Original Justo Gonzalo's Groundbreaking Contributions to the Study of Cere- Bral Functional Organisation
Original Neurosciences and History 2015; 3(2): 61-67 Justo Gonzalo ’s groundbreaking contributions to the study of cere - bral functional organisation A. García-Molina 1,2,3 1Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació (UAB), Badalona, Spain. 2Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain. 3Fundació Institut d ’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain. ABSTRACT The functional organisation of the brain has been studied for many years. Gall was the first to do so, and subse - quently, Flourens, Broca, Goltz, Kleist, Lashley, and many other researchers each attempted to tackle this complex problem. In Spain, Justo Gonzalo Rodríguez-Leal (1910-1986) proposed an innovative theory of the functional structure of the cerebral cortex. He presented and developed this theory in his book Investigaciones sobre la nueva dinámica cerebral. La actividad cerebral en función de las condiciones dinámicas de la excitabi - lidad nerviosa. This exceptional theory did not meet with the response it deserved, and his treatise was over - looked for many years. In 1939, Justo Gonzalo identified what he named ‘dynamic action phenomena ’, the starting point for his theory on cerebral dynamics. This discovery was followed by his two principles of cerebral dynamics: the impact of the brain lesion according to its magnitude and position (1941), and sensory organi - sation according to spiral development (1947). At a later date, in the 1950s, he would develop the concepts of cerebral gradient, similarity, and allometry. This article aims to summarise the research carried out by this forgotten scholar of the human cerebral cortex and its functional organisation. KEYWORDS Justo Gonzalo Rodríguez-Leal, cerebral dynamics, functional organisation, gradient, allometry, 20th-century history Introduction of the century, new findings about the neuroanatomical basis of language, and results from cerebral stimulation The functional organisation of the brain was one of the experiments in animals, would result in a paradigm shift.
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