Prolonged Stimulation of the Head of the Caudate Nucleus

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Abstract
While the motor and postural effects of electric stimulation of the striatum have been repeatedly examined in acute experiments (Ferrier,11,12 1873, Danilewski,7 1875; Tower,40 1936; Mettler et al.,33 1939; Freeman and Krasno,14 1940; Gerebetzoff,16 1941; Akert and Andersson,3 1951; Kaada,26 1951; Heath and Hodes,21 1952; White and Himwich,43 1957; Umbach,41 1959), there are no reports on prolonged striatal stimulation as far as we could ascertain. Forman and Ward's13 "chronic experiments" deal with stimulation of a few seconds' duration applied through chronically implanted electrodes. It has been pointed out that uninterrupted, continuous electrical striatal stimulation is ineffectual (Mettler31). We have therefore tried to produce prolonged stimulation of this ganglion by injection of alumina cream and to analyze its rather obscure influence upon various parts of the brain by a combination of such stimulation with electrographic studies and extirpation