Herbert Major on the insula: An early depiction of von Economo neurones?

Herbert Major (1850-1921) undertook histopathological studies of human and non-human primate brains at the West Riding Lunatic Asylum in Wakefield, England, during the 1870s. Two of his papers specifically investigated the structure of the island of Reil, or insula, "with the view of ascertaining its exact structure". In addition to describing and illustrating its lamination as six-layered, Major also identified "spindle-shaped" cells in the lower layers of human brains, but not in non-human primates. His written description, including measurements of cell body size, and illustration are suggestive that these were the neurones later described in the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex by Constantin von Economo and Georg N. Koskinas and which were subsequently given the eponym "von Economo neurones". von Economo noted that this special neuronal type had been previously seen by Betz (1881), Hammarberg (1895), and Ramón y Cajal (1899-1904), but he did not mention Major's works. Major also ascribed linguistic functions to the insula. Hence, with respect to both anatomical and physiological features, Major may have pre-empted the findings of later research on this structure.

On the English (1931) and Spanish (1932) translations of von Economo's classic monograph on encephalitis lethargica.

The "second" seminal monograph by Constantin von Economo on encephalitis lethargica appeared in print in German in 1929, following his initial report of the disease (eponymously associated with his name) before the Viennese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology and the publication of his "first" monograph on the subject in 1917. The 1929 book was translated into English and Spanish and published by Humphrey Milford in Oxford and Espasa-Calpe in Madrid in 1931 and 1932, respectively. The present article gives some details of those translations and the neuropsychiatrists who produced them. Moreover, four previously unpublished letters by von Economo are presented, relating to the English edition of Die Encephalitis lethargica. These letters are of historical interest, as they provide insights into von Economo's personality and view of the translation.

The physiological experiments of Constantin von Economo on the central pathways of mastication and deglutition.

The first study of Constantin von Economo on the mammalian brain was published in 1902. Experiments were carried out in rabbits at the Physiological Institute headed by Siegmund von Exner-Ewarten in Vienna to investigate the central pathways of chewing and swallowing. After placing cortical lesions, Economo applied cortical and subcortical electrical stimulation to obtain masticatory movements, and tracked degenerated fibers by means of the Marchi method. He traced fibers through the internal capsule, ventral nucleus of the thalamus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra and its connections with the motor nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, and nucleus solitarius. He suggested that the substantia nigra is responsible for coordinating alimentation movements, with the involvement of cranial nerves V, VII, IX and X as well. We discuss these findings in a historical and a modern perspective, including the concept of a central pattern generator in the pontine reticular formation and its interaction with the nucleus solitarius. Today we understand that mastication is a voluntary action controlled by motor cortical areas, by motoneurons of the trigeminal, and by a neural pattern generator in the pons. On the other hand, deglutition comprises 'reflex swallowing' triggered by sensory fibers of cranial nerves V, IX and X, and 'voluntary swallowing' which may be controlled by both cortical fields and subcortical areas, such as the internal capsule, the hypothalamus and the mesencephalic reticular formation.

Constantin von Economo's last publication: a commentary on Charles Fraipont's "Évolution cérébrale".

This paper highlights a commentary written by the neurologist Constantin von Economo on a book published by the Belgian paleontologist Charles Fraipont in 1931. The commentary appears to be Economo's last opus, published posthumously in early 1933. The reviewed work deals with the evolution of the brain in primates, hominids and humans, presenting some interesting ideas about the phylogeny of the human cerebral hemispheres in conjunction with the living conditions of the genera in consideration.

The Economo-Koskinas atlas revisited: cytoarchitectonics and functional context.

The monumental Atlas of Cytoarchitectonics of the Adult Human Cerebral Cortex of Economo and Koskinas represents a gigantic intellectual and technical effort, never sufficiently recognized. One reason might have been the limited number of copies produced; another, the complex (albeit logical and precise) symbol notation, which comprises a Roman capital (from the initial of the respective lobe), a calligraphic capital (the sequence of a gyrus within a lobe), and a Latin or Greek subscript (for microscopic features). Economo and Koskinas defined 107 cortical areas, as opposed to Brodmann's 44 areas for the human brain. Their cytoarchitectonic criteria confer the advantage of a more detailed parcellation scheme, despite the traditional familiarity of neuroscientists with Brodmann numbers. The system of 107 areas of Economo and Koskinas may be especially useful for modern studies on functional localization.

A proposed number system for the 107 cortical areas of Economo and Koskinas, and Brodmann area correlations.

In their Atlas of Cytoarchitectonics of the Adult Human Cerebral Cortex, Economo and Koskinas defined 54 'ground,' 76 'variant,' and 107 'modification' areas. The 107 modifications are topographically distributed as 35 frontal, 13 superior limbic, 6 insular, 18 parietal, 7 occipital, 14 temporal and 14 inferior limbic (or hippocampal). One way to make the Economo-Koskinas system more practical is to encode the complex symbol notations of the 107 cortical areas with numbers EK 1 through EK 107. The present study does that, and it further correlates Economo-Koskinas areas with Brodmann areas, based on an overview of the classical and modern neurohistological literature.

The signalling contributions of Constantin von Economo to basic, clinical and evolutionary neuroscience.

The study, and the companion article that follows, reviews the entire spectrum of the epoch-making contributions of Constantin von Economo (1876-1931) to basic, clinical and evolutionary Neuroscience. An astute observer and avid writer, von Economo left marks of brilliance on fundamental areas of brain research through an exuberant record of publications dating from 1899 to 1932. His ingenious medical career began with the histological study of the developing pigeon and chick hypophysis, and culminated with bold propositions about the neuroanatomy of talent and the future evolution of the human brain. On the way, he made the seminal discovery of encephalitis lethargica ('von Economo disease'), and produced, with Georg N. Koskinas (1885-1975), one of the masterpieces of brain science, the 1925 Cytoarchitectonics of the Adult Human Cerebral Cortex, defining 107 cortical areas on the basis of cytoarchitectonic criteria. His untimely death at age 55, barely 5.5 months after inaugurating his new Brain Research Institute in Vienna, deprived the Neuroscience world of one of its brightest protagonists during the 20th century. An annotated total of 139 scientific works by von Economo have been identified. The present study covers the 76 works on brain structure, evolution and intelligence, and general works on nervous and mental pathology, with the complete bibliographic information. The companion article covers the remaining 63 works on encephalitis lethargica and sleep regulation.

The percipient observations of Constantin von Economo on encephalitis lethargica and sleep disruption and their lasting impact on contemporary sleep research.

The study, and the preceding companion article, reviews the pioneering contributions of Constantin von Economo (1876-1931) to Neuroscience in a modern context. The neurological studies of von Economo include the discovery of a new nosological entity, encephalitis lethargica, with which his name is forever linked ('von Economo disease'). Based on a percipient analysis of pathoanatomical material from patients with encephalitis lethargica who manifested with either insomnia or somnolence, von Economo deduced the existence of distinct centres in the brain for the regulation of sleep and wakefulness. He presented a synthesis of his ideas in a series of lectures in New York in 1929 and at the First International Neurological Congress held in Berne in 1931. Constantin von Economo was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of encephalitis lethargica. As those studies have exerted and continue to exert the highest impact among von Economo's publications, the present article examines the spectrum of his observations on encephalitis lethargica and the cerebral control of sleep, documented in 63 published works--including post-humous translations into French and English of original German texts; complete bibliographic information is given. His remaining 76 works of an annotated total of 139 scientific publications deal with brain structure, evolution and intelligence, as well as general works on nervous and mental pathology and form the focus of the preceding article.