Primordial Feature Research Articles

Euclid: The search for primordial features

Primordial features, in particular oscillatory signals, imprinted in the primordial power spectrum of density perturbations represent a clear window of opportunity for detecting new physics at high-energy scales. Future spectroscopic and photometric measurements from the Euclid space mission will provide unique constraints on the primordial power spectrum, thanks to the redshift coverage and high-accuracy measurement of nonlinear scales, thus allowing us to investigate deviations from the standard power-law primordial power spectrum. We consider two models with primordial undamped oscillations superimposed on the matter power spectrum described by 1 + 𝒜X sin (ωXΞX + 2 πϕX), one linearly spaced in k space with Ξlin ≡ k/k* where k* = 0.05 Mpc−1 and the other logarithmically spaced in k space with Ξlog ≡ ln(k/k*). We note that 𝒜X is the amplitude of the primordial feature, ωX is the dimensionless frequency, and ϕX is the normalised phase, where X = {lin, log}. We provide forecasts from spectroscopic and photometric primary Euclid probes on the standard cosmological parameters Ωm, 0, Ωb, 0, h, ns, and σ8, and the primordial feature parameters 𝒜X, ωX, and ϕX. We focus on the uncertainties of the primordial feature amplitude 𝒜X and on the capability of Euclid to detect primordial features at a given frequency. We also study a nonlinear density reconstruction method in order to retrieve the oscillatory signals in the primordial power spectrum, which are damped on small scales in the late-time Universe due to cosmic structure formation. Finally, we also include the expected measurements from Euclid’s galaxy-clustering bispectrum and from observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We forecast uncertainties in estimated values of the cosmological parameters with a Fisher matrix method applied to spectroscopic galaxy clustering (GCsp), weak lensing (WL), photometric galaxy clustering (GCph), the cross correlation (XC) between GCph and WL, the spectroscopic galaxy clustering bispectrum, the CMB temperature and E-mode polarisation, the temperature-polarisation cross correlation, and CMB weak lensing. We consider two sets of specifications for the Euclid probes (pessimistic and optimistic) and three different CMB experiment configurations, that is, Planck, Simons Observatory (SO), and CMB Stage-4 (CMB-S4). We find the following percentage relative errors in the feature amplitude with Euclid primary probes: for the linear (logarithmic) feature model, with a fiducial value of 𝒜X = 0.01, ωX = 10, and ϕX = 0: 21% (22%) in the pessimistic settings and 18% (18%) in the optimistic settings at a 68.3% confidence level (CL) using GCsp+WL+GCph+XC. While the uncertainties on the feature amplitude are strongly dependent on the frequency value when single Euclid probes are considered, we find robust constraints on 𝒜X from the combination of spectroscopic and photometric measurements over the frequency range of (1, 102.1). Due to the inclusion of numerical reconstruction, the GCsp bispectrum, SO-like CMB reduces the uncertainty on the primordial feature amplitude by 32%–48%, 50%–65%, and 15%–50%, respectively. Combining all the sources of information explored expected from Euclid in combination with the future SO-like CMB experiment, we forecast 𝒜lin ≃ 0.010 ± 0.001 at a 68.3% CL and 𝒜log ≃ 0.010 ± 0.001 for GCsp(PS rec + BS)+WL+GCph+XC+SO-like for both the optimistic and pessimistic settings over the frequency range (1, 102.1).

Primordial feature constraints from BOSS + eBOSS

Understanding the universe in its pristine epoch is crucial in order to obtain a concise comprehension of the late-time universe. Although current data in cosmology are compatible with Gaussian primordial perturbations whose power spectrum follows a nearly scale-invariant power law, this need not be the case when a fundamental theoretical construction is assumed. These extended models lead to sharp features in the primordial power spectrum, breaking its scale invariance. In this work, we obtain combined constraints on four primordial feature models by using the final data release of the BOSS galaxies and eBOSS quasars. By pushing towards the fundamental mode of these surveys and using the larger eBOSS volume, we were able to extend the feature parameter space (i.e. the feature frequency ω) by a factor of four compared to previous analyses using BOSS. While we did not detect any significant features, previous work showed that next-generation galaxy surveys such as DESI will improve the sensitivity to features by a factor of 7, and will also extend the parameter space by a factor of 2.5.

Accelerating astronomical and cosmological inference with preconditioned Monte Carlo

ABSTRACT We introduce preconditioned Monte Carlo (PMC), a novel Monte Carlo method for Bayesian inference that facilitates efficient sampling of probability distributions with non-trivial geometry. PMC utilizes a Normalizing Flow (NF) in order to decorrelate the parameters of the distribution and then proceeds by sampling from the preconditioned target distribution using an adaptive Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) scheme. The results produced by PMC include samples from the posterior distribution and an estimate of the model evidence that can be used for parameter inference and model comparison, respectively. The aforementioned framework has been thoroughly tested in a variety of challenging target distributions achieving state-of-the-art sampling performance. In the cases of primordial feature analysis and gravitational wave inference, PMC is approximately 50 and 25 times faster, respectively, than nested sampling (NS). We found that in higher dimensional applications, the acceleration is even greater. Finally, PMC is directly parallelisable, manifesting linear scaling up to thousands of CPUs.

Classical cosmological collider physics and primordial features

Features in the inflationary landscape can inject extra energies to inflation models and produce on-shell particles with masses much larger than the Hubble scale of inflation. This possibility extends the energy reach of the program of cosmological collider physics, in which signals associated with these particles are generically Boltzmann-suppressed. We study the mechanisms of this classical cosmological collider in two categories of primordial features. In the first category, the primordial feature is classical oscillation, which includes the case of coherent oscillation of a massive field and the case of oscillatory features in the inflationary potential. The second category includes any sharp feature in the inflation model. All these classical features can excite unsuppressed quantum modes of other heavy fields which leave observational signatures in primordial non-Gaussianities, including the information about the particle spectra of these heavy degrees of freedom.

Uncovering the history of cosmic inflation from anomalies in cosmic microwave background spectra

We propose an inflationary primordial feature model that can explain both the large and small-scale anomalies in the currently measured cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectra, revealing a clip of adventurous history of the Universe during its primordial epoch. Although the model is currently statistically indistinguishable from the Standard Model, we show that planned observations such as the Simons Observatory, LiteBIRD and CMB-S4 will complement each other in distinguishing the model differences due to their accurate E-mode polarization measurements, offering very optimistic prospects for a detection or exclusion. The model predicts a signal of classical primordial standard clock, which can also be used to distinguish the inflation and alternative scenarios in a model-independent fashion.

The origin of nitrogen in Earth's mantle: Constraints from basalts 15N/14N and N2/3He ratios

Plate tectonics is thought to be a major driver of volatile redistribution on Earth. The budget of nitrogen in Earth's mantle has been suggested to be almost entirely surface-derived. Recycling would contribute nitrogen with relatively heavy 15N/14N isotope ratios to Earth's mantle. This could explain why the Earth's mantle 15N/14N isotope ratio is substantially higher than both solar gases and chondritic parent bodies akin to enstatite chondrites. Here, published nitrogen isotope data of mid-ocean ridge and ocean island basalts are compiled and used to evaluate the nitrogen subduction hypothesis. Nitrogen isotope ratios are used in conjunction with published N2/3He and K2O/TiO2 ratios on the same basalts. Assuming that 3He is not recycled, N2/3He ratios are argued to trace nitrogen addition to mantle sources via subduction. Various mantle source enrichments for basalts are tracked with K2O/TiO2 ratios: elevated K2O/TiO2 ratios are assumed to primarily reflect the contributions of recycled components in the basalts mantle sources. The main result of our data compilation is that for most basalts, δ15N and N2/3He remain constant across a vast range of K2O/TiO2 ratios. Mid-ocean ridge basalts have δ15N signatures that are lower than air by ~4‰ and an average N2/3He ratio of 3.7 (±1.2) x106 (95% confidence, n = 30). Published δ15N and N2/3He are invariant across K2O/TiO2 ratios that vary over a factor of ~20. Using estimates of slab K2O/TiO2 and [TiO2], the observed invariant δ15N and N2/3He may be fit with slabs containing ~0.1 ppm N. A mass balance shows that adding ~10% recycled slabs to the convective mantle only raises the N2/3He by <5%. Lavas from Iceland, Galapagos and Hawaii have high 3He/4He and 15N/14N ratios relative to the convective mantle. Only seven samples show nitrogen isotopic signatures that are unaffected by air contamination, although those samples are poorly characterized for N2/3He. The seven basalts show δ15N between −2 and 0‰ that do not vary systematically with K2O/TiO2 ratios that vary over a factor of ~5. The N2/3He ratios of these seven basalts is unknown, but the high 3He/4He mantle may be estimated by combining published N2/36Ar to 3He/36Ar ratios. This yields a N2/3He of 2.3 (±1.2) x 106 (1σ uncertainty). This is indistinguishable from the MORB estimate of 3.7 (±1.2) x 106. Invariant δ15N across variable degrees of mantle enrichments and MORB-like N2/3He for the high 3He/4He mantle are not consistent with nitrogen addition to plume sources with elevated 3He/4He ratios. A δ15N between −2 and 0‰ for plume sources, only marginally higher than MORB, could be a primordial feature of undegassed mantle reservoirs. Nonetheless, nitrogen subduction may have contributed to a specific array of mantle sources, as revealed by the few published data on basalts with low 3He/4He ratios. Lavas from the Society plume with low 3He/4He ratios show an enriched mantle source, and they have elevated δ15N ≥ +0.5‰ and N2/3He > 107. For those, the addition of slabs with concentrations of ~0.1 ppm N to a mantle source can account for the integrated dataset. To summarize, the published data suggest that nitrogen subduction may explain a sub-set of published N isotope data on basalts, but that N recycling has an overall more limited impact on mantle nitrogen than previously thought.

Tetrahymena meiosis: Simple yet ingenious.

The presence of meiosis, which is a conserved component of sexual reproduction, across organisms from all eukaryotic kingdoms, strongly argues that sex is a primordial feature of eukaryotes. However, extant meiotic structures and processes can vary considerably between organisms. The ciliated protist Tetrahymena thermophila, which diverged from animals, plants, and fungi early in evolution, provides one example of a rather unconventional meiosis. Tetrahymena has a simpler meiosis compared with most other organisms: It lacks both a synaptonemal complex (SC) and specialized meiotic machinery for chromosome cohesion and has a reduced capacity to regulate meiotic recombination. Despite this, it also features several unique mechanisms, including elongation of the nucleus to twice the cell length to promote homologous pairing and prevent recombination between sister chromatids. Comparison of the meiotic programs of Tetrahymena and higher multicellular organisms may reveal how extant meiosis evolved from proto-meiosis.

Comparing multi-field primordial feature models with the Planck data

In this paper, we use a complete model of classical primordial standard clocks as an example to develop a methodology of directly comparing numerical predictions from complicated multi-field feature models with the Planck data, including the Planck 2018 Plik unbinned likelihood and the statistically most powerful CamSpec 2020 likelihood for temperature and polarization data. As this two-field inflationary model offers a plethora of primordial feature spectra that represent combinations of sharp and resonant feature signals non-trivially distributed over extended cosmological scales, its data comparison has not been satisfactorily addressed by previous attempts using analytical templates. The method of this paper, consisting of numerical prediction, effective parameter construction and nested sampling data comparison, allows us to efficiently explore every possible spectra from the model. We classify the resulting feature candidates in three different frequency ranges. We use the Bayesian evidences to assess the statistical significance of the candidates over the baseline model, taking into account the effect of additional parameters and the look-elsewhere effect.Although none of the candidates is statistically significant, the methodology of this paper can be used to facilitate the future model-building and data-screening process of primordial features, and the candidates can be subjected to further tests with data from the upcoming cosmic microwave background polarization observations and galaxy surveys.

Introducing Usage-Based Encryption for a Secure and Versatile Access Control Scheme of Electronic Health Records on Cloud

In this study, we introduce Usage-Based Encryption (UBE) approach for a secure, efficient, ubiquitous and versatile management of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) on cloud. The primordial feature lies in delegating the fundamental security guidelines and procedures to the patient in terms of encryption, access control and digital signatures. In contrast with other frequently used approaches, the proposed scheme grants the patient enhanced independence from cloud providers' policies and thus, renders increased administrative authority while sustaining a highly flexible and resourceful configuration. A comprehensive scheme is painstakingly detailed to encompass all tangible situations pertaining to a highly effective control of the EHR in a platform-free sphere. As a matter of fact, encryption and hashing modi operandi are scrupulously and relevantly fixed on to guarantee Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA). Furthermore, privileges and revocation of access are discussed in their minutiae from a usage perspective to provide patients broader maneuverability of their health records prior to housing them on clouds.

Evidence of shock‐induced vaporization of matrix to form porosity in Baszkówka, a porous L5 chondrite

AbstractBaszkówka is an equilibrated, apparently low‐shock, unusually porous chondrite. Some earlier studies were undertaken to understand whether the porosity in Baszkówka, and similar porous chondrites, is a relic of a primordial feature or rather the effect of atypical reprocessing on the parent body. Neither of the studies reconstructed the accurate thermal and deformational evolution of chondrites, however, while it is known that shock‐induced compaction is the main means to affect chondritic porosity. Here we use a combination of 3‐D and 2‐D petrographic examination to understand how the evolution of pores correlates with thermal and shock history recorded in the Baszkówka chondrite. The grain framework silicates in Baszkówka contain healed shock fractures—a clear recorder of significant shock process and postshock annealing. Simultaneously, metal grains do not exhibit any preferred orientation or fabric, which would be expected to develop in response to the deformation as recorded by silicates. We interpret this as evidence for re‐agglomeration and annealing of shocked material. Pore spaces in Baszkówka are connected and decorated by fine‐grained plagioclase‐dominated mass and bulky euhedral olivine crystals, which exhibit growth steps on crystal surfaces. The euhedral olivine must have formed owing to the condensation of a vapor, while plagioclase most likely crystallized from melted chondritic matrix. During the shock event, fine‐grained matrix in Baszkówka was melted and vaporized. Vapor expansion added to ballistic velocity led to ejection and opening of the pore spaces. After re‐agglomeration in a hot ejecta blanket the rock was annealed, melted material circulated in created pore spaces and vapor condensed.

The future of primordial features with large-scale structure surveys

Primordial features are one of the most important extensions of the Standard Model of cosmology, providing a wealth of information on the primordial Universe, ranging from discrimination between inflation and alternative scenarios, new particle detection, to fine structures in the inflationary potential. We study the prospects of future large-scale structure (LSS) surveys on the detection and constraints of these features. We classify primordial feature models into several classes, and for each class we present a simple template of power spectrum that encodes the essential physics. We study how well the most ambitious LSS surveys proposed to date, including both spectroscopic and photometric surveys, will be able to improve the constraints with respect to the current Planck data. We find that these LSS surveys will significantly improve the experimental sensitivity on features signals that are oscillatory in scales, due to the 3D information. For a broad range of models, these surveys will be able to reduce the errors of the amplitudes of the features by a factor of 5 or more, including several interesting candidates identified in the recent Planck data. Therefore, LSS surveys offer an impressive opportunity for primordial feature discovery in the next decade or two. We also compare the advantages of both types of surveys.

Characterization of Speech Therapy Intervention in Children with Acute Viral Bronchiolitis Who Needed Ventilatory Support

Introduction: Acute viral bronchiolitis is characterized by being the first episode of lower airway disease in children under 1 year old and it has as primordial feature the increase of the respiratory rate. Among the respiratory impairments brought, many children end up needing mechanical ventilation and an alternative way of nourishment.

Mixed‐linkage β‐glucan : xyloglucan endotransglucosylase, a novel wall‐remodelling enzyme from Equisetum (horsetails) and charophytic algae

Mixed-linkage (1-->3,1-->4)-beta-d-glucan (MLG), a hemicellulose long thought to be confined to certain Poales, was recently also found in Equisetum; xyloglucan occurs in all land plants. We now report that Equisetum possesses MLG:xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (MXE), which is a unique enzyme that grafts MLG to xyloglucan oligosaccharides (e.g. the heptasaccharide XXXGol). MXE occurs in all Equisetum species tested (Equisetum arvense, Equisetum fluviatile, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum scirpoides, Equisetum telmateia and Equisetum variegatum), sometimes exceeding xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) activity. Charophytic algae, especially Coleochaete, also possess MXE, which may therefore have been a primordial feature of plant cell walls. However, MXE was negligible in XET-rich extracts from grasses, dicotyledons, ferns, Selaginella and bryophytes. This and the following four additional observations indicate that MXE activity is not the result of a conventional xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH): (i) XET, but not MXE, activity correlates with the reaction rate on water-soluble cellulose acetate, hydroxyethylcellulose and carboxymethylcellulose, (ii) MXE and XET activities peak in old and young Equisetum stems, respectively, (iii) MXE has a higher affinity for XXXGol (K(m) approximately 4 microM) than any known XTH, (iv) MXE and XET activities differ in their oligosaccharide acceptor-substrate preferences. High-molecular-weight (M(r)) xyloglucan strongly competes with [(3)H]XXXGol as the acceptor-substrate of MXE, whereas MLG oligosaccharides are poor acceptor-substrates. Thus, MLG-to-xyloglucan grafting appears to be the favoured activity of MXE. In conclusion, Equisetum has evolved MLG plus MXE, potentially a unique cell wall remodelling mechanism. The prominence of MXE in mature stems suggests a strengthening/repairing role. We propose that cereals, which possess MLG but lack MXE, might be engineered to express this Equisetum enzyme, thereby enhancing the crop mechanical properties.

Is dihydrolipoic acid among the reductive activators of parasite CysHis proteases?

Activities of mature CysHis proteases depend upon relative rates of oxidations vs. reductions of catalytic sulfur by multiple enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. CysHis peptidolysis is inhibited by Fe 3+ but not Fe 2+. Others report the paradox that malarial parasites require exogenous free lipoic acid (LA) from human host, although the apicoplast organelle produces it. Extra-cellular LA disulfide can be taken up and reduced to dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) by reductases of any cell type. Here, the opposing effects of DHLA vs. Fe 3+ on the falcipain-2 hemoglobinase were investigated employing Z-Phe-Arg-AMC substrate. Despite limited solubility, non-regenerated DHLA (10 μM, threshold 2 μM) was found to be the most potent activator of the air-inactivated (sulfoxygenated) protease discovered thus far. Activation was preemptively opposed by Fe 3+, but not Fe 2+. However, cruzain from T. cruzi, and cathepsin B from mammal were indistinguishable in their responsiveness to DHLA and Fe redox. Thus, DHLA activation vs. Fe 3+ inhibition is not unique to falcipain-2 or apicomplexans but is rather a primordial feature of CysHis peptidolysis. Free LA and/or unassociated lipoylated enzyme subunits could be among multiple pathways shuttling reducing equivalents to reduction of proteins, including CysHis proteases. It is discussed that opposing DHLA-Fe 3+ modification of plasmodial proteolysis might be a specialized adaption to intra-erythrocytic growth.

Educating the Social Partners

At one of the European enlargement conferences the then Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs said “social policy, from education to health and safety, from social protection to labour law, is the foundation stone of the EU’s successful political and economic progress, as political democracies and as market economies.” This statement puts in a nutshell the significance of the EU’s social policy programme. Within that programme the important function of the social dialogue between the social partners, namely the representatives of employers and representatives of employees, cannot be under estimated. The two way dialogue between the autonomous and independent representatives of each side of industry, as well as, where relevant, with governments, is not only of importance but is a key element of a meaningful social policy. Social policy is a primordial feature in the improvement of economic performance of any Member State and is central to a nation’s economic progress. The social dialogue, an important feature of European social policy, has not been with out its problems and has not always been easy to effectuate. In many cases employers are uneasy with this process; are reluctant to carry out a dialogue with unions; or simply refuse to recognise a union for collective bargaining purposes. In spite of these setbacks, there has been some progress made in the social dialogue field at European level.

Single field inflation and non-Gaussianity

We study non-Gaussian signatures on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation predicted within inflationary models with non-vacuum initial states for cosmological perturbations. The model incorporates a privileged scale, which implies the existence of a feature in the primordial power spectrum. This broken-scale-invariant model predicts a vanishing three-point correlation function for the CMB temperature anisotropies (or any other odd-numbered-point correlation function) whilst an intrinsic non-Gaussian signature arises for any even-numbered-point correlation function. We thus focus on the first non-vanishing moment, the CMB four-point function at zero lag, namely the kurtosis, and compute its expected value for different locations of the primordial feature in the spectrum, as suggested in the literature to conform with observations of large scale structure. The excess kurtosis is found to be negative and the signal to noise ratio for the dimensionless excess kurtosis parameter is equal to $|S/N|\ensuremath{\simeq}4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4},$ almost independently of the free parameters of the model. This signature turns out to be undetectable. We conclude that, subject to current tests, Gaussianity is a generic property of single field inflationary models. The only uncertainty concerning this prediction is that the effect of back reaction has not yet been properly incorporated. The implications for the trans-Planckian problem of inflation are also briefly discussed.

A primordial feature at the scale of superclusters of galaxies

We investigate a spatially flat cold dark matter model (with the matter density parameter with a primordial feature in the initial power spectrum. We assume that there is a bump in the power spectrum of density fluctuations at wavelengths , which corresponds to the scale of superclusters of galaxies. There are indications for such a feature in the power spectra derived from redshift surveys and also in the power spectra derived from peculiar velocities of galaxies. We study the mass function of clusters of galaxies, the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature fluctuations, the rms bulk velocity and the rms peculiar velocity of clusters of galaxies. The baryon density is assumed to be consistent with the big bang nucleosynthesis value. We show that with an appropriately chosen feature in the power spectrum of density fluctuations at the scale of superclusters, the mass function of clusters, the CMB power spectrum, the rms bulk velocity and the rms peculiar velocity of clusters are in good agreement with the observed data.

The evolution of galaxy clustering

This paper investigates whether nonlinear gravitational instability can account for the clustering of galaxies on large and small scales, and for the evolution of clustering with epoch. No CDM-like spectrum is consistent with the shape of the observed nonlinear spectrum. Unbiased low-density models greatly overpredict the small-scale correlations; high-density models would require a bias which does not vary monotonically with scale. The true linear power spectrum contains a primordial feature at $k\simeq 0.1 \hompc$, and must break quite abruptly to an effective slope of $n\ls -2.3$ on smaller scales This empirical fluctuation spectrum also fits the CFRS data on the evolution of clustering, provided the universe is open with $\Omega\simeq 0.3$. Only this case explains naturally how the small-scale spectrum can evolve at the observed rate while retaining the same power-law index. An unbiased open model also matches correctly the large-scale COBE data, and offers an attractively simple picture for the phenomenology of galaxy clustering.

Interactions of heavy metal compounds with the glutathione system in C6 glioma cells

Activities of mature CysHis proteases depend upon relative rates of oxidations vs. reductions of catalytic sulfur by multiple enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. CysHis peptidolysis is inhibited by Fe3+ but not Fe2+. Others report the paradox that malarial parasites require exogenous free lipoic acid (LA) from human host, although the apicoplast organelle produces it. Extra-cellular LA disulfide can be taken up and reduced to dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) by reductases of any cell type. Here, the opposing effects of DHLA vs. Fe3+ on the falcipain-2 hemoglobinase were investigated employing Z-Phe-Arg-AMC substrate. Despite limited solubility, non-regenerated DHLA (10 μM, threshold 2 μM) was found to be the most potent activator of the air-inactivated (sulfoxygenated) protease discovered thus far. Activation was preemptively opposed by Fe3+, but not Fe2+. However, cruzain from T. cruzi, and cathepsin B from mammal were indistinguishable in their responsiveness to DHLA and Fe redox. Thus, DHLA activation vs. Fe3+ inhibition is not unique to falcipain-2 or apicomplexans but is rather a primordial feature of CysHis peptidolysis. Free LA and/or unassociated lipoylated enzyme subunits could be among multiple pathways shuttling reducing equivalents to reduction of proteins, including CysHis proteases. It is discussed that opposing DHLA-Fe3+ modification of plasmodial proteolysis might be a specialized adaption to intra-erythrocytic growth.

An attempted correlation of the diverse hypotheses of functional localization in the cerebral cortex

In the present state of knowledge, the aims of the constructive critic must be modest, for the solutions of any of the problems considered are not for today. Yet it is permissible to turn over the pages of the relevant history of our subject to see if, perhaps, something more might be made of the mass of information in our hands than has, in fact, been made. With this in mind, it is here suggested that there may appear to be two orders of functional localization in the cerebral cortex, one related to the fixed structures, namely, the somatotopic regions of motor and sensory primary representation in the cortex, together with their long projection paths, and, on the other hand, an order of localization of which the cortical neuropil is the essential seat. In neither order is there a basis of a fixed mosaic of representations of items of movement, and in neither is there complete equipotentiality, but, it is submitted, the crystallization of several generations of electrical cortical stimulation to evoke muscular movements into the concept of the mosaic as the basis of functional organization is, in effect, a surrender of physiology to topography. It arises, I believe, from a confusion of two elements that, I suggest, are discernible in cortical stimulation: namely, the direct stimulation of efferent pyramidal neurons which seems to by-pass the cortex, and the concomitant stimulation of the neuropil within the excitable region, which adds to the picture those elements of ‘lability’ or instability of the cortex which Sherrington and his coworkers first closely analysed. The electrical stimulation of the sensory regions of the cortex can also produce crude sensations, and the mosaic of the area striata, for example, reveals a topographical plan of entrant sensory fibres, but not the plan of integration of visual impulses which takes place outside this area and is not based upon any mosaic plan of which we have evidence. Functional localization within the neuropil is not an affair of fixed representations of items of motor or sensory function in a mosaic pattern, but a matter, as Lashley has proposed, of patterns of action moving over a field of relatively undifferentiated neuropil, and not buttoned down to cortical points. Equipotentiality seems to be a primordial feature of all nervous systems, and when damage occurs in such a system, this allows of the use of other patterns of neuromuscular action, that is, of what Jackson spoke of as the ‘surviving fittest’. It is probable that in man, the measure of equipotentiality of the rat and of still lower animals, is not found and that even within the neuropil there are fields of functional differentiation. Problems of great complexity remain, and unsound interpretations are still with us. Some may well feel that in the circumstances speculation is idle, but unless we submit our facts to contemplation we labour in vain for they remain without significance to science. Thus it is that to rattle some of the skeletons in the neurological cupboard from time to time may prove a useful catalysing operation.