LOCALIZATION OF FUNCTION IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Abstract

The patterns of localization of nervous functions are of 2 sorts: (1) The analytic functions, such as specific reflexes, are served by stable arrangements of neurons whose precise locations can be charted. (2) The synthetic or integrative functions seem to pertain to the organism as a whole, but further study of the structure and development of the brain reveals fields with assignable boundaries within which integration is effected and the more labile functions of conditioning, learning and intelligent adjustment are performed. The structural arrangements which are localized in these 2 ways are as unlike as are the functions performed by them.