Full Issue

Abstract

The combined issue (Numbers 2–3–4) of Volume 8 of the International Journal of Neurology (1971) was dedicated to the thalamus. It opened with an editorial and an address by the editor, followed by an extensive series of experimental and clinical studies examining the structure, physiology, and integrative functions of thalamic nuclei in animals and humans.

The volume included detailed analyses of synaptic pathways connecting the caudate nucleus and dorsal thalamus (Frigyesi), cortical projections of the pulvinar nucleus in rhesus monkeys (Siqueira), and a re-evaluation of the ventrolateral nucleus and its cerebellar connections (Van Buren and Borke). Further neurophysiological studies investigated impulse propagation from the sensorimotor cortex to the center median nucleus (Blum), spontaneous neuronal activity in the ventrolateral thalamus (Lamarre and Joffroy), and the effects of cholinergic agents on nonspecific thalamic nuclei (Babb et al.).

Other contributions explored EEG spindle wave mechanisms (Steriade et al.), cerebellar influences on sensory relay nuclei (Snider and Sinis), and motor and postural functions of the thalamus, including its relation to the pulvinar (Cooper; Gilman et al.). The issue also presented pioneering clinical studies on language and cognition following pulvinar lesions (Brown et al.) and the role of subcortical structures—particularly the thalamus—in speech and language (Botez and Barbeau).

Further research examined thalamic and cortical neuron activity during learned movement (Evarts) and the thalamus in the regulation of aggressive behavior (Girgis).

The issue concluded with a short essay on Kos, Hippocrates’ birthplace, along with book reviews and news. Altogether, it represented one of the most comprehensive early compendia on thalamic structure and function, linking neuroanatomy, physiology, and behavioral neuroscience.