal structure of the brain of Necturus has been illustrated by sections
drawn at close intervals in the three conventional planes ('30, '336) and by many
drawings of detail in several other publications. The general plan of the brain of
Amblystoma is so similar to that of Necturus that comparisons are readily made.
The sections of Amblystoma have been under investigation for nearly forty years,
and the exigencies of the study and of publication have required concentration
upon particular topics rather than description of the brain as a whole, and no comprehensive atlas of sections has been prepared. It is the aim of this book to supply
a general view, but, unfortunately, the figures necessary to illustrate it are scattered
in many publications. Some figures of especial value for general orientation are included here, and references are given to others in the literature.
 
 
Three series of Weigert sections of adult A. tigrinum, prepared by the late
Dr. P. S. McKibben in 1910, were selected as standards of reference. These are his
numbers IIC, transverse. IC, horizontal, and C, sagittal. All were fixed in a formalinbichromate mixture, imbedded in paraffin, cut serially at 12 n, and stained on the
slides. These show minimum distortion of form, excellent histological preservation,
and brilliant stain of myelinated fibers, with decolorization arrested at a stage
which leaves all cell bodies clearly stained. The transverse series was chosen as the
type specimen, and this has been quite fully illustrated, though these drawings
were published at different times. To assist the reader who may wish to assemble
an atlas of this specimen, a list of all available figures of it was published ('35a,
p. 241), with serial numbers of the sections pictured, and to this list the following
numbers may now be added:
 
Section
 
98 Olfactory bulb. '246, fig. 5
 
570. . . . Nucleus posterior tecti. '36, fig. 15
 
595 ... . Cerebellum. Figure 91
 
635 .... Posterior border of V nerve roots. Figure 90
 
730 .... Level of IX nerve roots. Figure 89
 
929 .... Anterior root of first spinal nerve. Figure 88
 
956. . . . Calamus scriptorius. '446, fig. 4
 
975 .... Commissura infima. Figure 87
 
990 .... Nuclei of dorsal funiculi. '446, fig. 6
 
Figure 2C of this work is the median section of the middle part of the brain stem,
reconstructed from this series of sections; and figures 1-4 of the paper of 1935 are
similar reconstructions, showing chorioid plexuses and blood vessels.
 
 
 
A paper model of this transverse series was prepared, X 75, each section being
drawn on cardboard seventy-five times the thickness of the section and then cut
out along external and ventricular surfaces. These sheets, when properly stacked,
show the external and ventricular configuration, and upon them details of internal
structure were drawn in colored inks. The relevant data about this specimen were
published ('35a) in connection with the preparation of the diagram of the median
section, shown here as figure 2C (cf. fig. IB). Scales accompanying the diagram give
the section numbers, so that any section figured can be accurately located on the
projection. This outline has been used as the basis for many diagrams of internal
structure in this work and previous papers. Figures 2A and '2B are similar diagrams, made from the series of horizontal sections illustrated in figures 25-36. A
wax model was made from the sagittal Weigert series C (figs. lA and 85).
 
 
Two series of transverse sections of the adult forebrain based mainly on Golgi
sections were published in 1927; six of these are here reproduced as figures 95-100.
Six sagittal sections of the middle part of the adult brain stem by Rogers' reduced
silver method were published in 1936, figures 17-22; and three of these are shown
here as figures 102, 103, and 104. Seven pictures of the chiasma region from the
sagittal Weigert series C are in figure 11 of 1941. A series of twelve horizontal
Cajal sections of the adult follows in this book (figs. 25-36). Serial sections of larvae
of 38 mm., prepared by Cajal's reduced silver method, have been illustrated (horizontal, '39b, figs. 2-20; transverse, '14a, figs. 4-14, and '39a, figs. 2-14). Somedetails
of the development of the external form of the brain and the internal structures are
reported in the papers of 1937-41. For meninges and blood vessels see pages 24-27,
my papers ('34c^ and '35), Roofe ('35), and Dempster ('30).
 
 
FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS
 
Figure lA, B, and C'.^Lateral and median views of the brain of adult A. tigrinum, reproduced from '24a, figures 1, 2, and 3.
 
 
A. — Drawn from a wax model made from sagittal Weigert sections, no. C, collected at
Chicago, 111. X 15. The lateral wall of the cerebral hemisphere has been cut away to open
the lateral ventricle; compare figure 85 drawn from the same model.
 
 
B. — Median section of a specimen from Colorado. X 10. The dissection was prepared
by Dr. P. S. McKibben and drawn by Katharine Hill. Brains of several specimens were exposed, fixed in situ in formalin-Zenker, then removed from the head, washed in water, and
hardened in graded alcohols before being cut in the mid-sagittal plane. The shrinkage in
alcohol accentuates the ventricular sculpturing.
 
 
C. — Key drawing to accompany figure IB.
 
 
Figure 2 A, B, and C. — Three drawings of the median section of the brain stem of the adult
prepared by graphic reconstruction from sections.
 
 
A. — This median section is reconstructed from the series of horizontal Cajal sections ilhistrated in figures 25-36. X 23. Compare figure 2C made from a specimen differently prepared.
 
 
The shape of the two specimens is somewhat different, owing chiefly to slight dorsoventral
compression of the midbrain and other distortions of the Cajal specimen. Despite these defects,
the correspondence of the two median sections is fairly close. The figures of the two specimens
are drawn on the same plan, with the important exception that in the drawing of 2C tlie ventricular sulci are projected upon the median plane, while in 2A and B the outhiies of the
chief cellular areas are thus projected. In general, the sulci mark tlie boundaries of these areas,
but this correspondence is not exact, and there is great individual variation in both these
features. In the posterior part of the tegmentum isthmi a vertical dotted line marks, somewhat
arbitrarily, tlie boundary between its central nucleus and a posterior sector composed of larger
cells and transitional to the large-celled component of the trigeminal tegmentum.
 
 
Two drawings based on this reconstruction are shown, with emphasis on different features.
In figure 2A the larger subdivisions of this part of the brain stem are demarcated so as to assist
 
 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS
 
 
 
the reader in comparing the amphibian topography with the conventional mammalian analysis. Median structures, that is, the cut surfaces of the section, are outlined with full lines,
paramedian structures in dotted lines (compare the gross section, fig. IB; Necturus, '17, fig.
63; and McKibben, '11, fig. 5). Heavy broken lines mark the boundaries of the larger divisions
as here defined, and dot-and-dash lines mark the subdivisions of the diencephalon.
 
 
B. — The same outline, bearing names of some of the smaller subdivisions. The scales at
right and left indicate the approximate planes of the sections shown in figures 25-36. These
levels are not exact, for unequal shrinkage during preparation produced some irregularities
which have been smoothed in the diagram. The scales at top and bottom show section numbers of the type specimen, no. IIC, from which figure 2C was drawn, as indicated on that
figure. Here again the correspondence is not exact, though sufficiently close to facilitate orientation of the published transverse sections with reference to the two median sections.
 
 
C- — This is the median section of the type specimen, IIC (p. 321), copied from 1935a,
figure 1, with some changes in the lettering. X 30.
 
 
Figure 3. — Outline drawing of the dorsal surface of the adult brain. X 10. The paraphysis
and chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle have been removed. The courses of the .sensory
fibers of the trigeminal and dorsal spinal nerve roots and of the spino-bulbar, spino-cerebellar,
and spinal lemniscus secondary tracts are diagrammatically indicated. The general bulbar
lemniscus {Im. of the other figures) arises from the entire sensory zone of the medulla oblongata
and ascends approximately parallel with the spinal lemniscus.
 
 
Figures 4 and 5. — Two diagrams illustrating the extent of the sensory and motor zones as
seen in horizontal sections of the adult brain (chap. v). X 15. The outlines are from a series
of Cajal sections cut in a slightly different plane from those illustrated in figures 25-36, with
the anterior end more dorsal.
 
 
Fig. 4. — This passes through the hippocampal commissure and shows on the left side the
extent of the motor zone, as here defined, by oblique hatching and the sensory zone in the
olfactory area by hatching in the reverse direction. The plane of section is about the same as
that of figures 28 anteriorly and 27 posteriorly. It passes below the tuberculum posterius at the
cerebral flexure, above which the motor zone of the peduncle and isthmus is continuous between the medulla oblongata and the ventral thalanms (fig. 30).
 
 
Fig. 5. — This shows the extent of the sensory zone at a more dorsal level, the plane being
about that of figures 35 anteriorly and 34 posteriorly. The undifferentiated anterior olfactory
nucleus encircles the base of the olfactory bulb, and through it passes the very large fasciculus
postolfactorius (cf. fig. 105), from wliich tlie various olfactory tracts of the liemisphere are
distributed (p. 55; '27, p. 283).
 
 
Figure 6. — Selected examples of long pathways of conduction leading toward the skeletal
musculature of the trunk and limbs, seen as projected upon the lateral aspect of the brain.
X 10. The only afferent systems drawn are the olfactory and optic, and from these receptive
fields only a few lines of descending conduction are indicated as typical representatives of
through fore-and-aft transmission.
 
 
Figure 7. — Diagram of the central courses of the sensory components of cranial nerves
V to X of larval Amblystoma seen as projected upon the lateral surface of the medulla oblongata. X 36. The drawing is based on figure 3 of 1914. The general cutaneous component
is drawn in dashed lines, the vestibular in thick unbroken lines, the visceral-gustatory in
dotted lines, the three lateral-line VII roots in thick dash lines, the two lateral-line X roots
in dot-and-dash lines, and correlation tracts a and b in thin continuous lines. Some fibers of
the ascending roots of the general cutaneous and vestibular systems decussate in the cerebellum, and some visceral root fibers of the f. solitarius decussate in the commissura infima at
the commissural nucleus of Cajal.
 
 
Figure S.— Diagram of the central connections of the visceral-gustatory system seen as
projected upon the lateral surface of the adult brain. X 10. A probable direct connection
from the superior visceral-gustatory nucleus (nuc.i'is.ti.) to the hypothalamus is indicated by
the dotted line.
 
 
Figure 9. — Diagrammatic transverse section of the larval medulla oblongata near the level
of the IX nerve roots, showing four types of neurons of the sensory zone. X 100. Drawn
from preparations illustrated in 1914. Figure 89 shows a section of the adult brain in about the same plane. The arrangement of the fascicles of nerve root fibers is indicated. Neuron 1
is in synaptic relation with all components of these cranial nerves. Neuron 2 makes its chief
connection with visceral-gustatory fibers of the f. solitarius and less intimate connection with
vestibular and trigeminal fibers. Neuron 3 connects only with root fibers of the trigeminus.
Neuron 4 connects with the trigeminus and also with the reticular formation and motor zone.
Similar elements have been seen to connect also with fascicles of the VIII and other nerve
roots. Axons of all these types decussate in the ventral commissure and may ascend in the
general bulbar lemniscus. The axon of neuron 2 divides, one branch ascending in the secondary
visceral tract {tr.r.a.) of the same side and the other crossing to the opposite side. Some similar
neurons connect only with the f. solitarius and have unbranched axons entering tr.r.a. only.
Numberless permutations of the various types of connection here shown have been observed.
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 10. — Diagram of the chief aflFerent connections of the body of the cerebellum and
of the brachium conjunctivum seen as projected on the median section of the brain (chaps.
iv and xii). X 18. The more lateral vestibular connections are not drawn. The outline is that
of figure 2C, and dotted lines mark ventricular sulci and the boundaries of the chief subdivisions of the brain wall.
 
 
Figure 11. — Diagram of the chief afferent tracts to the tectum (pp. 48, 220).
 
 
Figure 12. — Diagram of the chief efferent tracts from the tectum. Many shorter connections are omitted (p. 223).
 
 
Figure IS. — Diagram of the connections of the mesencephalic nucleus of the V nerve and of
some tecto-bulbar and tegmento-bulbar tracts probably concerned with feeding reflexes (p.
140).
 
 
Figure H.—DiagTaxn of the chief afferent tracts to the dorsal thalamus and of some other
connections of the optic tracts (pp. 49, 236).
 
 
Figure 15. — Diagram of the chief efferent tracts from the dorsal thalamus (pp. 49, 237)
and pretectal nucleus (p. 39).
 
 
 
Figure 16. — Diagram of the chief afferent tracts to the ventral thalamus (p. 239).
 
 
Figure 17.- — Diagram of the chief efferent tracts from the ventral thalamus (p. 240).
 
 
Figure 18. — Diagram of the chief connections of the "peduncle" (nucleus of the tuberculum
posterius, pp. 50, 217). Many shorter connections are omitted. For the connections of the
ventrolateral neuropil see chapter iii and figure 23.
 
 
Figure 19. — Diagram of the diencephalic connections of the amygdala (pp. 52, 248) and of
some of the connections of the interpeduncular nucleus (chap. xiv).
 
 
Figiire 20. — Diagram of the connections of the habcnula. In the stria medullaris thalami the
components are arranged in the fore-and-aft order in which they ascend, as also are the decussations in the habenular commissure (compare the horizontal sections, figs. 25-36).
Efferent fibers from the habenida enter three tracts (fr./iab.t.,f.refr., and tr.hab.th.). The afferent
fibers are numbered as in the analysis of the stria medullaris in chapter xviii:
 
1. Tr. olfacto-habenularis medialis
 
2. Tr. olfacto-habenularis lateralis
 
3. Tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior, ventral division
 
4. Tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior, dorsal division
 
5. Tr. cortico-habenularis lateralis
 
6. Tr. amygdalo-habenularis
 
7. Tr. septo-habenularis
 
8. Tr. cortico-habenularis medialis
 
9. Tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis
 
10. Tr. olfacto-thalamicus
 
11. Tr. thalamo-habenularis
 
12. Tr. tecto-habenularis
 
Not shown in this figure is the tr. pretecto-habenularis and a probable tr. strio-habenularis.
 
 
Figure 21. — Diagram of the chief afferent connections of the tegmentum isthmi (p. 179).
Most of the tracts here indicated end in both the isthniic and the trigeminal tegmentum.
For the connections of the interpeduncular nucleus and its neuropil see chapter xiv.
 
 
Figure 22. — Diagram of the most direct connections between the retina and the peduncle.
Optic tracts and efferent paths from the peduncle are drawn in full lines, internuncial connections in broken lines, and thick myelinated fibers in heavier lines (chap. xvi).
 
 
 
Figure 23.- — The chief nonvisual afferent connections of the ventrolateral peduncular
neuropil (chap, iii) seen as projected upon the median section. Most of these fibers are unmyelinated, of thin or medium size. The visceral-gustatory system has more fibers than any
of the others.
 
 
Figure 2!^. — Diagrammatic thick transverse section through the middle of the optic tectum
and the oculomotor nucleus, illustrating typical connections between the tectum and the cerebral peduncle. The gray is outlined by a broken line, and the ventral border of the tectum
by dotted lines. On the right side a typical neuron of the peduncle is drawn, with axon entering
the ventral tegmental fascicles (f.r.t.). Four outlying cell bodies are seen at the border of the
ventrolateral peduncular neuropil (a.rl.p.). On the left side is a neuron of the oculomotor
nucleus, the dendrites of which connect with terminals of the basal optic tract in the ventrolateral neuropil. Compare figure 93.
 
 
Figures 25 to J6.— These semidiagrammatic drawings are made from sections selected from
a horizontal series of the adult brain prepared by P. S. McKibben, Cajal's reduced silver method after fixation in alcohol. X 35. For approximiite planes of section see figure 2B. The sections
are exactly horizontal right and left.
 
 
 
In this specimen the cell bodies are not blackened, and no dendrites are visible. All nuclei
of cells are stained, and the gray pattern is clearly shown. There is scanty impregnation of
the neuropil. In the cerebral hemispheres only the thickest axons are impregnated; elsewhere
the thick and medium fibers are brilliantly differentiated. In some places where the boundaries
of fascicles and tracts are obscure, interpretation has been aided by comparison with other
specimens by methods of Cajal, Rogers, Golgi, and Weigert.
 
 
Horizontal sections are not so favorable for analysis of the tegmental fascicles (chap, xx)
as are those cut in transverse and sagittal planes, and it is difficult to follow individual bundles
as they recurve around the tuberculum posterius in the peduncle and tegmentum; but, by
comparison with sections prepared by other methods and cut in various planes, the courses
of most of the tracts and of the tegmental fascicles of groups (1) to (10) can be followed. The
limits of the numbered groups of fascicles are not always clear, but their identification by number on the drawings is believed to be substantially correct.
 
 
 
 
Fig. 25. — Through the ventral part of the anterior commissure ridge and the dorsal border
of the chiasma ridge. Only a few of the thicker fibers of the medial forebrain bundle are impregnated. These thread their way through the decussating fascicles of the chiasma ridge and
spread out in the ventral part of the hypothalamus. The dense neuropil of these regions is not
impregnated. All the optic fibers decussate ventrally of this level, except the most dorsal fibers
of the axial tract (tr.op.ax.). The lightly stippled area in the postoptic commissure, marked
tr.th.h.d.c, contains thin fibers from the dorsal thalamus, which decussate more ventrally
(fig. 2C, tr.th.h.d.c). Farther dorsally (fig. 26) these fibers, after crossing, separate into fascicles
A and B (p. 299).
 
 
Fig. 26. — Ten sections more dorsally, the section passes through the dorsal fascicles of the
medial forebrain bundle, tr. olfacto-peduncularis, and above the chiasma ridge. The mixed
system of thalamo-hypothalamic and tegmental fibers (fig. 25, tr.th.h.d.c.) has separated into
superficial (.4) and deep {B) tracts for the tegmentum, as described on page 299. The course
of the superficial tract (A) can be followed in figures 27-34; most of the deeper fibers (B)
join the dorsal tegmental fascicles of group (8).
 
 
Fig. 27.— This cuts the decussation of the dorsal fascicles of the lateral forebrain bundle in
the anterior commissure and the motor roots and nucleus of the V cranial nerve. The fibers
descending from the dorsal thalamus to the postoptic commissure {tr.th.h.d.c.) lie deep in the alba. The same fibers after decussation appear in the superficial tract, A, and in the deeper
fascicles of group (8). Rostrally of the V roots, most of the thick fibers of the ventral commissure belong to tr. tegmento-bulbaris cruciatus. Among these the f. longitudinalis medialis
is assembling from fascicles of groups (4), (5), and (6) (p. 281). Medially and dorsally of these
are finer fibers of the dorsal division of tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris (tr.inp.b.d.).
 
 
Fig. 28. — Through the hippocampal commissure and the middle of the sensory root of the
V nerve. The section cuts the ramus communicans posterior of "the arterial system (r.c.p.)
and the decussation of the posterior division of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus {tr.t.h.c.2.), also
the most ventral fibers of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius.
 
 
Fig. 29.— This passes immediately below the cerebral flexure at the tuberculum posterius
and the ventral border of the peduncle. Mingled with the crossing fibers of tr.f.b.c.2. are the
most ventral crossing fibers (unmarked) of the anterior division of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus.
The central nucleus of the isthmus (nuc.i.s'.c.) is here well defined, and laterally of it are terminals of the dorsal tegmental fascicles of groups (7) to (10).
 
 
Fig. 30. — This section cuts the ventral border of the junction of the peduncle with the isthmus, a locus marked by the superficial origin of the III nerve. The anterior division of tr.
tecto-bulbaris cruciatus (tr.t.b.c.l.) is decussating within the ventral tegmental fascicles of
group (1) (p. 277). More posteriorly, the section cuts the dorsal border of the sensory V root
and the visceral sensory roots of the VII and IX nerves, showing the entire prevagal part of
the f. solitarius (pp. 148, 166 and figs. 37, 38).
 
 
Fig. 31. — Through the nucleus of the III nerve and the most dorsal component of the
commissure of the tuberculum posterius containing decussating fibers of tr. tecto-b'jlbaris
cruciatus 1. Farther forward the section cuts the ventral thalamus at its widest part and passes through the ventral border of the eniinentia thalami. Large numbers of thick fibers pass
from the ventral thalamus to the peduncle and isthniic tegmentum {tr.th.teg.r.), both superficially and deeper in the alba. Similar fibers (not drawn) arise from the large cells of the
peduncle, which comprise a primordium of the mammalian interstitial nucleus of the f. longitudinalis niedialis. Many of the thalamic and most of the pedimcular fibers enter ventral
tegmental fascicles of group (5) (see p. 281). Tiiis section cuts tegmental fascicles of group (3)
at the dorsal convexity of their course as they recurve around the tuberculum posterius.
 
 
Fig. 32. — Section passing just above the interventricular foramen and through the middle
of the eminentia thalami. Accompanying fibers of the hippocampal commissure are those of
tr. cortico-habenularis medialis for the stria medullaris and tr. cortico-thalamicus niedialis
(primordium of the column of the fornix). Thick fibers stream backward from the ventral
thalamus in tr. thalamo-tegmentalis rectus, some superficially, some at middle depth, and
some at the inner border of the alba, the latter entering dorsal tegmental fascicles of group (8).
Similar fibers arise from the larger cells of the peduncle, but to simplify the pictures these have
not been drawn in figures 31 and 32. Most of them enter tegmental fascicles of group (5), and
some of these continue spinalward in f. longitudinalis medialis. The more ventral large cells of
the peduncle (fig. 31) correspond with the interstitial nucleus (Cajal) of f. longitudinalis medialis, the more dorsal of these cells (fig. 32) to the nucleus of Darkschewitsch (p. 217 and figs.
6, 18). For further details see the analysis of the tegmental fascicles in chapter xx and references
there given.
 
 
At the level of figure 32, tegmental fascicles of groups (4), (5), and (10) are cut at the dorsal
convexity of their courses through the peduncle, and here they are insinuated among the
fibers of the anterior and posterior divisions of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus, descending from
the tectum toward their decussations. Farther back in the posterior isthmic neuropil the bulbar
and spinal lemniscus systems {Im. and Im.sp.) are turning upward and forward to ascend in
the dorsal tegmentum (figs. 33, 34). The wide auricle contains terminals of vestibular and
lateral-line root fibers, other bulbar connections, and nucleus cerebelli.
 
 
Fig. 33. — This passes through the floor of the stem-hemisphere fissure, cutting the most
dorsal fibers of tr. cortico-habenularis medialis as they enter the stria medullaris and the dorsal
border of the eminentia thalami. Fibers of tr. thalamo-frontalis are seen emerging from the
ventral border of the dorsal thalamus. Large cells of the nucleus of Darkschewitsch occupy
the dorsal border of the peduncle. Laterally of these, tegmental fascicles (7) and (9) are recurving over the peduncle, and two sections farther dorsally, fascicles of group (8) are cut at
the top of their convexity. More posteriorly the section passes through the dorsal border of the
central nucleus of the isthmic tegmentum, laterally of which a few fibers of the brachium conjunctivum are impregnated. Some of these are seen to arise from the nucleus cerebelli. Externally of this nucleus is the posterior neuropil of the isthmus containing dendrites from the
superior visceral-gustatory nucleus, terminals of the ascending secondary visceral tract {tr.v.a.),
and many other components. Behind the auricle the section passes through the ventral part
of the lateral recess of the ventricle and spinalward of this through the "dorsal island" of
Kingsbury.
 
 
Fig. 34. — Ten sections farther dorsally, all components of the stria medullaris can be identified in the ventral habenular nucleus. The tr. habenulo-thalamicus (tr.hab.ih.) contains fibers
passing in both directions between this nucleus and the thalamus and regions posteriorly of it.
The bulbar lemniscus (Im.) and the spinalJemniscus (Im.sp.) traverse the dorsal tegmentum to
reach the dorsal thalamus. More posteriorly the section passes through the gray of the superior
visceral-gustatory nucleus {nuc.vis.s.) and the junction of the body of the cerebellum {c.ch.)
with the auricle.
 
 
Fig. 35. — Through the ventral borders of the dorsal habenular nucleus, nucleus pretectalis,
and tectum. Posteriorly it passes through the superior medullary velum, showing the decussation of the IV nerve roots, and through the body of the cerebellum dorsally of the cerebellar
commissure. Fibers of com. vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli are crossing at this level. Compare
1942, figures 78 and 79, cut in about the same plane, Weigert and Golgi.
 
 
Fig. 36. — Through the com. posterior and the tectum at its widest part. In figures 35 and
36 the brachia of the superior and inferior colliculi are designated tr. tecto-thalamicus rectus
{tr.t.th.r.).
 
 
 
 
Figures 37, 38, and 39. — These semidiagrammatic sketches show some details of the
medulla oblongata from an advanced larva. The sections are obliquely horizontal, with the
right side and the anterior end more dorsal. X 30. The series contains 27 thick Golgi sections,
numbered from dorsal to ventral surfaces, and the data here assembled are selected from sections 11-24. The outlines of sections 13, 17, and 20 are drawn, and upon these there are
sketched some details from these and neighboring sections. The impregnation is scanty on a clear ground, with long courses of individual fibers clearly shown. There is no impregnation of
the lemniscus systems and but little of fibers descending from above the isthmus, so that the
intrinsic bulbar structures impregnated are well defined. In figures 37 and 38 the boundary between gray and white layers is marked by a broken line; in figure 39 the gray of the interpeduncular nucleus is stippled.
 
 
Fig. 37. — On the left side this section cuts through the base of the auricle and the floor of
the lateral recess. The right side is more dorsal and includes the superior visceral-gustatory
nucleus and its neuropil, within which are collaterals from tr. tecto-bulbaris rectus (p. 225).
On the left side, V root fibers arborize in the ventral part of the isthmic neuropil, and some of
them continue into the cerebellar commissure. Almost the entire course of the postfacial f .
solitarius is projected from several sections.
 
 
 
Fig. 38. — This section on the left cuts the superficial origins of the V, VII, and VIII nerve
roots and, farther forward, of the III root. The sensory V fibers are seen to bifurcate with more
slender ascending branches, most of which arborize in a neuropil, wliich is the primordiuni of
the superior sensory V nucleus of mammals. The prefacial f. solitarius fibers are smooth and
unbranched to their terminals rostrally and internally of the entering V root. Some impregnated fibers of the vestibular root (r. VIII.) extend forward to end within and rostrally of the
superior V neuropil, but these are not drawn. Internally of tlie trigeminal neuropil and confluent with it are terminals of ascending crossed and uncrossed fibers termed tr. bulbo-isthmialis
(fr.b.is.), which is continuous with tr. spiuo-bulbaris {tr.sp.b.). These fibers ascend and descend
from all levels of the medulla oblongata, many of them first decussating as internal or external
arcuate fibers. Many of them bifurcate into ascending and descending branches with or without
decussation. They accompany the spinal lemniscus and comprise a mixed bulbo-spinal and
spino-bulbar system.
 
 
Fig. 39. — This section, parallel with the ventral surface, illustrates the courses of some of
the external arcuate fibers, many of which are impregnated on the right side and none on
the left. Useful landmarks are provided by the decussation of Mauthner's fibers (fib.M.) and
two blood vessels, which, farther dorsally, are related with the roots of the V (b.r.V.) and VII
(b.r.VlI.) nerves. No fibers of lemniscus and secondary visceral systems are impregnated.
The visible fibers evidently are concerned chiefly with bulbar and spinal adjustments.
 
 
Figure .1,0. — Detail from a horizontal Golgi section of a late larva, showing the entrance of
the sensory V root and three neurons of the motor V nucleus. X 50. The dendrites extend
laterally to engage collaterals of the sensory root fibers, and in the adjoining section ventrally
other dendrites of these cells ramify downward into the ventral alba, engaging collaterals and terminals of the descending and ascending fibers of the ventral funiculus, here unstained.
Nothing except the elements drawn is impregnated in this region. Presumably, the axons of
these cells enter the motor V root, the unimpregnated myelinated fibers of which are here
darkened by the Golgi fluid.
 
 
Figures 41 to 44- — These semidiagrammatic sketches are made from horizontal Golgi sections of an advanced larva, with elective impregnation of the spinal lemniscus and a few other
details. X 30. The series contains 26 thick sections, numbered from ventral to dorsal. Sections
2, 3, and 4, illustrating innervation of the hypophysis, have been published ('42, figs. 56, 57,
58). Here sections 7, 10, 12, and 14 are drawn, with some additions in each case from intervening sections.
 
 
Fig. 41. — The section passes through the V and VHI roots, with impregnation of superficial
fascicles of descending fibers of both roots and ascending VHI fibers, some of which extend as
far as the cerebellum. No ascending sensory V fibers are impregnated. The loci of the III, IX,
and X roots farther dorsally are indicated by blood vessels which accompany these roots. The
thick arcuate fibers from the region of the calamus scriptorius enter a mixed tract marked
Im.sp., which here contains bulbo-spinal, spino-bulbar, spino-cerebellar, and spinal lemniscus
fibers. Most of the thin unmyelinated fibers here impregnated come from lower levels of the
spinal cord, and their further ascending course is shown in figures 42, 43, and 44. A few thick
fibers of the ventral funiculi are impregnated, some of which decussate in the ventral commissure below the auricle.
 
 
Fig. 42. — At this level, thick arcuate fibers in the vicinity of the first spinal roots descend in
the calamus region and after crossing join the spinal lemniscus. Some of these bifurcate with a
thick ascending branch and a slender descending. Farther forward under the auricle the
lemniscus fibers turn dorsalward in the ventral part of the isthmic neuropil, and here many of
them end. This is tr. bulbo-isthmialis of figures 38 and 39. The lemniscus fibers which continue
rostrad have collateral endings here. Other elective Golgi preparations from this lot show the
origin of spinal lemniscus fibers from the nuclei of the dorsal funiculus ('446).
 
 
Fig. 43. — This section cuts the III nerve root and its nucleus and, in the isthmic neuropil,
dispersed fibers of the spinal lemniscus and ascending VIII root. Medially of these are axons
emerging from the gray of the trigeminal tegmentum, which turn forward and arborize within
the gray of the isthmic tegmentum (p. 185).
 
 
Fig. 44. — At this level the few remaining impregnated fibers of the spinal lemniscus are
turning forward across the dorsal tegmentum to reach the dorsal thalamus. The crude drawing
gives a very inadequate picture of the delicacy of these widely branched terminal arborizations. The more numerous fibers of this tract, which arborize in the tectum, are not impregnated in this preparation (compare fig. 101 and '396, fig. 26). For the patterns of vascular
supply sketched in the left thalamus see page 27.
 
 
Figure 45. — Terminals of the dorsal lateral-line root of the facial nerve, from the right side
of a horizontal Golgi section of a late larva. X 50. Only three fibers of this root are impregnated, and each of these ramifies through almost the entire extent of the "dorsal island" of
the area acusticolateralis immediately spinalward of the auricle, which is the exclusive central
field reached by fibers of this root (compare fig. 33).
 
 
Figures ^6 and ^7. — Details from horizontal Golgi sections of an advanced larva. X 75.
 
 
Fig. 46. — A neuron of the anterodorsal part of the trigeminal tegmentum in the ventral
part of the auricle (p. 185). The plane of section is approximately that of figure 31.
 
 
Fig. 47. — A small neuron at the anteroventral border of the body of the cerebellum, where it
merges with the nucleus cerebelli. The slender dendrites extend outward into the dorsal part of
the isthmic neuropil, and the axon is directed forward and downward into the brachium conjunctivum. Fibers of the trigeminal component of the cerebellar commissure (com.cb.) are
approaching their decussation immediately dorsally of this level, as also are more scattered
fibers of the vestibulo-lateral component (com.cb.L).
 
 
Figure ^8. — Detail from a transverse Golgi section previously pictured ('42, fig. 43). X 50.
The small neuron of the dorsal tegmentum has a short axon, which ramifies in the deep
neuropil of the gray near the cell body and also dorsalward in the alba of the anterior end of
the nucleus posterior tecti. On the vascular loops {b.v.) seen here see page 27.
 
 
 
Figure 49. — A typical neuron of the dorsal tegmentum from a horizontal Golgi section of
an advanced larva. X 75. The ependymal surface is marked by a thin line at the left, the pial
surface by a thicker line at the right, and the outer border of the gray by a broken line. The
axon arises from the dendrite and is directed spinalward (downward in the figure) and probably enters tegmental fascicle (7). A similar neuron >Ji s-itu is shown in figure 44 of the
paper of 1942.
 
 
Figure 50. — Horizontal section through the decussation and spiral endings of the f. retroflexus (p. 197). Golgi method. X 50. The semidiagrammatic drawing is based on several adult
specimens, in each of which the fasciculus of both sides is massively impregnated from the
habenula to the interpedvuicular neuropil. All details drawn are visible in two sections of the
specimen outlined (no. 2229), wliich is, however, poorly preserved. Several otlier series of sections show the same relations more clearly, though the oblique planes of some of the sections are
less convenient. The considerable lateral obliquity of one of these gives an interesting view of
the interior of the spiral. In these specimens the spiral endings are impregnated for about twothirds of the distance between the decussation and the level of the V'roots.
 
 
Figures 51 and 52. — Two adjoining horizontal Golgi sections of a late larva, illustrating the
decussation and spiral terminals of the f . retroflexus, which is impregnated on only one side.
The right side is more ventral. X 50.
 
 
Figures 53 and 54. — Two adjacent thick horizontal Golgi sections from an advanced larva.
X 50.
 
 
Fig. 53. — At the level of the fovea isthmi (f.i.) and the decussation of the f. retroflexus.
Laterally of the interpeduncular neuropil are impregnated fibers of tr. olfacto-peduncularis,
with endings by open arborizations in this neuropil; compare figure 59, cut in a similar plane a
little more dorsally.
 
 
Fig. 54. — Ventrally and posteriorly of the decussation only a few isolated fibers of f. retroflexus are impregnated, and tr. olfacto-peduncularis is terminating in the ventral interpeduncular neuropil in the same area as the spiral. The tufted endings seen here are not derived
from either of these tracts.
 
 
 
Figure 55. — Detail of the spiral course of fibers of the f . retroflexus below the decussation,
from a horizontal Golgi section of a late larva. X 50. In the interpeduncular neuropil nothing
but these three fibers is impregnated, so there is no possibility of confusion.
 
 
Figures 56, 57, 5S.- — Three horizontal Golgi sections of an adult brain, in which the right
f . retroflexus is unstained and the left fasciculus is abundantly impregnated from the habenula
to its decussation. X 50. Some details of the decussation are added to figure 58 from the section
adjoining it ventrally. The impregnation fails spinalward of the decussation. The left fasciculus
shows an atypical division into two bundles as it enters the alba of the peduncle (p. 262).
 
 
Figure 59.- — An obliquely horizontal section through the superficial origins of the III roots,
advanced larva. X 50. Here it is in about the plane of figure 30, but sharply inclined to the
horizontal plane, with the posterior end more ventral and the anterior end more dorsal than
that level. Impregnated fibers of the olfacto-peduncular tract pass the region of the fovea isthmi and then turn medially. Most of them end in the interpeduncular neuropil with open
arborizations, though some extend farther spinalward (compare figs. 53, 54). From this neuropil slender axons of the dorsal interpedunculo-bulbar tract descend near the mid-plane and
soon turn laterally to end in a dense axonic neuropil at the ventral border of the caudal end of
the tegmentum isthmi and rostral end of the tegmentum trigemini. Here they engage dendrites
of the smaller neurons of this region. Other preparations show that some of these fibers extend
spinalward as far as the IX nerve roots.
 
 
Figures 60 to 6^. — These drawings present additional details from a series of transverse
Golgi sections (no. 2246), which has already been quite fully described and illustrated in the
sector of the brain stem between the interventricular foramen and the nucleus of the IV nerve
('27, pp. 271, 278, figs. 22-40). Those figures were drawn from sections selected from nos.
55-97 of the series. Section 88 was subsequently drawn on a larger scale to show some details
of structure, including the arrangement of the tegmental fascicles, at the level of the III nerve
roots ('42, fig. 44). Figures 60-64 extend the series spinalward (X 50), with special reference to
the interpeduncular connections of the tegmentum, which are here well impregnated. These
tegmento-interpeduncular fibers comprise one component of the complex f. tegmentalis profundus (p. 286), and the incomplete references to them made in 1927 can now be clarified and
rectified. In this specimen there is no impregnation of the f . retroflexus or tr. olfacto-peduncularis. A few neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus are incompletely stained, but apparently
no axons from these cells are impregnated. The dense interpeduncular neuropil here seen is composed almost exclusively of axons from the tegmentum and tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis.
Terminals of the latter, when separately impregnated, are seen to be of more open texture than
the dense vertically arranged terminal tufts of the tegmento-interpeduncular fibers (fig. 60).
The two types of terminals are closely interwoven with each other and with tufted terminals
derived from axons of neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus (not here impregnated) .
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 60. — This section lies between the nuclei of the III and IV nerves, i.e., between the
levels of figures 92 and 93, at about the level of figure 13 of 1936 and two sections rostrally of
figure 39 of 1927. The drawing is a composite, containing some details from the two adjoining
sections. Axons from both dorsal and isthmic tegmentum descend in the f. tegmentalis profundus, some terminating in the underlying interpeduncular neuropil and some of thicker caliber decussating in the ventral commissure (fr.ieg.b.), where collaterals separate from them to
end in tufts of the interpeduncular neuropil. In figure 39 of 1927 these decussating fibers are
called tr. tegmento-peduncularis, and the same fibers are here called tr. tegmento-bulbaris.
Both designations are correct. The larger number of these fibers after decussation turn spinalward, some sending collaterals forward also. Others turn rostrad into the peduncle.
 
 
Fig. 61.— This section passes through the nucleus of the IV nerve, and the three neurons
impregnated probably belong to this nucleus. Approximately the same plane is illustrated in
several published figures ('25, figs. 9, 19; '36, fig. 14; '42, fig. 43). At this level the myelinated fibers of the ventral median fascicles (1) are turning laterally to enter tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus in the position of the broken lines under the gray of the interpeduncular nucleus. The
thick fibers of tr. tegmcnto-bulbaris shown in figure 60 are here reduced in number, and the
thin fibers of tr. tegmento-interpeduncularis are more numerous. These terminals and those of
tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis enter into the dense axonic interpeduncular neuropil.
 
 
Pig 62. This detail is from the lower part of the interpedimcular nucleus rostrally of the
 
V nerve roots, not far from the plane of figure 91. There is impregnation of a typical large
neuron of the trigeminal tegmentum and a smaller element at the border of the interpeduncular
nucleus. In the interpeduncular neuropil the visible fibers are nearly all derived from the
overlying tegmentum, with perhaps some terminals of tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis. At this
level the ventral fascicles (4), (5), and (6) have united to form a compact f. longitudinalis
medialis, and the dorsal fascicles spread out laterally into the isthmic neuropil and bulbar
tegmentum (compare the horizontal sections, figs. 29-32).
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 63. — Detail of floor-plate structure immediately caudad of the V nerve roots. Though
the interpeduncular nucleus is not considered to extend as far spinalward as this level, the
lateral and dorsal interpeduncular axonic neuropil is still rather dense (compare figs. 79, 81).
The fibers impregnated here are derived chiefly from the overlying tegmentum, and some of
them descend as far as the VII roots accompanying the dorsal and ventral tr. interpedunculobulbaris, which is not impregnated in this specimen. Two typical ependymal elements of the
bulbar tegmentum are drawn.
 
 
Fig. 64. — This is a similar sketch of the ventral median raphe at the level of the VII nerve
roots. A remnant of the tegmento-interpeduncular neuropil persists, and this extends no
farther spinalward, though other preparations show that axons from the interpeduncular
nucleus reach at least as far as the IX nerve roots. The ependyma here is more compact and
mossy than at the level of the trigeminus.
 
 
Figures 65 and 66.— Two transverse sections through the interpeduncular region at the
level of transition between the isthmic and the trigeminal tegmentum of the adult. X 50.
Each figure is a composite of two adjacent sections, so that four consecutive sections are represented in the two drawings.
 
 
Sections taken farther forward from this well-impregnated series have been shown ('42,
figs. 45-47). Between the levels of the III and IV nuclei, tr. tegmento-interpeduncularis is selectively stained, with tufted endings in the interpeduncular neuropil similar to those shown
in figures 61 and 6:2. At the level of figure 65 only a few of these fibers are impregnated and
also a few neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus with dendrites extending downward into the
interpeduncular neuropil.
 
 
In figure 66 the neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus are seen to have thick dendrites
extending laterally to ramify widely in the alba of the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum and
thinner dendrites directed ventrally into the interpeduncular neuropil. Both dendritic and
axonic arborizations enter the glomerulus-like tufts; but, in order to clarify their relations,
only the dendritic component is drawn on the left side and the axonic component on the
right (compare figs. 83, 84).
 
 
Figure 67.- — Transverse section through the middle of the interpeduncular nucleus of a halfgrown larva. X 75. The broken line marks the outline of the gray substance. The Golgi impregnation is scanty, showing in this region only a few decussating fibers of tr. tegmento-bulbaris on a clear ground. The more dorsal of the two fibers shown is sketched from the adjoining
section spinalward. These thick axons probably arise from unimpregnated cells of the isthmic
tegmentum, as shown in figiu-e 68. In the ventral commissure, where these fibers decussate,
slender collaterals leave them to ramify in the interpeduncular nucleus and its neuropil.
 
 
Figure 6S. — A diagram based on Golgi sections of a larval Arablystoma from the same lot
as figure 67. X 75. The sections are obliquely transverse. The section outlined is in about the
same plane as figure 67 on the right and passes through the auricle on the left. The details are
from this and the two adjoining sections. Everything drawn was observed, but the assembly is
schematic. Thick axons of neurons of the isthmic tegmentum {tr.feg.b.) converge into the ventral commissure, where slender collaterals separate from them to arborize in tufted form in the
interpeduncular neuropil.
 
 
Figures 69 a/id 70. — These two drawings illustrate details of the interpeduncular region at
and immediately rostrally of the nucleus of the IV nerve (compare the diagram, fig. 68).
X 50. The impregnation of the transverse Golgi sections of this adult brain is exceptionally
good, and it has been quite fidly illustrated (';*7. figs. ^4-30; U, figs. 24-31).
 
 
Fig. 69. — This section is adjacent posteriorly to the one shown in figure 30 of 1942, to which
reference may be made for the topographic relations. In both figures the bundles of myelinated
fibers of the ventral and ventromedian tegmental fascicles are outlined with broken lines. In
the interpeduncular region of the section here shown, there is no impregnation of any nervous
elements except a few fibers of tr. tegmento-bulbaris at their decussation in the ventral commissure. Within the commissure slender collaterals descend into the interpeduncular neuropil,
where some of them have tufted endings.
 
 
Fig. 70.^This is drawn from the second section spinalward of figure 69, through the nucleus
of the IV nerve, one neuron of which is impregnated. Thick myelinated axons of the IV nerve
root (darkened by the Golgi fluid) ascend from this nucleus in the position indicated by broken
lines. Typical ependymal elements of the ventral raphe are drawn.
 
 
Figure 71. — Obliquely longitudinal section of the adult brain taken not far from the midsagittal plane, with the dorsal and anterior sides inclined somewhat laterally, so that almost
the entire length of the f. retroflexus appears in a single thick Golgi section. Golgi method.
X 30. The drawing is semidiagrammatic, with some details added to the section outlined from
neighboring sections and from the opposite side.
 
 
At the point where tr. cortico-habenularis medialis joins the stria medullaris, numberless
fine collaterals separate from it to enter the eminentia thalami. The section cuts the optic
nerve at its junction with the brain. Peripherally, each optic nerve between the foramen and
the brain shows several hundred impregnated unmyelinated fibers, most of which lose the stain
before entering the brain. The surviving impregnated fibers decussate in chiasmatic bundles 1
(ch.l.) at the extreme anteroventral angle of the chiasma and ascend toward the tectum as the
most rostral fibers of the marginal optic tract, losing the stain before reaching the tectum
("42, p. 232).
 
 
The abundant impregnation of the f . retroflexus extends only as far as the decussation, below which its fibers are unstained. As these fibers turn medially toward the decussation, many
of them separate and descend uncrossed along the lateral margin of the interpeduncular neuropil. The locus of the sidcus isthmi on the ventricular siu-face is projected upon the drawing as a thick broken line. In the posterior hp of this fissure there is massive elective impregnation of
the brachium conjunctivura and the locus of the decussation of these fibers more medially is
marked by three crosses. Before and after crossing, many of these fibers turn spinalvvard in
the superficial alba of the isthmic tegmentum.
 
 
Figures 72 and 7S. — Two semidiagrammatic drawings from an obliquely longitudinal series
of Golgi sections of an adult brain. The sections are cut at an angle of about 30° from the
sagittal plane, with dorsal and posterior sides more lateral.
 
 
Fig. 72. — These details are assembled from several consecutive sections to illustrate some
components of the complex of fibers at the di-telencephalic boundary. X 25. Only some of
the thicker unmyelinated axons are impregnated in this preparation. The ventral border at the
 
 
 
 
left is near the median plane, and posteriorly of this place the section is inclined laterally. At
the posteroventral border of the primordium hippocampi some thick fibers are seen to converge
at the thalamic junction, and Weigert sections show that a few of them are myelinated. The larger number of these fibers descend to the hippocampal commissure, and a smaller number a.scend
in the stria medullaris thalami as tr. cortico-habenularis medialis. Others descend obliquely posteroventrad into the ventral thalamus, passing through and posteriorly of the gray of the
eminentia thalami^ — tr. cortico-thalamicus medialis. This is the precursor of the mammalian
columna fornicis, but here apparently none of these fibers reach the mamillary region of the
hypothalamus. These thick fibers are accompanied by far more numerous very thin fibers,
some of which arise as collaterals from the decussating fibers of the hippocampal commissure
(fig. 71). An impregnated neuron of the bed-nucleus of the anterior commissure ridge is
sketched from the most lateral of the sections here represented. Its dendrites spread dorsally
and ventrally among the hippocampal fibers; the course of the axon is not revealed.
 
 
The well-impregnated fibers of tr. thalamo-frontalis arise from the cells of the dorsal
thalamus shown in figure 73. In the chiasma ridge, chiasmatic bundles 2 and 3 of optic fibers
are impregnated, and their terminals in the lateral part of the tectum are seen at the top of the figure. The details of this optic connection have been pubHshed ('42, p. 235). The fibers of
f . tegmentaHs profundus seen at the right are ascending from their decussation in the ventral
commissure to spread superficially over the lateral aspect of the isthmic tegmentum. Most of
these fibers belong to the brachium conjunctivum.
 
 
Fig. 73. — Section more medially, showing details of the origin of the f. retroflexus from the
habenula. X 50. The drawing is a combination of three adjoining sections. Only the thicker
axons of the fasciculus are here impregnated. These surround a dense fascicle of thinner unstained fibers. The fibers here impregnated arise from neurons of the habenula, from others
more posteriorly in the pars intercalaris, and probably also from some of the impregnated
neurons of the pars dorsalis thalami. None of these stained fibers reach the interpeduncular
nucleus. They spread out in the alba of the posteroventral part of the peduncle, some turning
forward into area ventrolateralis pedunculi. The dendrites of the impregnated neurons of the
dorsal thalamus extend dorsally among terminals of tr. tecto-thalamicus rectus and also for
long distances posteroventrally, accompanying the f . retroflexus into the area of the primordial
geniculate bodies (pp. 221, 238). Sections taken more laterally show abundant impregnation of
axons from this group of cells which enter tr. thalamo-frontalis (fig. 72).
 
 
Figures 74 to 78. — Five sagittal sections of the adult brain, illustrating the composition of
the stria medullaris thalami (p. 256 and fig. 20). X 37. The sections were prepared by the
reduced silver method of Cajal and cut at 10 n slightly oblique to the sagittal plane, with the
dorsal and rostral sides more lateral (compare "36, figs. 17-79, where the dorsoventral obliquity
is in the reverse direction). In these sections the thickest axons, both myelinated and unmyelinated, are black, and the thinner fibers range through gray to brown or yellow, so that components of the stria are well dififerentiated.
 
 
Fig. 74. — This cuts through the di-telencephalic junction near its lateral border, passing
through the olfacto-peduncular tract below, and above this through the dorsal and ventral
fascicles of the lateral forebrain bundle. The artery (r.h.m.) lies in the floor of the stem-hemisphere fissure. Here four components of the stria medullaris converge, two of them- — tr. olfactohabenularis anterior and lateralis — passing up from the ventral surface externally of the lateral
forebrain bundles.
 
 
Fig. 75. — In the region of the stem-hemisphere fissure the section passes medially of the
lateral forebrain bundles, showing the connection of tr. olfacto-habenularis medialis and tr.
septo-habenularis with the stria. Ventrally the plane of section is not far from that of figure
103; dorsally it is much more lateral.
 
 
Fig. 76. — At this level tr. cortico-habenularis medialis enters the stria and ascends as its
mo.st rostral member. All components of the stria are distributing fibers in the habenular
neuropil, posteriorly of which several of the tracts retain their identity. Fibers of tr. habenulothalamicus which recurve spinalward over the gray of the dorsal thalamus have been seen to
connect only with the ventral habenular nucleus. This tract includes also thalamo-habenular
fibers. The boundary of the gray of the eminentia thalami is marked by a broken line.
 
 
Fig. 77. — A large proportion of the fibers of all components are here dispersed in the habenular neuropil. A residue of fibers is accumulated posteriorly in a commissural bundle, within
which the following components can be identified: tr. cortico-habenularis lateralis and medialis,
tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior, tr. amygdalo-habenularis.
 
 
Fig. 78. — In this section, 300 ^ from the mid-plane, the limits of the gray of the dorsal
habenular nucleus (corresponding with the medial nucleus of mammals) and of the pretectal
nucleus are marked by broken lines. Most of the habenidar neuropil has disappeared. Some
fibers from this residue enter the habenular commissure, but most of the crossing fibers are
derived from recognizable tracts. The thickest fibers cross at the anterior end of the commissure. These apparently are derived chiefly from tr. amygdalo-habenularis, with additions from
other components. The thinner fibers of the commissural bundle include clearly some residue
of tr. cortico-habenularis lateralis and medialis and tr. olfacto-habenularis anterior.
 
 
Figures 79 and SO.— Two adjoining obliquely sagittal Golgi sections of the adult brain, illustrating some components of the interpeduncular neuropil. In this specimen the finest axons are
richly impregnated, especially the deep neuropil of the gray substance, which is continuous
throughout the tectum, peduncle, and dorsal, isthmic, and bulbar tegmentum. In the area illustrated it receives fibers from the fields dorsally and anteriorly, and from it axons descend to the isthmic and bulbar tegmentum. All cell bodies are imbedded in this dense fibrillar reticulum. On
these small-scale drawings it is impossible to portray the delicacy and complexity of this tissue,
and the attempt is made to indicate the general trend of its coarser fibers.
 
 
Fig. 79. — This section is median in the floor of the ventricle from the fovea isthmi to the
level of the IX nerve roots. X 40. The ventricular floor from the fovea to the tuberculum
posterius is projected from two adjacent sections, as indicated by a dotted line. This section is
very thick and is so inclined dorsoventrally as to include above the ventricular floor a thin
slice of the nucleus of the tubercidum posterius, tegmentum isthmi, and rostral end of the
trigeminal tegmentum of one side, ^'entrally of the ventricular floor in the isthmus region the
section cuts the interpeduncular nucleus and neuropil close to the mid-plane on the opposite
side. The level of the VIII nerve roots is indicated by the decussation of Mauthner's fibers,
from which one of the fibers is seen descending. The other fiber appears in the adjacent section
24. From the latter section tlie portion of tr. interpedunculo-bulbaris dorsalis (ir.inp.b.d.)
spinalward of this decussation is added to the drawing, showing that some fibers of this tract
descend as far as the level of the IX nerve roots. None of its fibers have been seen to extend
farther spinalward. The ventral division of this tract {Ir.inp.h.r.), on the contrary, goes much
farther, perhaps as far as the spinal cord.
 
 
At the fovea isthmi several ependymal elements are impregnated, and a small artery here
enters the foveal pit at the ventral surface. These ependymal elements are crossed by unimpregnated myelinated fibers of the ventral tegmental fascicles {f.m.f.{l)), as indicated by dashed
lines. A single small neuron of the nucleus of the tuberculum posterius is impregnated. Its
dendrites spread downward among slender tortuous axons of tr. mamillo-peduncularis, which
form a dense neuropil in the gray of the peduncle. In this plane no fibers of tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis are stained, but they are abundant farther laterally.
 
 
Unimpregnated cell bodies of the interpeduncular nucleus are clearly visible, arranged as
indicated by the dotted outlines. Among these and ventrally of them is dense neuropil, very
inadequately shown in the drawing. These fibers are derived in part from tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis and from the overlying tegmentum, and in larger part they are axons of the cells
of the interpeduncular nucleus. These axons take tortuous courses, mainly directed dorsalward
into the isthmic and trigeminal tegmentum and spinalward into the dorsal and ventral interpedunculo-bulbar tracts. From them arise numberless collaterals which ramify in the interpeduncular neuropil and enter the glomeruli (fig. 83).
 
 
Fig. 80.— The adjoining section. X 75. The ependymal floor of the ventricle is slightly to one
side of the mid-plane, ventrally of which the section is inclined laterally. Heavy broken lines
mark the upper and lower limits of the zone of unimpregnated cell bodies of the interpeduncular
nucleus. Scattered cells of this nucleus are distributed in the underlying neuropil except its
ventral part. Above this zone of den.sely crowded cells are the less crowded cells of the isthmic
and trigeminal tegmentum, none of which are impregnated. One neuron of the interpeduncular
nucleus is impregnated with dendrite directed ventrally into the neuropil. Fragments of other
dendrites, with tufted terminals in glomeruli, are spread throughout tlie neuropil, some of
which are drawn (compare figs. 65, 66, 81-84). There is no other impregnation in the ventral
interpeduncular neuropil containing the unimpregnated spiral endings of the f. retroflexus,
but dorsally of this there are stained axons of various sorts among the dendrites. These are not
drawn, except those lying between the cells of the interpeduncular nucleus and the myelinated
fibers of the ventral commissure, the most dorsal bundles of which are outlined with dotted
lines. Most of the.se immyelinated fibers enter tr. interpeduncvdo-bulbaris dorsalis. The interpeduncular neuropil is broadly connected with the overlyiiig tegmental neuropil by fibers
passing in both directions. In this plane (not drawn) there are a few fibers of tr. niamillo-interpeduncularis and more of them farther laterally.
 
 
Figure ,Si .—Obliquely sagittal Golgi section of an adult brain taken close to the mid-plane.
X 60. Some other sections of this specimen have been published (fig. 101; '25, figs. 14, 40).
The plane of section of this figure is similar to that of figure 79, but somewhat more oblique.
The ventral surface is nearly median in the isthmus, and dorsally and anteriorly of this the
plane is inclined laterally. Since the sections are very thick, the dorsal ventricular border of the
tuberculum posterius (indicated by the dotted line), and a slice of the lateral wall dorsally of it
are included in the section outlined. The detail is drawn from this section and the adjacent
section laterally. The four components of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius (p. 302) and the dorsal fascicles of the ventral commissure posteriorly of the fovea isthmi are outlined
with dotted lines. The decussation of the anterior division of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus in the
ventral median tegmental fascicles {J.m.t.{l)) is indicated by dashed lines (compare '36, fig. 2).
 
 
A neuron of the dorsal (mamillary) part of the hypothalamus and the dendrite of another
are impregnated. Their axons branch, and one branchlet enters tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis.
This tract partially decussates in component 1 of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius
(the retroinfundibular commissure of the literature), and its slender unmyelinated fibers arborize in the rostral part of the interpeduncular neuropil chiefly laterally of the plane here
shown (compare '36, figs. 3, 8, 20). Two ependymal elements are drawn. These lie near the
ventral median raphe under the cerebellum (compare figs. 63, 64, 70).
 
 
Unimpregnated cell bodies of the interpeduncular nucleus are scattered under the ependymal surface and among the myelinated median fascicles and ventral commissure bundles. A
well-impregnated dendrite of one of these is drawn; it has a tufted terminal near the ventral
surface (compare figs. 62, 65, 66, 80, 82). There is scanty and very clear impregnation of some
of the coarser fibers of the interpeduncular neuropil. Those in its anterior part are derived chiefly from tr. mamillo-interpeduncularis and probably some from tr. olfacto-peduncularis, which
is partially impregnated more laterally (fig. 101). More posteriorly the visible fibers all seem to
be axons of cells of the interpeduncular nucleus which assemble to descend in the dorsal and
ventral interpedunculo-bulbar tracts.
 
 
Figure 82.— k semidiagrammatic drawing of a thick Golgi section from an obliquely sagittal
series of an adult brain. X 37. The section is nearly median posteriorly (at the right), and
anteriorly it is much more lateral, including the f. retroflexus in the peduncle. Some fibers of
this fa.sciculus descend uncrossed into the interpeduncular neuropil. Mingled with the uncros.sed fibers of the f. retroflexus are thicker and smoother fibers of tr. olfacto-peduncularis,
some of which enter the interpeduncular neuropil. Dorsally of these is the mamillo-peduncular
tract, comprising ventral tegmental fascicle (3), and still farther dorsally are fibers of tegmental
fascicle (6), which come from the postoptic commissure. These tegmental fascicles contain both
myelinated and unmyelinated fibers, and both sorts are here darkened by the Golgi treatment.
Between the two tegmental fascicles just mentioned are the darkened thick myelinated fibers
of the anterior division of tr. tecto-bulbaris cruciatus (f.m.1.{l)), some of which decussate near
the fovea isthmi dorsally of the olfacto-peduncular fibers and others descend in the ventral
median fascicles. One neuron of the interpeduncular nucleus is well impregnated and dendrites
of several others, all of which exhibit the characteristic dendritic tufts. No ependyma, spiral
fibers, or axonic tufts are impregnated in the interpeduncular neuropil. The scanty axonic
neuropil is probably composed exclusively of terminals of uncrossed fibers of the f. retroflexus
and olfacto-peduncular tract.
 
 
Figure SJ.— Diagram of a neuron of the interpeduncular nucleus, seen as projected upon
the median sagittal section. X 40. This is a composite drawing from observations made on
many sections cut in various planes. Compare figures 19 and 84.
 
 
Figure 84. — Diagram of the composition of the interpeduncular glomeruli. X 45. This
drawing, like figure 79, shows the median section of the floor plate and dorsally of this an
oblique slice of the overlying tegmentum. Two neurons of the interpeduncular nucleus are
drawn. Tufted collaterals from the axon of the anterior element engage dendritic glomeruli of
the posterior element. Tufted axonic terminals enter glomeruli from small cells of the isthmic
and trigeminal tegmentum and also from collaterals of tr. tegmento-bulbaris, which arises from
large cells of the same tegmental areas. Compare figures 19 and 83.
 
 
Figure 85. — The lateral aspect of the adult brain, drawn from the same wax model as figure
lA. X 15. This drawing shows the courses of the four most superficial components of the stria
medullaris thalami seen as projected upon the lateral surface (fig. 20 and chap, xviii). Tractus
olfacto-habenularis lateralis (2) goes directly dorsally from the preoptic nucleus. Tractus
olfacto-habenularis anterior arises in ventral (3) and dorsal (4) divisions from the anterior
olfactory nucleus. Tractus cortico-habenularis lateralis (5) arises from the primordial piriform
lobe and joins no. 4 before entering the stria medullaris.
 
 
 
Figure 86A, B, and C— The brains of A. tigrinum and Necturus drawn to approximately
the same scale.
 
 
A.— Lateral aspect of the brain of A. tigrinum and its arteries. After Roofe ('35). X 7.5.
Drawn after fixation in 10 per cent formalin for six weeks.
 
 
B. — Lateral aspect of the cerebrum of Necturus. This and figure 86C are copied from 1933c,
figures 3 and 4. X 8.
 
 
(2 — Median section of the brain of Necturus (compare fig. 2). In the thalamus and midbrain
the section is median, and the dotted lines indicate ventricular sulci which mark the boundaries
of the chief cellular areas. In the cerebral hemisphere the section is slightly to one side of the
mid-plane, and the dotted lines indicate the boundaries of cellular areas with limits marked
internally by ventricular sulci.
 
 
 
The section pictures which follow are here reproduced from previous publications (with
minor alterations in some instances), and more complete descriptions will be found in the
references cited.
 
 
Figures 87 to 91.- — Five transverse sections of the adult medulla oblongata. Method of
Wiegert. X 37. These are copies, respectively, of figures 5, 3, 2, and 1 of 19446 and figure 16
of 1936, drawn from the type specimen, no. IIC.
 
 
Fig. 87. — Section taken immediately below the calamus scriptorius through the commissural nucleus and the com. infima of Haller.
 
 
Fig. 88. — Through the lower vagus region and the most anterior ventral rootlet of the first
spinal nerve.
 
 
Fig. 89 .^At the level of the IX nerve roots. A rootlet of the \T nerve emerges in this section. The two lateral-line roots of the vagus enter immediately rostrally of this level.
 
 
Fig. 90. — Section taken immediately below the superficial origin of the V nerve roots, including the posterior part of the motor V nucleus.
 
 
Fig. 91. — Section through the cerebellum, auricle, and rostral end of the trigeminal tegmentum.
 
 
Figure 92. — Transverse section immediately spinalward of the nucleus of the IV nerve.
X 37. Ventrally it passes through the posterior end of the infundibulum and dorsally through
the junction of superior and inferior colliculi. The Arabic numbers in parentheses refer to the
tegmental fascicles described in chapter xx. This is a copy of figure 14 of 1936, drawn from a
reduced silver preparation, method of Rogers.
 
 
Figure 93. — Semidiagrammatic transverse section at the level of the III nerve roots. X 37.
Copied from figure 14 of 1942. The layers of the tectum and some of its afferent tracts are
shown on the left side and efferent tracts on the right.
 
 
Figure 9^. — Section through the rostral border of the commissure of the tuberculum posterius. X 37. Copy of figure 10 of 1936 and drawn from the same specimen as figure 92.
 
 
Figures 95 to 100.- — These are obliquely transverse sections (ventral side inclined spinalward), copied, with some alterations, from the paper of 1927, where full descriptions will be
found. X 25. They are from the brain of a recently metamorphosed adult from Colorado, prepared by the Golgi method. The drawings are composite, the outlines and much of the detail
being derived from the specimen mentioned, supplemented by additional details selected from
20 other specimens cut in the transverse plane and stained by the methods of Golgi, Weigert,
and Cajal.
 
 
Fig. 95. — Through the habenular commissure and the posterior border of the po.stoptic
commissure ('27, fig. 20).
 
 
Fig. 96. — Through the rostral border of the chiasma ridge and the middle of the eminentia
thalami. By reason of the obliquity of the section, it passes rostrally of the habenulae ('27,
fig. 15). The cellular area marked p.v.ih. is the nucleus of the olfacto-habenular tract (p. 248).
 
 
Fig. 97.- — Through the hippocampal commissure and the decussation of the lateral forebrain
bundles in the anterior commissure ("27, fig. 12).
 
 
Fig. 98. — Immediately in front of the lamina terminalis. On the right side is a characteristic
impregnation of the neuropil of the corpus striatum. In the preparation drawn, only the
dendritic component of the neuropil is impregnated ("27, fig. 9).
 
 
Fig. 99. — Section about 0.1 mm. anterior to the last, through the mid-septal region. The
head of the caudate nucleus is here at its maximum size. In the ventrolateral wall on the right
side the neuropil of the corpus striatum, in the preparation here drawn, has only the axonic
component impregnated (cf. fig. 108). These contorted and branched axons are interlaced with
the dendrites shown in figure 98, and the boundary of this area of dense neuropil is sharply
defined ('27, fig. 8).
 
 
Fig. lOO.^Section through the middle of the olfactory bulb and the extreme anterior border
of the primordium hippocampi. It includes also the posterior border of the f. postolfactorius
("27, fig. 4).
 
 
 
Figure 101.- — Semidiagrammatic sagittal section of the adult brain, Golgi method. X 35.
The section is oblique, with the dorsal side somewhat more lateral, cut in a plane which includes
almost the whole length of the lateral forebrain bundles and tr. olfacto-peduncularis. In the
tectal neuropil there are typical endings of the spinal lemniscus and tr. strio-tectalis (copied
from '42, fig. 17).
 
 
 
Figures 102, 103, /O^.^Three sagittal sections from the brain of a specimen from Colorado
prepared about two weeks after metamorphosis by the reduced silver method of Rogers. The
sections are slightly oblique, with the dorsal surface and caudal end more medial. X 37.
In this series of sections the courses of the tegmental fascicles can be clearly followed. These
pictures are selected from a series published in 1936.
 
 
Fig. 102. — The section passes through the middle of the gray substance of the tectum opticum at its widest part and shows the courses of the lateral forebrain bundles and lemniscus
systems ('36, fig. 17).
 
 
Fig. 103.- — Section taken 0.17 mm. more medially and showing the arrangement of the more
medial tegmental fascicles ('36, fig. 18).
 
 
Fig. 104. — Section taken 0.16 mm. more medially and about 0.1 mm. from the mid-plane
at the tuberculum posterius. It includes the interstitial nucleus of the f . longitudinalis medialis
{nuc.tub.p.) and the nuclei of the III and IV nerves ('36, fig. 22).
 
 
 
Fig. 105. — Semidiagrammatic horizontal section through the dorsal border of the olfactory
bulb and dorsal sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus of the adult. X 50. The medial border
(at the right) is slightly inclined ventrally. The diagram is based on sections of a single specimen. The details pictured have all been observed, but the assembling is a .schematic composition ('34, fig. 1). The histological structure of the olfactory bulb as seen in horizontal sections
is shown in figure 110. Figure 105 is a similar diagram at a more dorsal level. Two mitral cells
(1) are drawn and a typical granule cell (2). Two elements of transitional type (3) in the
stratum granidare send slender axons to the anterior olfactory nucleus, three neurons (//) of
which are drawn. Farther back there are three typical neurons of the primordium hippocampi
(6') and one of the primordium pirifornie (-5).
 
 
 
Fig. 106.^ — Detail of the neuropil of the gray substance of the dorsal sector of the anterior
olfactory nucleus in the plane of figure 105 and from the same specimen ('34, fig. 2). Golgi
method. X 100. Only the axonic component of the neuropil is here impregnated. The positions
of the unimpregnated cell bodies are indicated by the dotted outlines.
 
 
Fig. 107. — This is a detail of the neuropil of the gray substance of the rostral part of the
corpus striatum of the adult frog, Rana pipiens ('34, fig. 3). Golgi method. X 142. The section pictured is obliquely longitudinal, inclined about 45° from the horizontal plane, witli
the ventricular border more ventral. The rostral end is above. The impregnation is similar to
that shown in figure 106. One small neuron of the striatal gray is impregnated.
 
 
Figure 108. — Neuropil of the anterior olfactory nucleus and corpus striatum, as seen in an
obliquely horizontal section of the adult brain. The right side is more dorsal ('42, fig. 15).
Golgi method. X 50. The section pa.sses through the right hemisphere near the ventral surface,
including the ventral sector of the anterior olfactory nucleus and the ventral border of the
gray of the corpus striatum {c.s., here unimpregnated). Laterally of this gray is the striatal
neuropil {c.s.n.), in which only the axonic component is impregnated (cf. fig. 99). Rostrally of
the striatal gray is the extreme ventral border of the neuropil of the caudate nucleus, the structure of which is .shown in figure 109.
 
 
 
 
Figure 109.— An obliquely longitudinal section through the ventrolateral border of the
adult hemisphere ('42, fig. 16). (lolgi method. X 80. The section is inclined to the sagittal
plane, with the anterior and dorsal sides much more lateral. It cuts the accessory olfactory
bulb and the anterior end of the caudate nucleus, whose gray {nucxaud.) is unimpregnated.
Above and externally of this is a dense impregnation of the caudate neuropil with sharply
defined borders. Some unimpregnated cell bodies are enmeshed within this neuropil, only the
axonic component of which is impregnated. This neuropil is continuous with that of the
remainder of the striatal complex shown in figure 108. Anteriorly of it, six neurons of the anterior olfactory nucleus are impregnated.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure llOA, B.— Diagrams of the structure of the olfactory bulb as seen in horizontal
section of the adult brain.
 
 
A. The outline is taken from a section at the widest part of the olfactory bulb and the
elements are drawn to scale from several Golgi sections, most of them from the same specimen
('246, fig. 1). X 50. Glomeruli are outlined with dotted lines. The approximate locus of figure
hob' is indicated. The following types of neurons have been described: (1) periglomeridar
cells; (2) mitral cells; (3) subglomerular tufted cells; (4) granule cells; (5) cells intermediate
between granules and neurons of nucleus olfactorius anterior; (6) transitional cells of nucleus
olfactorius anterior.
 
 
B._The layers of the olfactory bulb as seen in horizontal section after fixation in formalinZenker followed by Mallory's stain ('246, fig. 4). X 150.
 
 
 
Figure 111. — Lateral aspect of the forebraiii of Necturus (cf. fig. 86B), upou which some
olfacto-somatic pathways are projected (*33e, fig. 1). X 8. Olfactory tracts are drawn in
broken lines, descending tracts in solid lines, and the thalamic radiations and their connections
are in red lines (p. 102). Connections with the epithalamus and hypothalamus are omitted.
 
 
Figure 112. — Median section of the brain of Necturus (cf. fig. 86C), upon which some of
the descending pathways from the cerebral hemisphere to the hypothalamus and epithalamus
are projected (p. 268) ('33p, fig. 2). X 8.
 
 
Figure 113. — Diagram illustrating the relations of projection and association fibers in the
cerebral hemispheres of Necturus as seen in transverse section a short distance rostrally of the
lamina terminalis (p. 102). The gray substance is outlined by a broken line. Descending fibers
arc drawn on the left, ascending and pallial association fibers on the right ("34, fig. 7). X 16.
 
 
 
 
The following list includes all abbreviations on the figures and a few others used in previous
publications. Reference may also be made to the list appended to the monograph on Necturus
('336, pp. 280-88), where synonyms of many of these terms are given, with references to the
literature. For reference to published lists of tracts see page 270, and for nomenclature of
blood vessels see the paper of 1935 and Roofe ('35).
 
 
c.s.v.n., neuropil of c.s.v.
cb., cerebellum
cell M., cell of Mauthner
ch., chiasma opticum
col.inf., celliculus inferior = nuc.p.t.
col.swp., colliculus superior; tectum opticum
com.amg., commissure of amygdalae
coni.ant., anterior commissure
com.cb., commissura cerebelli
com.ch.L, commissura vestibulo-lateralis cerebelli
com.cb.l.L, lateral-line component of com.cb.l.
com.cb.V., trigeminal component of com.cb.
com.cb.VIII., vestibular component of
 
com.cb.l.
com.hab., habenular commissure
com. hip., hippocampal commissure
com.i., commissura infima Halleri
com.po., commissura postoptica
com.post., commissura posterior
com.t.d., commissura tecti diencephali
com.t.m., commissura tecti mesencephali
com.tub., commissura tuberis
coni.tub.p., commissura tuberculi posterioris
com.v., commissura ventralis
 
 
 
A., division A of tr.th.ieg.d.c.
 
 
a.a., arteria auditiva
 
a.ac., area acusticolateralis
 
a.b., arteria basilaris
 
a.c.c, arteria carotis cerebralis
 
a.c.c.a., arteria carotis cerebralis, ramus
 
anterior
a.c.c. p., arteria carotis cerebralis, ramus
 
posterior
a.c.i., arteria carotis interna
a.ch.r.a., arteria chorioidea rhombencephali
 
anterior
a. gen., area geniculata = np.gen.
a.l.t. = a.vl.p.
a.o., arteria ophthalmica
a.s.a., arteria spinalis anterior
a.s.l., arteria spinalis 1
a.s.l.r.a., arteria spinalis 1, ramus anterior
a.s.l.r.p., arteria spinalis 1, ramus posterior
a.p., angulus ventralis
 
a.vl.p., area ventrolateralis pedunculi = a.l.t.
amg., amygdala
amg.n., neuropil of amygdala
as.amg.pal., amygdalo-pallial association
as.pal.amg., pallio-amygdaloid association
as.pal.st., pallio-striatal association
as.st.pal., strio-pallial association
aur., auricle
 
B., division B of tr.th.ieg.d.c.
 
 
b.ol., bulbus olfactorius
 
b.ol.ac, bulbus olfactorius accessorius
 
6.«'.,blood vessel
 
b.v.III., v., VII., IX., X., blood vessels
 
associated with cranial nerve roots
br.coL; br.col.s.; br. col.inf., brachia of superior
 
and inferior colliculus = tr.th.r.
br.conj., brachium conjunctivum
 
c.cb., corpus cerebelli
 
C.S., corpus striatum
 
c.s.d., corpus striatum, pars dorsalis
 
c.s.d.n., neuropil of c.s.d.
 
 
c.s.v. , corpus striatum, pars ventralis
 
 
 
d.b., diagonal band of Broca
d.f.l.t., decussation oi f.lat.t.
d.f.m,.t.; d.f.med.t., decussation oi f.med.t.
d.f.retr., decussation oi f.retr.
d.fib.M., decussation of Mauthner's fibers
d.isL, dorsal island of Kingsbury
d.r.IV., decussation of IV nerve roots
d.rinf., decussatio retroinfundibularis; components 1 and 2 of com.tub.p.
d.tr.st.ped., decussation of tr.st.ped.
d.tr.st.t., decussation of tr.st.t.
 
 
em.com,.p., eminentia commissurae posterioris
em.s.t., eminentia subcerebellaris tegmenti
 
= nuc.cb. + teg.is.
em.th., eminentia thalami
em.V., eminentia trigemini
ep., epiphysis
 
 
F., foramen interventriculare
 
f.d.t., fasciculi dorsales tegmenti
 
f.i., fovea isthmi
 
f.l.m., fasciculus longitudinalis medialis
 
f.lat.t., fasciculus lateralis telencephali; lateral
 
forebrain bundle
f.lat.t.d., dorsal fascicles oi f.lat.t. = tr.st.t.
f.lat.v., ventral fascicles oi f.lat.t. = tr.st.pcd.
f.m.t., fasciculus medianus tegmenti
f.med.t., fasciculus medialis telencephali;
 
medial forebrain bundle
f.med.t.d., dorsal fascicles oi f.med.t.
f.med.t. v., ventral fascicles oi f.med.t.
f.jpo., fasciculus postolfactorius
f.retr., fasciculus retrofiexus
f.sol., fasciculus solitarius
f.sol.pf., prefacial fasciculus solitarius
f.teg.p., fasciculus tegmentalis profundus
f.v.t., fasciculi ventrales tegmenti
fib.arc, arcuate fibers
jib.M., fiber of Mauthner
jim., fimbria
fiin.d., funiculus dorsalis
 
g.I., ganglion cells of nervus olfactorius
gl.ol., glomeruli olfactorii
 
hab., habenula
 
hah.d., nucleus dorsalis habenulae
 
hah.d.n., neuropil of hah.d.
 
 
hab.v., nucleus ventralis habenulae
 
hab.v.n., neuropil of hab.v.
 
 
hem., cerebral hemisphere
 
hyp., hypophysis
 
hyp.d., hypophysis, pars distalis
 
hyp.g., hypophysis, pars glandularis
 
hyp.i., hypophysis, pars intermedia
 
hyp.n., hypophysis, pars nervosa
 
hyp.i., hypophysis, pars tuberalis
 
hyth., hypothalamus
 
7 to .Y, cranial nerve roots
inf., infundibulum
inp.n., interpeduncular neuropil
is., isthmus rhombencephali
 
lam.t., lamina terminalis
Im., general bulbar lemniscus
Im.sp., lemniscus spinalis
 
M., mouth of paraphysis
 
m.c, mitral cells
 
m.l.e., membrana limitans externa
 
m.l.i., membrana limitans interna
 
n.Il.; n.op., nervus opticus
n.ol., nervus olfactorius
n.vn., nervus vomeronasalis
111., neurilemma nuclei
np.gen., geniculate neuropil
 
 
 
np.pt., pretectal neuropil
nuc.ac, nucleus accumbens septi
nuc.amg., nucleus amygdalae
mic.amg.d.l., nucleus amygdalae dorso
lateralis
nuc. B., nucleus of Bellonci
nuc.B.n., neuropil of Bellonci
nuc.caiid., nucleus caudatus
nuc.cb:, nucleus cerebelli
nuc.covi.C, nucleus commissuralis of Cajal
nnc.d.f.l.t., bed-nucleus of decussation of
 
f.lat.t.
nuc.d.f.m.t., bed-nucleus of decussation of
 
f.med.t.
nuc.Dark., nucleus of Darkschewitsch
nuc.ecmam. = a.ii.p.
nuc.f.sol., nucleus of fasciculus solitarius
II lie. 1 1 1., nucleus of oculomotor nerve
niic.inp., nucleus interpeduiicularis
nnc.inp.n., neuropil of nuc.inp.
nuc.is.c, nucleus centralis isthmi
nuc.IV., nucleus of trochlear nerve
nuc.l.s., nucleus lateralis septi
nuc.m.s., nucleus medialis septi
nup.ol.a.; nuc.ol.ant., nucleus olfactorius
 
anterior
nuc.ol.a.d.; nuc.ol.ant.d., nucleus olfactorius
 
anterior, pars dorsalis
nuc.ol.ant.m., the same, pars medialis
nuc.ol.ant.v., the same, pars ventralis
nuc.ol.d.L, nucleus olfactorius dorsolateralis
 
= p.pir.
nuc.oLp.tr., nucleus of olfactory projection
 
tract
nuc.p.t., nucleus posterior tecti
nuc.po., nucleus preopticus
nuc.po.a., nucleus preopticus, pars anterior
nuc.po.p., nucleus preopticus, pars posterior
nuc.pt., nucleus pretectalis
nuc. Sep., nucleus septi
nuc.sep.m. = nuc.m.s.
nuc.tr.ol.h., nucleus of tractus olfacto
habenularis
nuc.tub.p., nucleus tuberculi posterioris;
 
pedmicle
nuc.v.l, nucleus ventrolateralis of cerebral
 
hemisphere; amygdala
nuc.V.m., motor nucleus of trigeminus
nuc.V.mes., mesencephalic nucleus of trigeminus
nuc.V.s., superior nucleus of trigeminus
nuc.vis.n., neuropil of nuc.vis.s.
nuc.iris.s., nucleus visceralis superior; superior
 
gustatory nucleus
 
o.s.c, organon subcommissurale
ol.p.tr., olfactory projection tract
 
 
P., paraph ysis
 
p.d.hi/th., pars dorsalis hypotliakmi
 
p.d.hytk.d., dorsal lobe of p.d.hijth.
 
 
■p.d.hyth.v., ventral lobe of p.d.hyfh.
 
 
p.d.th., pars dorsalis thalami
 
p.d.th.m., pars dorsalis thalami, area medialis
 
p.d.th.p., pars dorsalis thalami, area posterior
 
p.g.c, periglomerular cells
 
p.hip., primordium hippocampi
 
p.i.d.; p.i.th., pars intercalaris diencephali
 
p.p.d., primordium pallii dorsalis
 
p.pir., primordimii piriforme = nuc.ol.d.l.
 
 
p.v.hyth., pars ventralis hypothalami
 
p.v.hyth.a., anterior lobe of p.v.hyth.
 
 
p.v.hyth.p., posterior lobe of p.v.hyth.
 
 
p.v.th., pars ventralis thalami
 
p.r.fh.a., pars ventralis thalami, area anterior
 
p.r.th.p., pars ventralis thalami, area posterior
 
par., paraphysis
 
pars.d.L, pars dorsolateralis of hemisphere =
p.pir.
 
 
pars.v.l., pars veutrolateralis of hemisphere =
c.s.
 
 
ped., pedunculus cerebri
 
pl.c.r., plexus chorioideus rhombencephali
 
po. (4),(6),(5), fibers from postoptic commissure entering tegmental fascicles
 
prorn.l., prominentia lateralis
 
prom.r., prominentia ventralis
 
r.c.c.b., ramus communicans cum arteria
 
basilaris
r.c.p., ramus communicans posterior
r.h., ramus hypothalamicus
r.h.m., ramus hemisphaerii medialis
r.h.v., ramus hemisphaerii ventralis
r.III., root of oculomotor nerve
r.IV., root of trochlear nerve
r.IX., root of glossopharyngeal nerve
r.IX.m., motor root of IX nerve
r.IX.v.s., visceral sensory root of IX nerve
r.L; reel., recessus lateralis rhombencephali
r.mes.s., ramus mesencephali superior
r.p.m., recessus posterior mesencephali
r.po., recessus preopticus
r.sp., root of spinal nerve
r.sp.v.l., ventral root of first spinal i'lerve
r.V., root of trigeminal nerve
r.V.asc, ascending fibers of sensory V root
r.V.m.S., posterior motor V root
T.V.mes., mesencephalic root of V nerve
r.V.mes.do., dorsal division of r.V.mes.
r.V.mes.v., ventral division of r.V.mes .
r.V. mot., motor root of V nerve
r.V.sen., sensory root of V nerve
r.V.sp., spinal root of V nerce
r.V I., root of abducens nerve
 
 
 
r.V II., root of facial nerve
r.VILl.L, lateral-line roots of VII nerve
r.VII.l.l.d., dorsal lateral-line VII root
r.VII.l.l.m., middle lateral-line VII root
r.VII.l.l.v., ventral lateral-line VII root
r.VII.m.; r.V II. mot., motor root of VII
 
nerve
r.VII.m.2., posterior motor VII root
r.VII.v.s., visceral sensory root of VII nerve
r.V 1 1 1., root of VIII nerve
r.VIII.d., dorsal root of VIII nerve
r.VIII.v., ventral root of VIII nerve
r.X., root of vagus nerve
r.X.l.l., lateral-line roots of vagus nerve
r.X.l.l.d., dorsal lateral-line root of vagus
r.X.l.l.r., ventral lateral-line root of vagus
r.X.v.s., visceral sensory root of vagus
reed., recessus lateralis rhombencephali
rec.op., recessus preopticus
rec.op.l., recessus opticus lateralis
rec.p.m., recessus posterior mesencephali
rec.pcm., recessus precommissuralis
rec.pin., recessus pinealis
 
s., limiting sulcus of nuc.tnb.p.
 
 
s.d., sulcus dorsalis thalami
 
s.erh., sulcus endorhinalis
 
s.hyth., sulcus hypothalamicus
 
.s.hyth.d., sulcus hypothalamicus dorsalis
 
s.hyth.p., sulcus hypothalamicus posterior
 
s.ih., sulcus intrahabenularis
 
s.is., sulcus isthmi
 
s.l.b.o., sulcus limitans of olfactory bulb
 
s.l.h., sulcus limitans hippocampi
 
sd.s., sulcus limitans septi
 
s.lat.mes., sulcus lateralis mesencephali
 
s.m., sulcus medius thalami
 
S.O., sinus obliquus
 
s.po., sulcus preopticus
 
s.rh., sulcus rhinalis
 
s.shab., sulcus subhabenularis
 
s.st., sulcus striaticus
 
s.st.c, sulcus strio-caudatus
 
S.V., sulcus ventralis thalami
 
s.v.a., sulcus ventralis accessorius thalami
 
sac.d., saccus dorsalis
 
sac.v., hypophysis, pars nervosa
 
Sep., septum
 
sep.ep., septum ependymale
 
sep.m., septum mediale
 
sep.t.p., septum transversum paraphysis
 
st.amg.f., strio-amygdaloid field
 
st.ep., ependymal layer
 
st.glom., layer of glomeruli
 
st.gr., granular layer
 
st.m.c, layer of mitral cells
 
st.mol., molecular layer = st.plx.
 
st.n., layer of nerve fibers
st.plx., plexiform layer
str.med., stria meduUaris thalami
str.t., stria terminalis
 
t.c, transitional cells
 
t.f., taenia fornicis
 
t.th., taenia thalami
 
t.v.q., taenia ventriculi quarti
 
teed., dorsal thickening of tectum
 
tect., tectum mesencephali
 
teg.d., tegmentum dorsale mesencephali
 
teg. is., tegmentum isthmi
 
teg.is.m., tegmentum isthmi, pars magnocellu
laris
teg. v., tegmentum trigemini
teg.VII., tegmentum facialis
fh., thalamus
 
tr.a., dorsal correlation tract of Kingsbury
tr.amg.hab., tractus amygdalo-habenularis
tr.amg.th., tractus amygdalo-thalamicus
tr.b., ventral correlation tract of Kingsbury
tr.b.in., tractus bulbo-isthmialis
tr.b.sp., tractus bulbo-spinalis
tr.b.t.L, tractus bulbo-tectalis lateralis
tr.c.h.L; tr.c.hab.l., tractus cortico-habenu
laris lateralis
tr.c.h.m.; tr.c.hab.m., tractus cortico-habenu
laris medialis
tr.c.th.m., tractus cortico-thalamicus medialis
tr.cb.teg., tractus cerebello-tegmentalis
tr.hab.t., tractus habenulo-tectalis
tr.hab.th., tractus habenulo-thalamicus
tr.hy.ped., tractus hypothalamo-peduncularis
tr.hy.teg., tractus hypothalamo-tegmentalis
tr.hyp., tractus hypophysius
tr.inj.asc, tractus infundibularis ascendens
tr.inp.b., tractus interpedunculo'-bulbaris
tr.inp.b.d., tractus interpedunculo-bulbaris
 
dorsalis
tr.inp.b.v., tractus interpedunculo-bulbaris
 
ventralis
tr.mam.inp., tractus mamillo-interpeduncu
laris
tr.mam.ped., tractus mamillo-peduncularis
tr. mam. teg., tractus mamillo-tegmentalis
tr.mam.th., tractus mamillo-thalamicus
tr.ol., tractus olfactorius
tr.ol.d., tractus olfactorius dorsalis
tr.ol.d.l., tractus olfactorius dorsolateralis
tr.ol.h.a.; tr.ol.hab.ant., tractus olfacto
habenularis anterior
tr.ol.h.a.v., ventral division of tr.ol.h.a.
tr.ol.h.l.; tr.ol. hab.lat., tractus olfacto-habenu
laris lateralis
tr.ol.h.m.; ir.ol.hab.vied., tractus olfacto
habenularis medialis
 
 
 
tr.ol.hip.m., tractus olfacto-hippocampalis
medialis
 
tr.ol. pal.d. = tr.ol.d.
 
 
tr.ol. pal.l. = tr.ol.d.l.
 
 
tr.ol.ped., tractus olfacto-peduucularis
 
tr.ol. s., fasciculus olfactorius septi
 
tr.ol.r., tractus olfactorius ventralis
 
tr.ol.v.l., tractus olfactorius ventrolateralis
 
tr.op., tractus opticus
 
tr.op.ac.p. = tr.op.b.
 
 
tr.op.ax., axial bundle of tractus opticus
 
tr.op.b., basal bundle of tractus opticus
 
ir.op.l; tr.op.lat., tractus opticus lateralis, or
ventralis
 
tr.op.m.; tr.op. vied., tractus opticus medialis,
or dorsalis
 
tr.op., mar., tractus opticus marginalis
 
tr.ped.mam., tractus pedunculo-mamillaris
 
tr.pc, tractus preopticus
 
tr.pt. hy., tractus pretecto-hypothalamicus
 
tr.pt.tec, tractus pretecto-tectalis
 
tr.pt.th., tractus pretecto-thalamicus
 
tr.sep.c, tractus septo-corticalis
 
tr.sep.hab., tractus septo-habenularis
 
tr.sp.b., tractus spino-bulbaris
 
tr.sp.cb., tractus spino-cerebellaris
 
tr.sp.t., tractus spino-tectalis = Im. sp.
 
 
tr.st.ped., tractus strio-peduncularis =
f.lat.t.v.
 
 
tr.st.pt., tractus strio-pretectalis
 
tr.st.t.; tr.st.teg., tractus strio-tegmentalis =
f.lat.d.
 
 
tr..st.tec., tractus strio-tectalis
tr.st.th., tractus strio-thalamicus
 
tr.t.b., tractus tecto-bulbaris
tr.t.b.c, tractus tecto-bulbaris cruciatus
tr.t.b.p., tractus tecto-bulbaris posterior
tr.t.b.r., tractus tecto-bulbaris rectus
tr.t.cb.; tr.tec.cb., tractus tecto-cerebellaris
tr.t.hab., tractus tecto-habenularis
tr.t.hy.a., tractus tecto-hypothalamicus anterior
tr.t.p.; tr.t.ped., tractus tecto-peduncularis
tr.t.p.c, tractus tecto-peduncularis cruciatus
tr.t.pt., tractus tecto-pretectalis
tr.t.sp.; tr.tec.sp., tractus tecto-spinalis
tr.t.teg., tractus tecto-tegmentalis
ir.t.teg.c, tractus tecto-tegmentalis cruciatus
tr.t.th.h.c.a., tractus tecto-thalamicus et
 
hypothalamicus cruciatus anterior
tr.t.th.h.c.p., tractus tecto-thalamicus et
 
hypothalamicus cruciatus posterior
tr.th.r., tractus tecto-thalamicus rectus =
 
br.col.
tr.teg.b., tractus tegmento-bulbaris
tr.teg.inp., tractus tegmento-interpedimcularis
 
 
tr.tcg.is., tractus tegmento-isthmialis
 
tr.teg.p.; tr.teg.ped., tractus tegmeiito-peduncularis
 
tr.th.h., tractus thalamo-bulbaris
 
tr.th.f., tractus thalamo-frontalis
 
tr.th.h.d.c, tractus thalamo-hypothalamicus
dorsalis cruciatus
 
tr.th.hab., tractus thalamo-habenularis
 
tr.th.mam., tractus thalamo-mamillaris
 
tr.th.p.; tr.tk.ped., tractus thalamo-peduncularis
 
tr.th.p.c; tr.th.ped.c., tractus thalamo-peduncularis cruciatus
 
tr.th.p.d., tractus thalarao-peduncularis dorsalis
 
tr.th.t., tractus thalamo-telctalis
 
tr.th.teg.d.c, tractus thalamo-tegmeutalis dorsalis cruciatus, with divisions A and B
 
tr.th.feg.r., tractus thalamo-tegmentalis rectus
 
 
 
tr.th.teg.v.c, tractus thalamo-tegmentalis ven
tralis cruciatus
tr.th.teg.r.r., tractus thalamo-tegmentalis ven
tralis rectus
tr.v.a., tractus visceralis ascendens
tr.r.d., tractus visceralis descendens
tr.v.t., tertiary visceral tract
tub. p., tuberculum posterius
 
v.az.sep., vena azygos septi
r.l., ventriculus lateralis
r.m.a., velum meduUare anterius
r.par., paraphysial veins
r4-, fourth ventricle
 
z.lim.lat., zona limitaus lateralis
z.lim.med., zona limitans medialis
 
(1) to (10), tegmental fascicles

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Herrick CJ. The Brain of the Tiger Salamander (1948) The University Of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

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Pages where the terms "Historic" (textbooks, papers, people, recommendations) appear on this site, and sections within pages where this disclaimer appears, indicate that the content and scientific understanding are specific to the time of publication. This means that while some scientific descriptions are still accurate, the terminology and interpretation of the developmental mechanisms reflect the understanding at the time of original publication and those of the preceding periods, these terms, interpretations and recommendations may not reflect our current scientific understanding.     (More? Embryology History | Historic Embryology Papers)

Part I. General Description and Interpretation 1. Salamander Brains | 2. Form and Brain Subdivisions | 3. Histological Structure | 4. Regional Analysis | 5. Functional Analysis, Central and Peripheral | 6. Physiological Interpretations | VII. The Origin and Significance of Cerebral Cortex | VIII. General Principles of Morphogenesis Part 2. Survey of Internal Structure 9. Spinal Cord and Bulbo-spinal Junction | 10. Cranial Nerves | 11. Medulla Oblongata | 12. Cerebellum | 13. Isthmus | 14. Interpeduncular Nucleus | 15. Midbrain | 16. Optic and Visual-motor Systems | 17. Diencephalon | 18. Habenula and Connections | 19. Cerebral Hemispheres | 20. Systems of Fibers | 21. Commissures | Bibliography | Illustrations | salamander

Chapter II The Form and Subdivisions of the Brain

Gross Structure

Reference to figures 1-5, 85, and 86 shows that the larger; subdivisions of the human brain are readily identified in Amblystoma, though with remarkable differences in shape and relative size. When this comparison is carried to further detail, the sculpturing of the ventricular walls shown in the median section is especially instructive. It is again emphasized that the application of mammalian names to the structures here revealed rarely implies exact homology; these areas are to be regarded as primordia from which the designated mammalian structures have been differentiated. The relationships here implied have been established by several independent lines of evidence: (1) The relative positions and fibrous connections of cellular masses and the terminal connections of tracts. In so far as these arrangements conform with the mammalian pattern, they may be regarded as homologous. (2) Embryological evidence. The early neural tubes of amphibians and mammals are similar, and subsequent development of both has been recorded. On the basis of Coghill's observations of rates of proliferation and differentiation in prefunctional stages, the writer ('37) gave arbitrary numbers to recognizable sectors of the neural tube in early functional stages, and the subsequent development of each of these is, in broad lines, similar to that of corresponding mammalian parts. (3) The relationships of svipposed primordia of mammalian structures may be tested by the comparative method. In an arrangement of animal types which approximates the phylogenetic sequence from the most generalized amphibians to man, there are many instances of progressive differentiation of amphibian primordia by successive increments up to the definitive human form.


Many pictures of the brains of adult and larval Amblystoma and other urodeles have been published, some of which I have cited ('35a, p. 239). The most accurate pictures of the brain of adult A. tigrinum are those of Roofe ('35), showing dorsal, ventral, and lateral aspects and the distribution of endocranial arteries and veins. The outHnes of the brain were drawn from specimens dissected after preservation for 6 weeks in 10 per cent formahn. One of these is shown here (fig. 86 A). Figure IB is drawn from a dissection made by the late Dr. P. S. McKibben, showing the sculpturing of the ventricular surfaces. Figures lA and 85 are drawn from a wax model in which there is some distortion of the natural proportions. Not all the differences seen in these pictures and in the proportions of sections figured are artifact, for the natural variability of urodele brains is surprisingly large (Neimanis, '31). Brains of larval stages have been illustrated by many authors and in my embryological papers of 1937-39.


The somewhat simpler brain of the mudpuppy, Necturus, has been described in a series of papers as completely as available material permits, and comparison with the more differentiated structure of Ambly stoma is instructive. The sketches shown in figures 86B and C illustrate the differences between the form of this forebrain and that of Amblystoma. The monograph of 1933 contains a series of diagrams ('33&, figs. 6-16) of the internal connections of the brain of Necturus similar to those of Amblystoma shown here (figs. 7-24). In 1910 I described the general features of the forebrain of A. tigrinum, with a series of drawings of transverse Weigert sections, no. lie, which has subsequently been used as the type specimen. Though this paper contains some errors and some morphological interpretations which I now regard as outmoded ('33a), most of the factual description has stood the test of time, and additional details and reports on other parts of the brain have been published in a series of papers.


The most conspicuous external fissures of the brain of Amblystoma are: (1) the longitudinal fissure separating the cerebral hemispheres; (2) the deep stem-hemisphere fissure; (3) a wide dorsal groove separating the epithalamus from the roof (tectum) of the midbrain; (4) the ventral cerebral flexure or plica encephali ventralis, which is a sharp bend of the floor of the midbrain, where it turns downward and backward into the "free part" of the hypothalamus; and (5) the fissura isthmi, extending downward and forward from the anterior medullary velum between midbrain and isthmus. The middle part of the fissura isthmi is at the anterior border of the auricle, which is more prominent in the larva than in the adult ('14a, figs. 1-3). Here in the adult it lies near the posterior border of the internal isthmic tissue, some distance posteriorly of the ventricular sulcus isthmi; but, like the latter, it really marks the anterior border of the isthmus, as will appear in the description of the development of the isthmic sulcus (p. 179).


The obvious superficial eminences on the dorsal aspect of the brain are the small cerebellum, the dorsal convexity of the roof of the midbrain (tectum mesencephali) , the habenular nuclei of the epithalamus, and the two cerebral hemispheres. Posteriorly of the habenulae in the early larvae is the membranous pineal evagination, which in the adult is a closed epithelial vesicle detached from the brain except for the few fibers of the parietal nerve. The lateral aspect of the thalamus, midbrain, and isthmus is a nearly smooth convexity, posteriorly of which is the high auricle, composed of tissue which is transitional between the body of the cerebellum and the acousticolateral area of the medulla oblongata. This auricle contains the primordia of the vestibular part of the cerebellar cortex (flocculonodular lobe of Larsell), and most of its tissue is incorporated within the cerebellum in mammals. On the ventral aspect there is a low eminence in front of the optic chiasma, which marks the position of the very large preoptic nucleus, and a similar eminence behind the chiasma formed by the ventral part of the hypothalamus. The latter is in the position of the human tuber cinereum but is not exactly comparable with it. Most of the hypothalamus is thrust backward under the ventral cerebral flexure as the pars libera hypothalami. The large pars glandularis of the hypophysis envelops the posterior end of the infundibulum and extends spinal ward from it, not anteriorly as in man.


The primary subdivisions of the human brain as defined from the embryological studies of Wilhelm His are readily identified in adult Amblystoma, as shown in the median section (fig. 2A).


At the anterior end of each cerebral hemisphere is the very large olfactory bulb, the internal structure of which shows some interesting primitive features (p. 54; '246). The bulbar formation extends backward on the lateral side for about half the length of the hemisphere, but on the medial side only as far as the anterior end of the lateral ventricle (figs. 3, 4). Bordering the bulb is an undifferentiated anterior olfactory nucleus, and posteriorly of this the walls of the lateral ventricle show early stages of the differentiation of the major subdivisions of the mammalian hemisphere — in the ventrolateral wall a strio-amygdaloid complex, ventromedially the septum, and dorsally the pars pallialis. In the pallial part no laminated cortical gray is differentiated, but there are well-defined pallial fields: dorsomedially, the primordial hippocampus; dorsolaterally, the primordial piriform lobe; and between these a primordium pallii dorsalis of uncertain relationships.


The boundaries of the diencephalon, as here defined and shown in figure 2A, are: anteriorly, the stem-hemisphere fissure and the posterior border of the anterior commissure ridge and, posteriorly, the anterior face of the posterior commissure and the underlying commissural eminence and, more ventrally, the sulcus, s, which marks the anterior border of the cerebral peduncle. The inclusion of the preoptic nucleus is in controversy; but, whether or not this inclusion is justifiable morphologically, its relationships with the hypothalamus are so intimate that it is practically convenient to consider these parts together. The four primary subdivisions of the diencephalon as I defined them in 1910 are: (1) the dorsal epithalamus, containing on each side the habenula and pars intercalaris, the latter including the pretectal nucleus; (2) pars dorsalis thalami, which is the primordium of the sensory nuclei of the mammalian thalamus; (3) pars ventralis thalami, the motor zone of the thalamus, or subthalamus; (4) hypothalamus. The mammalian homologies of these areas are clear, though their relative sizes and fibrous connections exhibit remarkable differences.


The posterior boundary of the mesencephalon is marked by the external fissura isthmi, the ventricular sulcus isthmi (fig. 2B, s.is.), and ventrally in the floor plate a pit, the fovea isthmi [f.i.). These are all more prominent in the larva than in the adult. This sector includes the posterior commissure, the tectum mesencephali (primordial corpora quadrigemina) , the underlying dorsal tegmentum (subtectal area), and the area surrounding the tuberculum posterius at the ventral cerebral flexure, termed the "nucleus of the tuberculum posterius." On embryological grounds and for convenience of description, this ventral area, which is bounded by the variable ventricular sulcus s, is here called the "peduncle" in a restricted sense ('36, p. 298; '396, p. 582). This is a primordial mesencephalic structure which is not the equivalent of the peduncle of human neurology. Amblystoma has nothing comparable with the human basis pedunculi, and its "peduncle" is incorporated within the tegmentum of the human brain. The III cranial nerve arises within the "peduncle" and emerges near the fovea isthmi. The nucleus of the IV nerve is in the isthmus. In the human brain there are no definite structures comparable to the amphibian dorsal and isthmic tegmentum.


The isthmus is much more clearly defined than in adult higher brains, it is relatively larger, and its physiological importance is correspondingly greater, as will appear later. It is bounded anteriorly by the sharp isthmic sulcus and posteriorly by the cerebellum, auricle, and trigeminal tegmentum. The so-called "pons" sector of the human brain stem is named from its most conspicuous component, but this name is meaningless in comparative anatomy. In man it is the pons and the sector of the stem embraced by it; but in no two species of mammals is the part embraced by the pons equivalent; and below the mammals the pons disappears entirely. The medulla oblongata, on the other hand, is a stable structure, extending from the isthmus to the spinal cord, and for it the shorter name "bulb" is sometimes used, especially in compounds.


I outlined the development and morphological significance of the urodele cerebellum ('14, '24), and this was followed by detailed descriptions of the development and adult structure of this region of Amblystoma by Larsell ('20, '32), whose observations I have subsequently confirmed, including his fundamental distinction between its general and its vestibular components.


Some features of the larval medulla oblongata and related nerves have been described ('14a, '396) and, more recently ('446), additional details of the adult, particularly the structures at the bulbospinal junction. Much remains to be done to clarify the organization of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord.


The cranial nerves and their analysis into functional components (chap, v) were described by Coghill ('02). The embryological development of these components also has been extensively studied (chap. x). The arrangement and composition of these nerves are fundamentally similar to those of man, with a few notable exceptions. The internal ear lacks the cochlea, which is represented by a very primitive rudiment; a cochlear nerve, accordingly, is not separately differentiated. There is an elaborate system of cutaneous organs of the lateral lines, whose functions are not as yet adequately known. These are supplied by very large nerves commonly assigned to the VII and X pairs, though it would be more appropriate to regard them as accessory VIII nerves, for all these nerve roots enter a wide zone at the dorsolateral margin of the medulla oblongata known as the "area acusticolateralis." There is no separate XI cranial nerve, this being represented by an accessorius branch of the vagus. The XII nerve is represented by branches of the first and second spinal nerves. The first spinal nerve in some specimens has a small ganglion ; the second nerve always has a large dorsal root and ganglion. In this connection a passage in the comprehensive work on the anatomy of Salamandra by Francis ('34, p. 134) is worthy of mention: "After making due allowance for the absence of a lateralis component in the adult salamander, the correspondence between the cranial nerves of this animal and those of Ambly stoma is very close indeed."


The configuration and mutual relations of the gross structures just surveyed can be seen only in sections, of which many, cut in various planes, have been illustrated in the literature. Only a few selected examples are included in the present work, with references in subsequent chapters to many others. For general orientation the following figures may be consulted : a series of selected transverse sections from the spinal cord to the olfactory bulb (figs. 87-100); a series of horizontal sections through the middle part of the brain stem (figs. 25-36); a few sagittal sections (figs. 101-4). Figures 6-24 show the chief fibrous connections of each well-defined region of the brain stem.


The diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus have the form of three irregular pyramids oppositely oriented (fig. 2A). The broad base of the diencephalon extends from the anterior commissure to the hypophysis, and the apex is at the epiphysis. The tectum forms the base of the mesencephalic pyramid, and the apex is at the ventral tip of the tuberculum posterius, which borders the ventral cerebral flexure. The base of the pyramidal isthmus is formed by the massive tegmentum isthmi of each side and the median interpeduncular nucleus in the floor plate. It narrows dorsally into the anterior medullary velum between the tectum and the cerebellum.


The middle sectors of the brain stem — diencephalon, mesencephalon, and isthmus — contain the primordial regulatory and integrating apparatus controlling the fundamental sensori-motor systems of adjustment. The most important peripheral connections are with the eyes, and these in most vertebrates play the dominant role in maintaining successful adjustment with environment. From this topographical feature it naturally followed that, during the course of phylogenetic differentiation of the brain, the chief centers of adjustment of the other exteroceptive systems were elaborated in close juxtaposition with the visual field in the midbrain and thalamus.


Here they are interpolated between the primary sensory and motor apparatus of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord below and the great olfactory field and suprasegmental apparatus of the cerebral hemispheres above.


In all lower vertebrates the roof of the midbrain, the tectum, is the supreme center of regulation of motor responses to the exteroceptive systems of sense organs. The hypothalamus is similarly elaborated for regulation of olfacto- visceral adjustments. The patterning of motor responses for both these groups of receptors is effected in the cerebral peduncle and tegmentum. In the region of the isthmus, between the tectum and the primary vestibular area of the medulla oblongata and above the tegmentum, the cerebellum was elaborated as the supreme adjustor of all proprioceptive systems.


At the rostral end of the brain, within and above the specific olfactory area of the cerebral hemisphere, there gradually emerged a synthetic apparatus of control, adapted to integrate the activities of all the other parts of the nervous system and to enlarge capacity to modify performance as a result of individual experience. In the lowest vertebrates this "suprasensory" and "supra-associational" apparatus, as Coghill termed it, is not concentrated in the cerebral hemispheres, but it is dispersed, chiefly in the form of diflfuse neuropil. In the amphibian cerebral hemispheres this integrating apparatus is more highly elaborated than elsewhere, with some local differentiation of structure. The hemispheres are larger than in fishes, and the primordia of their chief mammalian subdivisions can be recognized. A dorsal pallial part is distinguishable from a basal or stem part of the hemisphere, though the distinctive characteristics of the pallium are only incipient. There is no cerebral cortex, and, accordingly, the mammalian cortical dependencies in the thalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum have not yet appeared. The primordial thalamus is concerned chiefly with adjustments within the brain stem, though precursors of the thalamic radiations to the hemispheres are present.


Ventricles

The lateral ventricles of the cerebral hemispheres have the typical form except at the interventricular foramen, where the amphibian arrangement is peculiar. The anterior and hippocampal commissures do not cross as usual in or above the lamina terminalis, but in a more posterior high commissural ridge ; and between these structures there is a wide precommissural recess, into which the interventricular foramina open. This results in some radical differences from reptilian and mammalian arrangements of the related fiber tracts and membranous parts, as elsewhere described (p. 291; '35). The third ventricle is expanded dorsally into the complicated membranous paraphysis and dorsal sac. Ventrally, the great elongation of the preoptic nucleus gives rise to a large preoptic recess between the anterior commissure ridge and the chiasma ridge, and in front of the latter there is a lateral optic recess (fig. 96), which in early larval stages extends outward as far as the eyeball, as a patent lumen of the optic nerve ('41), an arrangement which persists in the intracranial part of the nerve of adult Necturus ('41a). In the hypothalamus the ventricle is dilated laterally ('35a, p. 253; '36, figs. 10-14), and posteriorly it is a wide infundibulum with membranous roof and thin but nervous floor and posterior wall. The latter is the pars nervosa of the hypophysis and is partly enveloped by the pars glandularis (figs. 2, 101; '35a, p. 254; '42, p. 212 and figs. 56-65; Roofe, '37). The aqueduct of the midbrain is greatly expanded dorsoventrally. Its ventral part is contracted laterally by the thick peduncles and tegmentum, and the dorsal part is dilated as an optocoele. The sulcus lateralis mesencephali marks its widest extent, and tectal structure reaches far below this sulcus. The fourth ventricle is of typical form except anteriorly, where the wide lateral recess with membranous roof extends outward and forward to cover the whole dorsolateral aspect of the auricular lobe (figs. 90, 91 ; '24, p. 627). The rhombencephalic chorioid plexus is elaborately developed in interesting relation with the peculiar endolymphatic organs of this animal ('35, p. 310). The ventricular systems of adult Triturus (Diemyctylus) and of larval and adult stages of Hynobius have been described and illustrated with wax models bySumi('26, '26a).


The ventricular surface of both larvae and adults is clothed with very long cilia. These are not preserved in ordinary preparations and in our material are seen only in Golgi sections, where their impregnation is erratic and local ('42, p. 196). They are most frequently seen in the infundibulum and optocoele under the tectum. In the vicinity of the posterior commissure the ciliated ependyma is thickened (subcommissural organ of Dendy), and to it the fiber of Reissner is attached ('42, p. 197). This thick, nonnervous fiber extends backward through the ventricle to the lower end of the spinal cord and, like the cilia, is apparently an outgrowth from the internal ependymal membrane.


Meninges, Chorioid Plexuses, and Blood Vessels

The meninges of Amblystoma were described in 1935. This account shoukl be compared with that of Salamandra pubhshed in 1934 by Francis, whose description was based on the investigation of Miss Helen O'NeiU ('98), done under the direction of Wiedersheim and Gaupp. In Amblystoma the meninges are intermediate between the meninx primitiva of the lower fishes and those of the frog. Over the spinal cord and most parts of the brain a firm and well-defined pachymeninx, or dura, closely invests the underlying undifferentiated pia-arachnoid. The meninges of the frog have been described by others, and recently Palay ('44) has investigated their histological structure in the toad. The most interesting feature of these amphibian membranes is their intimate relation with the enormous endolymphatic organ described by Dempster ('30) and the associated blood vessels.


The vascular supply of these brains is peculiar in several respects. The distribution of arteries and veins has been described by Roofe ('35, '38), and I have added some details from the adult ('35) and the larva {'Md). The endocranial veins form a double portal system of sinusoids of vast extent and unknown significance. Between the cerebral hemispheres and the epithalamus the nodus vasculosus (Gaupp) is permeated by a complicated rete of sinusoids, which receives venous blood from the entire prosencephalon— chorioid plexuses, brain wall, and meninges. The efferent discharge from this rete is by the two oblique sinuses, which pass backward across the midbrain to enter a similar rete of wide, anastomosing smusoids spread over the chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle and the lobules of the endolymphatic organs. This rete also receives the vems from all posterior parts of the brain, meninges, and chorioid plexus. The common discharge for all this endocranial venous blood is by a large sinus, which emerges from the cranium through the jugular foramen and joins the jugular vein. These membranous structures are readily observable in the living animal without serious disturbance of normal conditions, and they provide unique opportunities or experimental study of some fundamental problems of vascular

Sorted out by Craigie ('38, '38a, '39, '45) that within the substance of this brain the penetrating blood vessels are arranged in two ways-a capillary net of usual type and simple loops, which enter from the meningeal arterial network. Our preparations confirm this observation and also the fact that the vascular pattern varies in different parts of the brain. Both isolated loops and the capillary net may be seen in the same field, as in the dorsal thalamus (fig. 44), or one of these patterns may prevail, with few, if any, instances of the other. In the tectum and dorsal tegmentum of the midbrain, for instance, the tissue is vascularized by simple loops with only occasional anastomosis (fig. 48), while in the underlying peduncle and isthmic tegmentum the vascular network prevails, with occasional simple loops. In the meninges and chorioid plexuses only the network has been observed.


The telencephalic and diencephalic chorioid plexuses have an abundant arterial blood supply through the medial hemispheral artery; but the elaborately ramified tubules of the paraphysis seem to have no arterial supply or capillary net, the accompanying vessels being exclusively venous sinusoids ('35, p. 342). The same seems to be true of the endolymphatic sacs ('34c?, p. 543). The chorioid plexus of the fourth ventricle has abundant arterial blood supply. In all plexuses the capillaries unite into venules, which discharge into wide sinusoids, which ramify throughout the plexus and have very thin walls. All arterioles of the chorioid plexuses are richly innervated, but it has not been possible to get satisfactory evidence of the sources of these nerve fibers ('36, p. 343; '42, p. 255; Necturus, '336, p. 15).


The enormous development of the chorioid plexuses and associated endolymphatic organ of urodeles is apparently correlated with the sluggish mode of life and relatively poor provision for aeration of the blood. In the more active anurans the plexuses are smaller; but in the sluggish mudfishes, including the lungfishes, with habits similar to those of urodeles, we again find exaggerated development of these plexuses. Existing species in the border zone between aquatic and aerial respiration are all slow-moving and relatively inactive. The enlarged plexuses and sinusoids give vastly increased surfaces for passage of blood gases into the cerebrospinal fluid; and, correlated with this, the brain wall is thin everywhere, to facilitate transfer of metabolites between brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. Massive thickenings of the brain wall occur in many fishes and in amniote vertebrates, but not in mudfishes and urodeles.


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Part I. General Description and Interpretation 1. Salamander Brains | 2. Form and Brain Subdivisions | 3. Histological Structure | 4. Regional Analysis | 5. Functional Analysis, Central and Peripheral | 6. Physiological Interpretations | VII. The Origin and Significance of Cerebral Cortex | VIII. General Principles of Morphogenesis Part 2. Survey of Internal Structure 9. Spinal Cord and Bulbo-spinal Junction | 10. Cranial Nerves | 11. Medulla Oblongata | 12. Cerebellum | 13. Isthmus | 14. Interpeduncular Nucleus | 15. Midbrain | 16. Optic and Visual-motor Systems | 17. Diencephalon | 18. Habenula and Connections | 19. Cerebral Hemispheres | 20. Systems of Fibers | 21. Commissures | Bibliography | Illustrations | salamander

Reference

Herrick CJ. The Brain of the Tiger Salamander (1948) The University Of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.


Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 28) Embryology Book - The brain of the tiger salamander 2. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Book_-_The_brain_of_the_tiger_salamander_2

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