Spread of the Epileptic Discharge

The purpose of this communication is to report on original experiments concerned with the spread of the epileptic discharge produced by electrical stimulation of the monkey's cerebral cortex. By epileptic discharge is implied the excessive, violent activity of certain portions of the central nervous system which is responsible for many, if not all, of the manifestations of epileptiform fits and epilepsy. This hypothesis invoking excessive function of the gray matter of the cerebral cortex, as expressed by Hughlings Jackson, has received much support in recent investigations on epilepsy. There is ample evidence that the after-discharge produced by stimulation of the cerebral cortex in monkeys is a satisfactory experimental counterpart of epilepsy in man. Available to the investigator of today are four methods by which to gain information concerning the spread of the epileptic discharge. The first is by observing the march of clonic movements, following the order in which different