RELATION OF THE FRONTAL LOBE TO THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN MAN

Abstract

BILATERAL subcortical section of the frontal lobe of the brain was introduced to this country by Walter Freeman and James Watts¹ in 1936 for the treatment of serious mental conditions. In the course of the many hundreds of operations which have been performed, clinical observations have indicated a close relation of the frontal lobes to the autonomic nervous system. Sudden fall in blood pressure, relief from indigestion and palpitation, decrease in the blood sugar level, changes in gastrointestinal functions, sudden outbursts of rage, trembling, perspiration and occasional angioneurotic edema are some of the clinical observations after lobotomy which relate to the autonomic nervous system. Neurophysiologic investigations on animals in the past few years have uncovered fundamental facts with regard to cortical representations of the autonomic nervous system. Inhibition of respiration, rise of blood pressure and decrease in the tonus of the gastric musculature on electrical stimulation of the orbital