Higher functions of the nervous system.

Abstract

The field covered by higher brain functions is as yet iII defined. In principle, it should extend to all functions that are not strictly sensory receptive or motor projective and which, according to traditional psychology, are somehow artificially divided into attention, perception, voluntary activity, higher i ntegrations, learning, mem ory, etc. Having to make a choice-unavoidably oriented by personal biases and interests­ I decided to concentrate on cognitive and elaborative mechanisms. The emphasis is on electro physiological data, but ablation and stimulation studies also remain indispensable tools whose results deserve consideration here. Neurochemical and neuropharmacological investigations are not included as, up to now, they do not seem to have provided many new ideas in this field. Finally, due to the conciseness of this study, no specific section is devoted to memory, which, owing to its com­ plexity, would require special attention.