THE FUNCTION OF THE PREFRONTAL LOBES.APROPOS OF THE PATHOLOGIC FINDINGS IN A CASE.

Comparative anatomy teaches that the frontal lobes of ascending types of animals are found gradually increasing in size. In anthropoid apes, the brain, which is very similar to that of man, is distinguished from the latter by the development of the frontal convolutions; they are all short and the inferior one, particularly so. In the studies by morphologists and neurologists, considerable attention is given to the question of the localization of psychic functions. Researches in comparative and experimental physiology, clinical observations, histologic studies, all lead to this view that a coöperation of all constituent portions of the brain is necessary for a normal function of intellect and that only a diffuse alteration of the brain is able to produce a modification in intelligence. Nevertheless, the anterior portion, the so-called prefrontal lobe, has been recognized since Gall, as the preponderantly better developed in highly intellectual individuals and that mental deficiency goes