Preliminary Analysis of Functions of the Temporal Lobes in Monkeys

In previous communications1we pointed out that the chief symptoms following bilateral temporal lobectomy in the rhesus monkey consist in "psychic blindness" (Seelenblindheit) or visual agnosia, strong "oral" tendencies and profound emotional changes. Our results were primarily based on an analysis of the behavioral symptoms of a female rhesus monkey which had been studied for a period of four months following the operations. The type of disturbance analyzed in that case seemed to be similar to the "associative mind blindness" of Lissauer.2It is true that the diagnosis "agnosia" can be only of practical importance and merely serves to raise a number of questions. A review of the clinical literature indicates that the more carefully a case is studied the more difficult it may be to decide whether there is really an "agnostic" or merely a "visual" defect, that is, whether the variety of "agnostic" symptoms can be