Mechanism and cortical representation of the feeding pattern

BECAUSE of its accessibility and the myriad responses induced by its stimulation, the cerebral cortex has intrigued many investigators since Fritsch and Hitzig 1 demonstrated its electrical excitability, in 1870. Spencer's 2 careful work, published in 1894, showed that autonomic, as well as somatic, functions were represented at the cortical level. Since the work of these pioneers much has been added to our knowledge, and this knowledge has increasingly been applied to clinical problems. The present paper is a summary of the results of a series of experiments on dogs, presented with the hope that it may serve as a guide to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of the human cerebral cortex in relation to autonomic functions. The term "feeding pattern" is intended to imply the actions of the most rostral part of the digestive tract during the ingestion of food. Specifically, our observations dealt with tongue