This investigation was carried out at the instigation of Dr. W. V. Cone in the attempt to discover chronic pathological changes in oligodendroglia. Knowledge of chronic changes in the oligodendrocytes has not been greatly advanced m the past twenty years. At that time it was stated that: "Unlike astrocytes, the disappearance of myelin does not result in an increase but a decrease of the oligodendrocytes and it is quite possible that with myelin degeneration oligodendrocytes are transformed into astrocytes." (Penfield 1932).

The understanding of the functions of a certain portion of the cortex ultimately is dependent on a knowledge of the connections or interrelationships of that particular cortex. Consequently, the visual cortex and the auditory area are better understood because of the works of Poliak (1932), Talbot (1942), Talbot, Woolsey and Thompson (1946), and of Walker (1937a,1937b), of Ades and Felder (1942, 1945), Ades (1943), Woolsey and Walzl (1942), Walzl and Woolsey (1943), Tunturi (1944, 1945), Rose (1949), and Rose and Woolsey (1949).

In recent years, increasing numbers of conflicting reports (to be commented on in the section devoted to a review of the literature) have appeared in the world literature regarding the effect of chlorpromazine on epilepsy and on the seizure activity seen in the electroencephalographic tracings of epileptic patients. These have ranged, with regard to epilepsy, from one extreme position in which the drug is advocated as a therapeutically efficacious method of treatment, to the other extreme in which it is held accountable for having precipitated epileptic seizures in patients with no previous history of similar distrubance who are undergoing treatment for an unrelated illness.

Among the various focal epileptic seizure patterns commonly encountered one of the most interesting and least understood is that of ictal epileptic automatism. The most characteristic feature of ictal epileptic automatism is the association of a profound impairment of higher mental functions such as memory and conscious understanding with a rather strikingly contrasting retention of motor control, of the capacity for reception of sensory stimuli and of the possibility to integrate motor and sensory activities into complex and correctly performed motor actions (Penfield and Jasper, 1954). [...]

The need for continued investigation into the mechanism of motor function has been emphasized recently by Bucy (1957) in a critical review entitled, "ls there a pyramidal tract?" and by Lassek, Woolsey, Walker, and Boshes (1957) in a symposium of inquiry into the state of our knowledge of the pyramidal tract presented before the eighth annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. [...]

The integration of a circulatory system into any tissue or organ utilizing oxygen permits a faster workrate and, more efficiency in terms of general body economy. Such integration, however, carries the accompanying threat of the consequence of sudden interruption in the local or general circulation. Organs that have acquired "specialization", at the cost of powers of regeneration, pay for such interruption, if prolonged, with permanent loss of function. Certain gross structural changes, in addition to the permanent functional loss, take place in the offended tissue.

The following work was undertaken because of the increasing body of evidence indicating that a high dietary fat intake is related to certain diseases, among which is multiple sclerosis with which we were particularly concerned. Recent nutritional surveys have suggested that geographic variations in the incidence of multiple sclerosis are due at least in part to the amount of fat consumed. Dr. Swank (Swank, 1950; Swank, Lerstad, Strom and Backer, 1952) made a survey of Holland, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland and compared figures of the dietary habits and the incidence of multiple sclerosis before, during, and after World War II when there were wide fluctuations in the dietary habits.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.