[Vladimir Mikhaĭlovich Bekhterev--the founder of the clinical neuropsychiatry]

The article presents main milestones in the career of Vladimir Mikhailovitch Bekhterev. The research in anatomy and physiology of the brain performed by V.M. Bekhterev gave original data of worldwide priority. V.M. Bekhterev significantly improved methodology of neurological examination and differential diagnosis in clinical neuropsychiatry. The scientific heritage of V.M. Bekhterev proves his outstanding role in establishment and development of the neuropsychiatry.

[On Freud's contributions to Villaret's Handwörterbuch der Gesamten Medizin (1888-91)]

Starting from an unpublished list of contributors to the handbook, Freud's authorship is established for three unsigned articles about the cranial nerves abducens, accessorius and (in parts) facialis. His authorship of the "Aphasia" article which has been disputed by Scherrer is confirmed. The section "II. physiology" of the article on the brain which has come to be ascribed to him is positively attributed to the physiologist Johannes Gad, the article on infantile paralysis to Alfred Goldscheider.

CNS injury research; reviewing the last decade: methodological errors and a proposal for a new strategy

During the last decades the field of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been characterized by a paucity of new treatments. This is in contrast to the amount of pre-clinical experimental work and the number of clinical trials done. This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the reasons that have led to this phenomenon. A reasonable suggestion could be the presence of methodological limitations when comparing and integrating experimental results. The first methodological drawback, which is shortly discussed, is the insistence (during the last decades) on the concept of "similarity to the human pathology" as the main criterion to evaluate results, and the constant effort to create a "super model" that would fully replicate human TBI cases. The second methodological limitation examined is the lack of a common way to present and analyze data. It is proposed that the basic neuro-histo-pathology of each injury model should serve as the ground on which hypotheses should be built, as it could constitute the common basis for comparisons between different experimental settings. In this context, 95 papers reporting experimental results from various models of animal CNS injury were reviewed in order to examine the extent to which results were presented and analyzed using a common basis. No such common basis was observed; moreover, the review revealed a remarkable lack of histopathological examination of the animals, especially when biochemical and/or behavioral endpoints were assessed. It is argued that this practice deprives data of an objective common basis. Conclusively, a new theoretical way of organizing experimental work in the field of TBI is briefly presented.

The Brain Research Laboratory at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and case Western Reserve University

In 1961 Dr. Robert White, fresh from the Mayo Clinic, established the Brain Research Laboratory (BRL) at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, under the auspices of Case Western Reserve University. During a span of 15 years, he and his colleagues contributed significantly to our knowledge and understanding of the central nervous system in deep hypothermic conditions, thus demonstrating the protective effects of cerebral and spinal cord cooling in patients with injuries as well as the ability of the brain to survive extended periods of total circulatory arrest at extremely low temperatures. It was there that isolated brain preparation and transplantation were first accomplished. These and other unique, surgically constructed brain models opened new fields of exploration in neurochemical, neurophysiological, rheological, immunological, and cognitive features of the brain in normothermic and various hypothermic states. During the laboratory's most productive years (1961-1976), there were 10 surgeons actively involved in scientific investigations who later became chairmen or chiefs of Departments or Divisions of Neurosurgery and another four who became professors of neurosurgery or other surgical specialties.

History of neuroendoscopy

Since the beginnings of medicine, physicians have sought minimally invasive ways to peer into body cavities. It is only in the last several decades that the promises of endoscopy have begun to be answered. What follows is a brief outline of the development of endoscopic technology and its application to the nervous system both for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Motor testing in neurology: an historical overview

Systematic testing of muscle tone, bulk, and strength and analysis of the distribution of abnormal findings is a key element of bedside cerebral localization. A codified neurological examination was developed in the 20th century, but physicians have commented on weakness since antiquity. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans described weakness in patients with head injuries and strokes, explaining it in terms of the pathophysiology of their times. Diagnostic principles of lateralization and localization developed in the Enlightenment, alongside an understanding of the anatomy of the motor system. In the 19th century, the work of Romberg, Todd, Charcot, and Gowers popularized the use of motor localization by demonstrating the power of scientific reasoning at the bedside. The concept of the upper motor neuron, as elaborated by Gowers, has enduring clinical utility.

The Denny-Brown collection: a research and teaching resource

A large collection of potentially valuable materials compiled by the late Dr Derek Denny-Brown is described. This consists of 2,200 films of monkeys with central nervous system lesions, associated behavior and neuropathological descriptions, and histological slides. There are also 500 films of patients with a wide assortment of diseases, including some not currently seen, like postencephalitic parkinsonism. This description will enable contemporary researchers to utilize this collection in their research and teaching programs.

The use of central nervous system manifestations in the early detection of digitalis toxicity

Cardiac glycosides have been used therapeutically for more than 3000 years. They have been the treatment of choice for congestive heart failure for many decades, and recently their clinical utility has been redefined. Despite increased telemetry and development of a sensitive radioimmune assay of serum digoxin levels and the availability of digoxin immune Fab fragments (Digibind) to treat digitalis-induced life-threatening dysrhythmias, toxicity remains a serious and common problem. A body of literature, old and new, speaks to the clear but potentially unrecognized role that digitalis-induced central nervous system symptoms can play in the early detection and management of digitalis toxicity.

Neurological disorders in the Roman Empire, as reported by A. Cornelius Celsus

The first author on medical history and compiler of medical knowledge was, in all probability, A. Cornelius Celsus. Uncertainties about his real profession and background are discussed. Some details of his treatise on history, anatomy, general symptoms and signs, and treatment of medical disorders, as far as these might be of interest to a neurologist, are presented.