Conclusion
Finally, the brain does function as an integrated whole in one sense. But there are semi-separable mechanisms within that integration. We must continue to study them. This is the way of progress that was begun for us by Fritsch and Hitzig, and Charcot and Jackson.
As scientists, we should reserve judgment as to the ultimate nature of things. Meantime we can only use the language of dualism, and speak thus of the mind and the brain. There is no other medium of analytical discussion. The ancient riddle of how brain and mind do interact is still unsolved. But, we begin to understand the brain, if not the mind. The mind receives messages. It seems to direct brain action in the focussing of attention and in voluntary activity.
There is a special mechanism for the mind. It can be activated from a distance by an electrode on the interpretive cortex. The mechanism is sometimes arrested by epileptic discharge in centrally placed gray matter. During this activation, consciousness is not lost. During this arrest, consciousness is lost and since other mechanisms continue without control from the mind's mechanism, the individual becomes an automaton.
Fritsch and Hitzig had stumbled upon the truth. The brain does function, as they said, by “isolated mechanical means.” And we can now perceive the outline of a further truth: The mind is matched by a specific corresponding mechanism in the brain. Human behaviour is determined by interaction of brain and mind.
Key words
Brain Mind Electrode Neurophysiology Neurology, History History of Neurology MedizingeschichtePreview
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