Introduction

Abstract

MacDonald Critchley in the introduction of his admirable book The Parietal Lobes (1953) stated that there is something essentially artificial in extensive elaboration limited to one sector of the brain such as the parietal lobe. For this reason he was tempted to predict that his book might be the last one on this topic and that subsequent writers would approach the problem of cerebral fuction from a wider angle. I am not unhappy to belong to those followers of his who disprove this prediction and write another book on the parietal lobe. On one hand the present knowledge of the functional mechanisms of the parietal lobe alone constitutes a vast field of scientific inquiry that well deserves such treatment. On the other hand the knowledge gained from studies of this part of the brain have great significance for neuroscience as a whole. It is true that the parietal lobes are not working in isolation from other parts of the CNS and, in spite of certain specialization, they should not be viewed as seperate organs. However, the problems dealt with in studies of the parietal lobes illustrate general problems of brain research, particularly the complexity of functional mechanisms in the alert active brain. Although books on the parietal lobe have been slow to appear after Critchley’s veritable accomplishment, recent basic and clinical studies have revived the interest and resulted in achievements that have given guidelines for future research.