An experiment to test recent theories as to movements of nerve cells

✍ Scribed by Goddard, Henry H.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1898
• Weight: 157 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0092-7317
• DOI: 10.1002/cne.910080321

✦ Synopsis

The following experiments of Mr. Goddard were reported by Dr. Hodge:

Considerable attention has been directed in recent years toward attempting to explain various functional states of the nervous system, hysterias, sleeping and waking, even psychic conditions, association of ideas, memory and forgetting, by amoeboid movements of nerve elements. For the most part, when announced, these theories have had about as much foundation in experimental evidence as simiiar ancient theories as to flow of " spiritus animalis " or ideas of making and breaking of electric contacts between nerve fibers and nerve cells, before the fibers were discovered to be outgrowths of the cells.

In line with Ram6n y Cajal's theory, that the dendrites represent receiving poles, attention has tended to focus on these processes, especially on their terminal twigs and more especially still on their gemmular expansions, the "contact granules. " Berkley, in 1895, in chronic alcohol poisoning, and in 1896, with a number of other pathological conditions, pointed out the fact that the terminal twigs of the dendrites, as well as their proximal portions in some cases, presented, instead of their usual appearance, a beaded, moniliform, varicose condition, with very few contact granules or none at all. He naturally attributed these appearances to the pathological causes in question, although, before doing so, it would have been safer logic to have studied first the possible changes dependent upon phases of normal function. About the same time Demoor (La