EFFECTS OF COMBINED DESTRUCTION OF FRONTAL AND POSTERIOR "ASSOCIATIVE AREAS" IN MONKEYS

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Abstract
4 monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with bilateral parieto-temporo-preoccipital ablations were subjected to subsequent removal of frontal granular cortex. The effects of this additional prefrontal ablation are here reported. A decrease in visual acuity was found in 1 monkey, and a constriction of the visual field in another. No other primary sensory defects were observed. Deficits in retention or re-learning of some of the somesthetic discrimination problems (roughness and temp.) were found in 2 of the subjects. No deficits were demonstrable in the visual discrimination problems or in a learned auditory association. Additional decrement on the conditional reaction problem resulted from the subsequent prefrontal excision. All animals showed great deficit on the problems requiring delayed response. General activity was greatly increased in all animals. Anatomic analysis of cortical lesions and thalamic degenerations were made. These data, with those from previous expts., are discussed in relation to the mode of representation of function in associative cortex.