Constantin von Monakow
Constantin von Monakow(4 November 1853 – 19 October 1930) was a Russian-Swissneuropathologistwho was a native of Bobretsovo in theVologda Governorate.
He studied at theUniversity of Zurichwhile working as an assistant at theBurghölzliInstitute under the directorship ofEduard Hitzig(1839-1907). After graduation, he was an assistant at St. Pirminsberg, where he performed scientific investigations of cerebralanatomy.In 1885 he returned toZurich,where he later became director of the brain anatomy institute. In 1917 he founded the journalSchweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie(Swiss Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry), and was its editor-in-chief until his death. He died in Zurich in 1930.
Neuropathological research
[edit]Monakow made numerous contributions in his analysis of thesensoryandmotorpathways of the brain. He was interested in thefunctional relationships amongst the different regions of the brain,and conceptualized that in faculties such asintellect,coordination was needed among its many diverse parts.[1]From his brain research, he introduced the terms "chronogenic localization" and "diaschisis".
In 1910 Monakow coined the term "diaschisis" to describe how an injury to the brain can create behavioral deficiencies that may be followed by eventual recovery. The word is derived from Greek, meaning "shocked throughout". He believed the brain to exist as a delicate balance between its different components, and if a component became disturbed through injury it could affect other parts of the brain not seemingly associated with the site of injury. Therefore, if the damage wasn't too severe, functional behaviour would recover once the period of diaschisis wore off.
His name is lent to "Monakow's nucleus" (lateral cuneate nucleus)[2]and to the "bundle of Monakow" (rubrospinal fasciculus). In addition, "Monakow's syndrome" bears his name, defined as contralateralhemiplegia,hemianaesthesiaandhomonomous hemianopsiadue to occlusion of theanterior choroidal artery.[3]
He was responsible for identifying thearcuate fasciculusas the fibre tract that connected theBroca'sandWernicke'sspeech areas. This anatomical link (which is now questioned)[4]“soon became a dogma in neurology and still today provides the backbone of anatomical models of language.”[4]
He is mentioned inAnti Oedipus,the first volume of Deleuze and Guattari'sCapitalism and Schizophrenia,because of his work with Mourgue which they claim posits 'the introduction of desire into neurology.'[5]
Selected writings
[edit]- Beitrag zur Localisation von Hirnrindentumoren,(Thesis/dissertation) (1881) – On localization of cerebral cortex tumors.
- Pathologie du cerveau,in German asGehirnpathologie(1897) – Brain pathology.
- Über Lokalisation der Hirnfunktion(1910) – On localization of brain function.
- La localisation de l'encéphale et la dégradation fonctionelle par des lésions circonscrites du cortex cérébral,in German asDie Lokalisation im Grosshirn und Abbau der Funktion durch kortikale Herde(1914) – Localization in the cortex and the reduction of cortical function.
- Gefuhl, Gesittung und Gehirn,(1916); translated and published in English as "The emotions, morality and the brain"; Washington, Nervous and Mental Disease Pub. Co., 1925.[6]
- Psychiatrie und Biologie,(1919) – Psychology andbiology.
- Schizophrenie und Plexus chorioidei(with Kitabayashi), (1919) -Schizophreniaand thechoroid plexus.
References
[edit]- ^[1]Origins of Neuroscience, A History of Explorations Into Brain Function by Stanley Finger
- ^MedilexiconAccessory cuneate nucleus
- ^[2]Mondofacto Dictionary, definition of eponym
- ^abCatani M, Mesulam M. (2008). The arcuate fasciculus and the disconnection theme in language and aphasia: history and current state. Cortex. 44(8):953-61.PMID18614162
- ^Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari. 1972. Anti-Oedipus. Trans. Robert Hurley, Mark Seem and Helen R. Lane. London and New York: Continuum, 2004. Vol. 1 of Capitalism and Schizophrenia
- ^WorldCat Searchpublished works by Monachow
