Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters (1834–1863)

Otto Deiters, for whom the lateral vestibular nucleus and the supporting cells of the outer auditory hair cells were named, died in 1863 aged 29. He taught in the Bonn Anatomy Department, had an appointment in the University Clinic, and ran a small private practice. He published articles on the cell theory, the structure and development of muscle fibers, the inner ear, leukaemia, and scarlet fever. He was the second of five surviving children in an academic family whose private correspondence revealed him to be a young man with limited social skills and high ambitions to complete a deeply original study of the brainstem and spinal cord. However, first his father and then his younger brother died, leaving him and his older brother responsible for a suddenly impecunious family as he failed to gain academic promotion. Otto died of typhus two years after his younger brother's death, leaving his greatest scientific achievement to be published posthumously. He showed that most nerve cells have a single axon and several dendrites; he recognized the possibility that nerve cells might be functionally polarized and produced the first illustrations of synaptic inputs to dendrites from what he termed a second system of nerve fibers. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:1929–1953, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A. W. CAMPBELL'S AUSTRALIAN CAREER: 1905–1937

The Australian Alfred Walter Campbell (1868-1937) is remembered as one of the two chief pioneers of the study of the cytoarchitectonics of the primate cerebral cortex. He had worked in Britain carrying out neuroanatomical and neuropathological research for almost two decades before his famous monograph on Histological Studies on the Localisation of Cerebral Function appeared in 1905. In that year he returned to his native Australia and practiced for over 30 years in Sydney as a neurologist rather than a neuropathologist, publishing mainly clinical material though he was involved in the investigation of the epidemic of Australian X disease, a viral encephalitis. His abrupt change in both the nature and the location of his career at a time when he was well established in Britain appears to have been a consequence of his marriage and the need to provide for a family. His simultaneous apparent abandonment of research seems not to have really been the case. As judged from the contents of a paper presented to a local medical congress in Sydney in 1911, it appears that, in Australia, Campbell did carry out a major comparative anatomical and histological investigation of the possibility of localization of function in the cerebellar cortex. He never published this work in detail. His investigation let him to conclude that no such localization of function existed, a view contrary to the then topical interpretation of Bolk (1906), but one in accordance with Gordon Holmes' views a decade later. Campbell's circumstances in Sydney, his extremely reticent nature and the essentially negative outcome of his investigation probably explain his failure to make his study more widely known.     

Linaclotide – a secretagogue and antihyperalgesic agent – what next?

Ongoing clinical trials suggest that linaclotide, a first‐in‐class, 14‐amino acid peptide guanylate cyclase‐C (GC‐C) receptor agonist and intestinal secretagogue is an effective treatment for chronic constipation. A study in this issue of the Journal suggests that linaclotide also has antihyperalgesic effects in three common rat models of inflammation‐ and stress‐induced hypersensitivity (i.e., acute trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid colitis, water avoidance stress [WAS], and restraint‐induced stress) but not in naïve animals. In mice, linaclotide at least partly reduces hyperalgesia via GC‐C receptors. Dose–effect relationships of linaclotide were complicated and non‐linear. This viewpoint discusses human clinical trials with linaclotide and the results of this study. Potential mechanisms and clinical significance of these findings are explored. Collectively, these data suggest that GC‐C receptors exert other, as yet poorly understood, effects on gastrointestinal sensitivity in conditions associated with inflammation and/or stress‐induced increased intestinal permeability. However, the data need to be confirmed in humans and in long‐term animal models. Further studies are also necessary to elucidate the mechanisms as these effects cannot be explained by linaclotide’s known effects on epithelial GC‐C receptors.     

The Zoology Department at Washington University (1944–1954): from undergraduate to graduate studies with Viktor Hamburger

Beginning from an undergraduate's perspective and continuing through graduate school, this student's experiences in the Department of Zoology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri was a time of many rewarding experiences. Now, on this occasion of his 100th birthday, I wish to express my appreciation to the Chairman, Dr. Viktor Hamburger, for his teachings, his encouragement, and his friendship that has lasted over the past 56 years.     

The acceptance of the K‐SADS‐PL – potential predictors for the overall satisfaction of parents and interviewers

The presented study investigated the interviewee (parents) and interviewer acceptance of the semi‐structured diagnostic interview Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children Present Lifetime version (KSADS‐PL; German version). Seventeen certified interviewers conducted 231 interviews (interviewers conducted several interviews; interviewees were only questioned once). Interviewees and interviewers anonymously rated their acceptance right after the interview was finished. The nested data structure was analysed regarding an individual interviewer bias and potential predictors of overall satisfaction. Therefore, factors improvable by interviewer training were included, as well as fixed factors which cannot be improved by professional training. The overall satisfaction was evaluated as highly positive with significant higher interviewee and interviewer ratings in the research as compared to the clinical recruitment setting. An individual bias of the interviewer on his or her own acceptance over time, but not on the evaluation of the corresponding interviewee was found. Neither the professional background nor the gender of the interviewer had a significant contribution in predicting these differences. The interviewer model showed no significant change over time and only the interview duration and the interviewee acceptance were significant predictors for interviewer overall satisfaction. Regarding the interviewee model, just the interviewer acceptance was a significant predictor. Copyright Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Worldwide trends in suicide mortality, 1955–1989

Patterns and trends in suicide mortality for the period 1955–89 for 57 countries (28 from Europe, the former Soviet Union, Canada, the United States, 14 Latin American countries, 8 from Asia and 2 from Africa, Australia and Oceania) were analyzed on the basis of official death certification data included in the World Health Organization mortality database. Over the most recent calendar quinquennium (1985–1989), Hungary had the highest rate for men (52.1 per 100,000, all ages, world standard), followed by Sri Lanka (49.6), Finland (37.2) and a number of central European countries. North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and several European countries had intermediate suicide rates (between 15 and 25 per 100,000), whereas overall mortality from suicide was low in the United Kingdom, southern Europe, Latin America and reporting countries and areas from Africa and Asia, except Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The pattern for women was similar, although the absolute values were considerably lower. The highest values were in Sri Lanka (19.0 per 100,000), followed by Hungary (17.6) and several other central European countries, with rates between 9 and 15 per 100,000. Female suicide rates were comparatively elevated in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Cuba. With respect to trends over time, the figures were relatively favourable in less developed areas of the world, including Latin America and several countries from Asia, with the major exception of Sri Lanka. Of concern are, in contrast, the upward trends, particularly for elderly men in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand and, mostly, the substantial rises over most recent decades of suicide rates in young cohorts of males in Japan and several European countries, Australia and New Zealand. These trends were often in contrast with more favourable patterns in women, and can be discussed in terms of ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic factors, aspects of psychiatric care or availability of instruments and methods of suicide.     

Reflections on Jacques Paillard (1920–2006) — A pioneer in the field of motor cognition

This article reviews the scientific contributions of Jacques Paillard (1920–2006), who strengthened substantially the role of physiological psychology in the field of movement neuroscience. His research began in 1947 under the direction of the French neurophysiologist, Alfred Fessard (1900–1982), with whom he then collaborated for 9 years while an undergraduate and then graduate student and junior faculty member in psychology at the University of Paris (the Sorbonne). Paillard moved to the University of Marseille in 1957 as a Professor of Psychophysiology. In parallel, he became a founding member and administrator of the Institute of Neurophysiology and Psychophysiology, which began in 1963 on the Marseille campus of the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS). Paillard retired from his university and CNRS positions in 1991 but he continued seminal research until his demise. Paillard advanced understanding of higher brain influences on human spinal motor mechanisms and the functional role of proprioception as revealed in patients deprived of such sensibility. He remains best known, however, for his work on human motor cognition. He reasoned that brain “maps” of the external world are constructed by the body's own movements and the central effects of their resulting central and peripheral feedback. He proposed two levels of interactive brain processing for the planning and/or execution of a reaching movement: 1) a sensorimotor level, using body posture as a key reference; and 2) a “higher” cognitive level for accurate movement performance, using learned representations of the position and shape of the environmental components, including the body, itself.     

“The Epilepsies”: Kinnier Wilson’s landmark epileptology

Kinnier Wilson, better known for his eponymous disease, in fact devoted much of his career to the study of epilepsy. In his long campaign to alter the general perception of epilepsy, he spent much time and effort decrying the use of "epilepsy" as a single disease, pleading for individual consideration for its sufferers. In addition, he undertook an extensive reconsideration of many of the basic principles of his mentor and friend the great John Hughlings Jackson. Eventually his status as the European expert in epilepsy earned him the signal honour of authorship (in English) of the important chapter entitled "The Epilepsies" in the 1935 flagship German language textbook of neurology that appeared immediately prior to the advent of the EEG. This chapter and the one in his posthumously published textbook of 1940 are landmarks of epileptology of that era.     

Language and emotions: Emotional Sapir–Whorf hypothesis

An emotional version of Sapir–Whorf hypothesis suggests that differences in language emotionalities influence differences among cultures no less than conceptual differences. Conceptual contents of languages and cultures to significant extent are determined by words and their semantic differences; these could be borrowed among languages and exchanged among cultures. Emotional differences, as suggested in the paper, are related to grammar and mostly cannot be borrowed. The paper considers conceptual and emotional mechanisms of language along with their role in the mind and cultural evolution. Language evolution from primordial undifferentiated animal cries is discussed: while conceptual contents increase, emotional reduced. Neural mechanisms of these processes are suggested as well as their mathematical models: the knowledge instinct, the dual model connecting language and cognition, neural modeling fields. Mathematical results are related to cognitive science, linguistics, and psychology. Experimental evidence and theoretical arguments are discussed. Dynamics of the hierarchy–heterarchy of human minds and cultures is formulated using mean-field approach and approximate equations are obtained. The knowledge instinct operating in the mind heterarchy leads to mechanisms of differentiation and synthesis determining ontological development and cultural evolution. These mathematical models identify three types of cultures: ”conceptual” pragmatic cultures in which emotionality of language is reduced and differentiation overtakes synthesis resulting in fast evolution at the price of uncertainty of values, self doubts, and internal crises; “traditional–emotional” cultures where differentiation lags behind synthesis, resulting in cultural stability at the price of stagnation; and “multi-cultural” societies combining fast cultural evolution and stability. Unsolved problems and future theoretical and experimental directions are discussed.     

Neurologic complications of Churg–Strauss syndrome – a prospective monocentric study

Background: Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a rare systemic vasculitis. Case series with a focus on neurologic involvement are not common. With this study, we intended to evaluate the frequency and types of neurologic manifestations and complications at time of diagnosis and during follow‐up of patients with CSS. Methods: In this monocentric study, consecutive patients of our hospital with first diagnosis of CSS based on the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology were included between 2001 and 2007. Each patient underwent a periodic follow‐up with clinical and electrophysiologic examination. Data were obtained prospectively. Results: Fourteen patients were included. All patients had a hypereosinophilia and a history of asthma. Twelve of 14 patients had a neurologic involvement, mainly as an acute or subacute multiplex mononeuropathy (eight patients) or an axonal polyneuropathy (three patients). Three patients suffered from a neuropathy of cranial nerves, and two patients had a cerebral infarct. Mean follow‐up period was 31 months. With immunosuppressive therapy, 13 patients had no additional neurologic complications, one patient suffered from a cerebral infarct. Initial neurologic symptoms as a result of peripheral neuropathy improved, but sequelae of axonal damage were persistently detectable. Conclusions: Even at time of diagnosis of a CSS, neurologic manifestations are common, especially as a multiplex mononeuropathy. With a consequent immunosuppressive therapy, new neurologic complications can be avoided for the most part.     

Passages: 1994–1995

Beta-adrenergic stimulation appears to be involved in the establishment of both learned olfactory preferences and functional changes in the olfactory bulb of young rats. We examined the postnatal development of beta-adrenergic receptors within the main olfactory bulb to determine the density and distribution of these receptors. To quantify beta-adrenergic receptor density, olfactory bulb homogenates from postnatal day (PND) 1, 6, 12, and 19 rats were assessed for receptor binding with ¹²⁵I-iodopindolol. In addition, receptor autoradiography was performed with the selective P, antagonist ICI 89,406 and selective β₂ antagonist ICI 118,551 on tissue sections from PND 1–30 rats to examine the distribution of the beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes. We observed both an increase in receptor density with increasing age and the formation of distinct spatial distributions of the two beta receptor subtypes within the bulbar lamina. Beta-adrenergic receptors were located in both deep and superficial layers of the bulb. Specifically, β₁ receptors were present in the granule cell, internal plexiform and glomerular layers. β₂ receptors were present in the granule cell, internal plexiform, external plexiform, and glomerular layers. High levels Of β₂ receptors also were visible in the meningeal layers between the two bulbs. High densities of β₁ and β₂ adrenergic receptors were present within different sets of individual glomeruli by PND 12–19, and the number of these foci increased with age. The knowledge of beta-noradrenergic receptor localization in the bulb may provide the basis for understanding the action of norepinephrine on neural processes in the developing olfactory bulb. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Limbic encephalitis – a review

The clinical features of limbic encephalitis are diverse and early diagnosis of the disorder is frequently difficult. Four patients with limbic encephalitis are described. An antineuronal antibody was identified in three of these patients. Antibodies directed against voltage-gated potassium channels, the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and an unidentified neuropil antigen were each found in one patient. The fourth patient had multifocal paraneoplastic encephalitis associated with small cell lung cancer. The clinical and imaging findings associated with these antibodies and the other antineuronal antibodies described in patients with limbic encephalitis are reviewed. An approach to the diagnosis and management of limbic encephalitis is presented.     

Acute intermittent porphyria and mental illness – a family study

All cases of acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) are believed to be caused by a mutation in the gene encoding for porphobilinogen deaminase, a rate-limiting enzyme in the haem synthetic pathway. This gene has been mapped to the long arm of chromosome 11, a region of the genome that has recently attracted considerable attention as a possible location for genes implicated in major mental disorder. This study was designed to show whether major mental illness co-segregated with acute intermittent porphyria in families where the two conditions are found. The study also investigated the relation between clinical mental symptoms and biochemical parameters of acute intermittent porphyria. The case records of 344 consecutive patients admitted to the Porphyrias Research Group in the Western Infirmary in Glasgow between 1950 and 1988 with acute intermittent porphyria were examined for evidence of psychiatric contact. Of 16 individuals identified, 12 were available for the study. Forty relatives of these 12 probands, including 9 who were asymptomatic carriers of AIP, were interviewed for lifetime history of mental illness and current symptoms. Comparisons were made between 4 groups of patients based on urinary porphyrin levels and erythrocyte enzyme activity; 1) manifest acute intermittent porphyria, 2) latent acute intermittent porphyria, 3) normal relatives and 4) total acute intermittent porphyria (latent and manifest combined). No association was found between AIP and schizophrenia or manic-depressive illness. Only one patient with schizophrenia was found in the sample of 344 case notes, and in 2 families bipolar illness was found but did not segregate with acute intermittent porphyria. The commonest psychiatric diagnosis in patients was generalized anxiety. In the total AIP group (latent and manifest), compared with normals, the rating scale measures of anxiety were significantly correlated with the level of porphyrin metabolites in the urine at the time of rating. This was true even in subjects with latent AIP, who were not at the time of testing aware that they were asymptomatic carriers of the illness. AIP should be considered in the differential diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.     

Gating by induced Α–Γ asynchrony in selective attention

Visual selective attention operates through top–down mechanisms of signal enhancement and suppression, mediated by α‐band oscillations. The effects of such top–down signals on local processing in primary visual cortex (V1) remain poorly understood. In this work, we characterize the interplay between large‐scale interactions and local activity changes in V1 that orchestrates selective attention, using Granger‐causality and phase‐amplitude coupling (PAC) analysis of EEG source signals. The task required participants to either attend to or ignore oriented gratings. Results from time‐varying, directed connectivity analysis revealed frequency‐specific effects of attentional selection: bottom–up γ‐band influences from visual areas increased rapidly in response to attended stimuli while distributed top–down α‐band influences originated from parietal cortex in response to ignored stimuli. Importantly, the results revealed a critical interplay between top–down parietal signals and α–γ PAC in visual areas. Parietal α‐band influences disrupted the α–γ coupling in visual cortex, which in turn reduced the amount of γ‐band outflow from visual areas. Our results are a first demonstration of how directed interactions affect cross‐frequency coupling in downstream areas depending on task demands. These findings suggest that parietal cortex realizes selective attention by disrupting cross‐frequency coupling at target regions, which prevents them from propagating task‐irrelevant information.     

The “eyes have it,” but when in development?: The importance of a developmental perspective in our understanding of behavioral memory formation and the hippocampus

Lynn Nadel has been a trailblazer in memory research for decades. In just one example, Nadel and Zola‐Morgan [Infantile amnesia, In Infant memory, Springer, Boston, MA, 1984, pp. 145–172] were the first to present the provocative notion that the extended development of the hippocampus may underlie the period of infantile amnesia. In this special issue of Hippocampus to honor Lynn Nadel, we review some of his major contributions to the field of memory development, with an emphasis on his observations that behavioral memory assessments follow an uneven, yet protracted developmental course. We present data emphasizing this point from memory‐related eye movements [Hannula & Ranganath, Neuron, 2009, 63(5), 592–599]. Eye tracking is a sensitive behavioral measure, allowing for an indication of memory function even without overt responses, which is seemingly ideal for the investigation of memory in early childhood or in other nonverbal populations. However, the behavioral manifestation of these eye movements follows a U‐shaped trajectory—and one that must be understood before these indictors could be broadly used as a marker of memory. We examine the change in preferential looking time to target stimuli in school‐aged children and adults, and compare these eye movement responses to explicit recall measures. Our findings indicate change in the nature and timing of these eye movements in older children, causing us to question how 6‐month‐old infants may produce eye movements that initially appear to have the same properties as those measured in adulthood. We discuss these findings in the context of our current understanding of memory development, particularly the period of infantile amnesia.     

Lost in myth,lost in translation: Philippe Pinel’s 1809 Medico-Philosophical Treatise on Mental Alienation

Philippe Pinel is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern evidence-based psychiatry. Yet, until recently, his most important contributions to psychiatric theory and practice were effectively lost in myth, or lost in translation. It is instructive to review the history of these developments in order to correct any errors or omissions that may stand in the way of an accurate recognition of Pinel’s contributions to psychiatry, while at the same time highlighting some of his achievements that have been hidden by his celebrated mythical status as a pioneering humanitarian reformer. The aim of this article is to motivate further historical study of Pinel’s work, especially his 1809 Medico-Philosophical Treatise on Mental Alienation, which has only recently become available in English translation.     

De l’automatisme physiologique à l’automatisme psychopathologique chez Pierre Janet. Continuités et ruptures depuis la référence à Paul Janet jusqu’aux reformulations des neurosciences

Despite their great diversity, Pierre Janet's studies were, for a long time, referred to Freud's. Pierre Janet's originality, which will be transposed into the evolution of his conception of psychological automatism is that he enrolled in the sensualistic and spiritualistic movements that inspired his famous uncle, Paul Janet, before developing original, and still valid, conceptualizations in contact with his fellow researchers. Following the problematic of his time and thanks to his medical and philosophical formation, Pierre Janet will evolve new theoretical conceptions about mind and thinking which will be renewed only at the end of the xxth century.     

A case of non-psychotic autocastration: the importance of cultural factors

Male genital self-mutilation has been known to occur in psychotic patients. We report a case of premeditated autocastration in the absence of clinical disorder, both at the time of the mutilation and upon follow-up. Coming from a strict Slavic family, this patient repressed gender identity issues for decades. After migrating to Western Europe, his sexual ambiguity became actuated. His motives can be understood in the light of his personal and cultural background. This case shows that cultural factors may contribute to explaining male genital self-mutilation behaviors.     

Travel vision: “Collicular visual system?”

Two visually impaired children with occipital infarctions are presented. One patient has profound impairment of his primary visual pathway but has good vision for traveling, while the other child presented with the symptoms in reverse. We believe that these two patients provide further evidence that the primary visual pathway is used for conscious visual analysis and that the collicular visual system serves as the subconscious visual guidance for locomotion.     

Sexmodifying operations on transsexuals in Denmark in the period 1950–1977

In Denmark registration of all sex change applicants has become centralized, sice removal by operation of biologically healthy sexual organs cannot be performed unless authorized by the Ministry of Justice. All sex change applications in the period 1920–77 are examined and notes have been taken of the historical preconditions of operative treatment of transsexuals and the varying decisions regarding method of treatment. The first legal castration in Denmark – described as a sensation in the international press – was carried out without any further knowledge of transsexulalism as a nosological unity. It was believed that the patient was a suffering homosexual and that the suffering was caused by libidinal pressue, and so castration was sanctioned. It is pointed out that since the end of the fifties there has been more reservation in complying with wishes for castration, while wishes for change of name and identity number (in his country females have even numbers, while males have odd numbers) are complied with to a much higher degree than earlier. The number of persons applying for change of name, castration, and permission to publicly cross-dress has been recorded, and an approximately fivefold incidence of sex changes applicants is found in the period from 1950 to 1977. This increase is not solely ascribed to a rise in the number of transsexuals, but it is more likely due to better operative treatment causing applications form more potential petitioners. The relation between applying males and females has tended to be equalizing through the last three decades, so that ratio males:females is 2.8:1 in the secventies. The importance of a care ful psychiatric phenomenological elucidation before deciding on sexodifying changes is stressed.