From Neuron to Action: An Appraisal of Fundamental and Clinical Research

644 Pages·1990·34.26 MB·English

by  V. B. Brooks (auth.)

L.Deecke J.C.Eccles V.B.Mountcastle(Eds.)
From Neuron
to Action
An Appraisal of Fundamental and
Clinical Research
With 283 Figures and 36 Tables
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH
Professor Dr. med. Liider Deecke
Neurological University Clinic Vienna
Lazarettgasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Professor Sir John C. Eccles
Ca' ala Gra'
6646 Contra (Locarno) TI, Switzerland
Professor Dr. med. Vernon B. Mountcastle
Department of Neuroscience
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
From neuron to action: an appraisal of fundamental and clinical research / L. Deecke, J. C.
Eccles, V.B. Mountcastle (eds.). p. cm. Papers presented at the International Symposium
"From Neuron to Action" held on 24-27 April 1988 in Vienna in honor ofthe 60th birthday
of Prof. Hans Helmut Kornhuber. Includes bibliographical references. Includes index.
ISBN 978-3-662-02603-8 ISBN 978-3-662-02601-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-02601-4
1. Efferent path-
ways--Congresses. 2. Motor neurons--Congresses. 3. Kornhuber, H. H.--Congres
ses. I. Deecke, Liider. II. Eccles, John C. (John Carew), Sir, 1903- . III. Mountcastle,
Vernon B. IV. Kornhuber, H. H. V. International Symposium "From Neuron to Action"
(1988: Vienna, Austria) [DNLM: 1. Kornhuber, H. H. 2. Equilibrium--physiology
-congresses. 3. Motor Activity--physiology--congresses. 4. Nervous System--phy
siology--congresses. 5. Nervous System Diseases--physiopathology--congresses.
6. Perception-physiology-congresses. WL 102 F931 1988] QP369.F76 1990
599' .01852--dc20 DNLMIDLC
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provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and
a copyright fee must always be paid. Violations fall under the prosecution act of the Ger
man Copyright Law.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1990
Originally published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York in 1990
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1990
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publica
tion does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
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Product Liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for information about drug dosage
and application thereof contained in this book. In every individual case the respective user
must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature.
25/3134-543210 - Printed on acid-free paper
(photographed by J. C. Aschoff)
The chapters of this book are dedicated
to Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. H.H. Kornhuber
1 Komhuber 12 Eckener 23 Schiittler 34 Heibel 45 Freund
2 Riidel 13 Brooks 24 Hom 35 Cheyne 46Warecka
3 Bechinger 14 Pompeiano 25 Lang 36Witschel 47 Mergner
4 Mountcastle 15G.Huber 26 Widder 37 Robinson 48 J. Komhuber
5 Eccles 16 Lehmann 27 Bauer 38 Backhaus 49 M. Kornhuber
6 Deecke 17 Caspers 28 Marbach 39 Mauch 50?
7 Janssen 18Iggo 29Szirtes 40 Gonsette 51 Zimmermann
8 Lux 19 Gross 30 Dichgans 41 E. Hom 52Wallesch
9 Seitelberger 20 Schreiber 31 Westphal 42 W.J. Schmidt 53 Danielczyk
10 Aschoff 21 Buser 32 Florey 43 Potthoff
11? 22 R.F. Schmidt 33Scheich 44 Hiilser

Preface
The papers compiled in this book were presented at the International Sympo
sium "From Neuron to Action" held on 24 -27 April 1988 in Vienna in honor
of the 60th birthday of Prof. Hans Helmut Kornhuber of the Department of
Neurology, University of Ulm, Federal Republic of Germany.
The program ofthe symposium, and so the contents of the book, reflect the
breadth of Kornhuber's own interests. This diversity was evident early in his
career, when, after 4% years in Russian prisoner of war camps, he studied
medicine at five different universities, which he selected not so much for rea
sons of medicine as for their renowned philosophers, including Karl Jaspers.
After graduating under Kurt Schneider, Professor of Psychiatry at Heidel
berg, and neurological training with Richard Jung at Freiburg, he wrote his
Habilitationsschrift for Neurology and Neurophysiology in 1962 at Freiburg.
He then went to Baltimore to work with V.B. Mountcastle on the somatosen
sory system at the Department of Physiology ofthe Johns Hopkins University.
Back in Freiburg, Kornhuber developed the "Kornhuber stimulator",
which is a force- and displacement-controlled mechanostimulator used by,
among others, John Eccles. In 1966 Kornhuber accepted the Chair of Neuro
logy at the University of Ulm, where he became one of the founding professors
of that young university. His large number of scientific publications reflect an
extraordinarily broad spectrum of interests.
After early work on cyclothymic depression and the psychology and psy
chiatry of prisoners of war, Kornhuber published seminal papers on the oculo
motor system, equilibrium, and vestibular physiology and pathology. His
excellent handbook articles are still milestones in the field.
In 1964 Kornhuber and Deecke discovered the readiness potential, the
German word Bereitschaftspotential being taken up as a specific term even
within the English-speaking world. A year later, in 1965, Kornhuber, Frede
rickson, and Schwarz discovered the vestibular cortical representation area in
the monkey. In 1967, Kornhuber and Fuchs investigated the projection ofthe
external eye muscle receptors to the cerebellum. During his period at John
Hopkins University with Mountcastle, he published papers on touch and posi
tion sense, as well as on information flow (channel capacity) in man. Kornhu
ber also thought deeply about the mind-body problem and the question of
human freedom, a subject on which he opened new dimensions by making it
accessible to scientific investigation. In addition, Kornhuber developed chal
lenging theories on the physiology of human voluntary movement and speech.
IX
Later, Kornhuber devoted his scientific activities to the treatment of mul
tiple sclerosis, and identified methods that really do help patients. For
example, he developed effective methods for the treatment of spasticity and
neurogenic bladder dysfunctipn, and he found that in the treatment of the
acute exacerbation of MS, cortisone plus low-dose cyclophosphamide leads to
longer-lasting benefits than cortisone alone. Komhuber also became inter
ested in schizophrenia, the glutamate theory deriving from him, and he direc
ted attention to the reconsideration of will - a human capacity forgotten by
scientists - the physiological basis of which he described. Even a booklet on
religion appeared from his pen.
In neurology Komhuber placed special emphasis on the prevention of ill
ness, and it was he who coined the term "preventive neurology". He was the
first person in Germany who direct attention to the fact that ethanol is a com
mon cause of arterial hypertension. He went into schools and taught the stu
dents to measure their parents' blood pressure, which proved an effective
method for the early detection of hypertension. However, Kornhuber was
also the first to show that alcohol-related obesity in males is not the effect of
caloric alcohol action but of direct toxic mechanisms which act via fatty liver
hyperinsulinism even at so-called normal levels of alcohol consumption. Fur
thermore, the identification of daily "normal" alcohol as the main cause of
hypercholesterolemia and type II diabetes was primarily due to Komhuber.
He is a man who not only writes but also acts. It was this attribute that led him
to enter the field of health politics, making effective suggestions as to how
pathogenic factors can be avoided and advocating that those who indulge in
alcohol and cigarette consumption should compensate for the consequences
by paying a health levy on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, the revenue
from which should go to health insurance.
Recently, Komhuber and his group showed in a rat model that the calcium
overload blocker flunarizine is of significant benefit in cerebral hemorrhage.
Since it has a beneficial effect in ischemic stroke as well, the initial treatment
measure in stroke is the injection of flunarizine by the physician who first sees
the patient. This treatment is also to be considered in the neonate with trauma
tic hemorrhage, which was sonographically shown by Kornhuber and his co
workers to be more frequent than previously thought.
There is much more that could be said about the many contributions Hans
Komhuber has made to science and medicine, which are only partially reflec
ted by the many prizes he has received, e.g., from the German EEG Society
(Berger Prize), the City of Vim, and the Barany Society (Hallpike-Nylen
Prize), and by other accolades bestowed upon him, such as his honorary mem
berships, the degree of doctor honoris causa from the Vniversity of Brussels,
the Bundesverdienstkreuz, and the Lazarus-von-Schwendi medal.
The painting that appeared on the cover of the symposium program is
reproduced in this book, as it appropriately depicts a motif specific to Vim and
its connection to Vienna, the location of the Symposium. The boats that can
be seen on the Danube canal are of special interest since they are Ulmer
Schachteln!, literally "Vim crates", which were used to float downstream from
Vim to Vienna where they then sold as firewood. Also depicted are
x
""~:~".'" ..~ r,~ ,''':,., .....1 .'. '\'1,1\' 1 \','" ,' .. ' 1' . '\"'\ ' . " '"
-- .M.'· '.. ..... . ...
~
~ I .. , . ,., ", , .".,.~., .... ~-. ~-.:-~: '" . -; .. " .. ', ....... \ ., , . ': .. ,-::~. .. -:. ' I
.
"Ulmer Schachteln"
Ferdinand's Bridge and St. Stephan's cathedral, of which appears the clock
that lends the painting its title - Bilderuhr ("Picture Clock"). In the back
ground the slopes of the Vienna Woods are visible, including Kahlenberg and
Leopoldsberg with their castles.
Several of our colleagues helped in organizing the symposium, in particu
lar Dr. Wilfried Lang of the Neurological University Clinic, Vienna. Further
more, we thank Prof. Eberhard Horn and Prof. Jiirgen Aschoff of the Depart
ment of Neurology, University of Ulm. The invaluable secretarial help of Frau
Elisabeth Ribar-Maurer, Vienna Medical Academy, and Frau Ottilie Kir
schenhofer, Neurological University Clinic, Vienna, is gratefully acknowled
ged, as is the invaluable contribution of Dipl.-Ing. Gerald Lindinger, Neuro
logical University Clinic of Vienna, in ensuring the excellent computer prin
ting of the manuscript. We would also like to thank Mrs. S.B enko and Dr. M.
Wilson of Springer-Verlag for their valuable cooperation in producing this
volume.
The substantial financial support provided by the following companies was
of particular help in making the symposium possible: Janssen GmbH, NeuB;
Merckle GmbH, Blaubeuren; Ratiopharm GmbH, Ulm; BASFGes.m.b.H.,
Vienna; Bayer Austria Ges.m.h.H., Vienna; Bayer AG, Leverkusen; Boeh
ringer Ingelheim; Byk Gulden Constance; Ciba-Geigy GmbH, Wehr; Ciba
Geigy Ges.m.b.H., Vienna; Desitin Arzneimittel GmbH, Hamburg; Dor-
XI
nier-System GmbH, Friedrichshafen; Gerot Pharmazeutika Ges.m.b.H.,
Vienna; Hoechst Austria AG, Vienna; Hoffmann-La Roche Ges.m.b.H.,
Vienna; Janssen Pharmaceutica, Vienna; Dr. Madaus GmbH & Co, Cologne;
Madaus Ges.m.b.H., Vienna; E. Merck, Darmstadt; Reck Maschinenbau
GmbH, Betzenweiler; Dr. Rentschler GmbH & Co, Laupheim; Sandoz AG,
Nuremberg; Schering Ges.m. b.H., Vienna; Siemens AG, Erlangen; Siemens
Austria, Vienna; Thiemann Arzneimittel GmbH, Waltrop.
Further support was given by: Asta Pharma AG, Frankfurt; Beecham
Pharma Ges.m. b.H., Vienna; Bender & Co., Vienna; Fidia Pharmaforschung
GmbH, Munich; Fresenius AG, Oberursel; Frosst Pharma GmbH, Munich;
Glaxo Pharmazeutica Ges.m.b.H., Vienna; Paul Hartmann AG, Heiden
heim; Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Grenzach, Wyhlen; ICI Osterreich GmbH,
Vienna; Klinge Pharma GmbH, Munich; Ludwig Merckle GmbH, Vienna;
Merck, Sharp & Dohme GmbH, Munich; Nattermann & Cie GmbH,
Cologne; G. Pohl-Boskamp GmbH & Co, Hohenlockstedt; Promonta
GmbH, Pforzheim-Wiirm; Schwarz Pharma GmbH, Monheim; Wander
Pharma GmbH, Nuremberg.
We are most grateful to Fidia, Munich, who met the total printing costs of
the book.
Vienna, Autumn 1990 Liider Deecke
John C. Eccles
VemonB. Mountcastle
XII