HISTNEUR-L: The History of Neuroscience Internet Forum

[Previous Posting] [Next Posting]

Re: wernicke 

Paul:
While you are studying Wernicke's early work, answer this question?
In the 1874 monograph, why were the lateral surfaces of the brains on 
which the diagrams were sketeched Right Hemispheres?  Here is my feeling.
It was not a printer error, nor photograhic reversal.  I am not sure 
about photo printing  technology at that time.  Why were the letters on 
the diagram not reversed, if the brain was?  I simply think that at that 
time Wernicke was so impressed with the fact that the auditory system was 
crossed and cortically bilateral that he did not make anything of the 
right hemispheres in his figures.  I do not think this was any kind of 
printing error; again, he simply did not care.  Nor probably would have 
Meynert cared.  Just because everyone was excited in France by the middle 
1860's about the left hemisphere directing SPEECH, that does not mean 
that the guys in Germany were so impressed.  In fact, they were always 
pretty skeptical about the work in France and England.  Also, auditory 
systems were more tied in to COMPREHENSION, which some did not even feel 
had much to do with language at that time. Whit wrote that paper about 
Meynert in B&L a while back that discussed this.  Also, guys like 
Hughlings-Jackson were yelling about the Right Hem. role in 
comprenhension, etc.  So, I just don't think that Wernicke paid much 
attention to whether the diagram was over the Right or the Left -and 
especially as it played into auditory functioning for comprehension of 
language.  SO, NO PRINTER ERROR.  Can you find any evidence one way or 
another on this?  I am talking, now, about the 1874 monograph, not all 
the other stuff Wernicke wrote as the ensuing years floated by.

Tonight for our aphasia seminar I give my yearly history lecture.  Our 
library now has your book of readings, which I will pass on to the students.

Ciao,
Hugh Buckingham
<HISTNEUR-L@library.ucla.edu>