Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 0964-704X/97/0603-264$ 12.

00
1997, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 264-274 Swets & Zeitlinger

Theodor Meynert (1833-1892)

Pioneer and Visionary of Brain Research*
Franz Seitelberger
Weimarerstrasse 97, Vienna, Austria

ABSTRACT

Theodor Meynert (1833-1892) was the first scientist to perceive brain research as an interdisciplinary
project, documented by his own fundamental contributions as a selfstanding enterprise and presented with
comprehensive objectives of research. Meynert was born in Dresden and lived in Vienna from the age of
8. In a steep career, he reached high professional recognition: Aged 37, he took charge of the management
of the 1 st Psychiatric Clinic, established especially for him; he exerted competent influence in the so-called
2nd Viennese School of Medicine and at international level. The focal points of his scientific work have
been anatomy and histology of cerebrum and brainstem, topography and functional relations of the main
connecting fiber systems, also demonstrated by precisely interpreted clinicopathological observations.
Among his timely findings should be stressed: the stratified texture, cellular architecture and regional
differentiation of the cerebral cortex as a basis of present cytoarchitectonics and of cortical localisation
theory, e.g., regarding speech defects. Intending to establish psychiatry as an exact science on the basis of
brain pathology, Meynert formulated a program which anticipates the targets designed by todays' biologi-
cal psychiatry. The vital and psychic dynamics of the brain he interpreted in critical speculation along the
lines of the contemporary philosophy of nature. Meynert combined his ingenious exact findings with
results of the upcoming neurophysiology, neurochemistry and neuropsychology into a prodigious coherent
system representing the complexity of the human brain-world relationship. These achievements reveal
Meynert as the founder of scientific brain research.

Keywords: History of Neuroscience, structural and functional neuroanatomy, cytoarchitectonics, neurobiology,

neuropathology.

INTRODUCTION and intuitive visions which foreshadow modern

In the history of medicine, Theodor Meynert
occupies an outstanding position in the so-called
second Vienna School. In an international con-
text he is one of the founding fathers of scien-
tific neurology, a relatively young discipline
which reached its full conceptual and method-
ological development only in the second half of
the 20th century.
Modern brain research aims at transgressing
the traditional scientific boundaries and at eluci-
dating the age-old problem of human brain-mind
relationship. In this project, one invariably co-
mes across Meynert's important observations
concepts. In assessing his life and work, one has
to go beyond biographical details and commem-
orative celebrations, such as the international
symposium held in Vienna on May 31st, 1992,
the centenary of Meynert's death. It is not
enough to review the achievements of a scien-
tific genius without investigating the importance
of his personality, the influence of contemporary
scientific, cultural and socio-political environ-
ment, and finally, the not insignificant role of
accident. It is not possible to deal with all these
aspects within the framework of this essay,
which will concentrate on problems of general
importance and present day interests.

* Translated by H. URICH, MD.

Adress correspondence to: Prof. Dr. Franz Seitelberger, Weimarerstrasse 97, A-l 190 Wien, Vienna, Austria.
 THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) PIONEER AND VISIONARY OF BRAIN RESEARCH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Theodor Meynert was born in Dresden on June
14th, 1833. His father, Hermann Meynert, was a
renowned historian and writer, his mother, Ma-
rie, born Emmering, a well-known opera singer.
Theodor inherited from his parents both intellec-
tual and artistic talents, further developed in his
domestic environment. Thus, to Meynert's later
private circle belonged, among others, the fa-
mous artists H. Makart, F. Lenbach, Ch. Grie-
penkerl, the poet F. von Saar and the composer
J. Brahms (Stockert-Meynert, 1930). In 1841,
the whole family, including Theodor's sister
Franziska, moved to Vienna. In the high school,
run by the Piarist fathers, Meynert was influ-
enced by one of his teachers, the poet G. Seidl,
who developed Theodor's love of poetry and
encouraged him to publish some of his verses.
His love of language, literature and philosophy,
also of music and the arts formed the counter-
part of his scientific rationality and research
ethos. Both aspects of his personality interacted
and contributed to a fruitful synthesis in his life
and work.
At university, he plunged headlong into the
life of the student body, including some poorly
documented ostentatious escapades, which led
to an estrangement between son and father. A
sudden and surprising about-turn followed. He
gave up his habits and friends and devoted him-
self to an enthusiastic and purposeful study
of medicine. At about the same time, before
completing his studies, he married Johanna
Fleischer. It was largely under her influence that
he became a reformed character. Years later,
Meynert wrote in an attempt at self-justification:
'I must admit that I am proud of my dissolute
youth and that I was able to throw off the shack-
les which bound me to the ground - a testimony
to the strength of the human character which led
me to victory in both my emotional and my sci-
entific life' (Anton, 1930, p. 257).
Already as a student, he developed an interest
in the brain while working with the excellent
histologist C. Wedl (1815-1891). Through his
brother-in-law, G. Scheuthauer (1832-1894), an
assistent to the pathologist C. von Rokitansky
(1804-1878) he obtained access to specimens
265
in Rokitansky's collection. His first neuro-
morphological and histological studies attracted
the attention of Rokitansky himself, leading to a
long-lasting professional and personal friend-
ship between the two men, both driven by the
same scientific urge and common aims. The
older man was undoubtedly the decisive influ-
ence on Meynert's scientific career.
NEUROLOGY IN VIENNA AROUND 1850
Knowledge of anatomy of the nervous system
was rudimentary in the middle of the 19th cen-
tury. In the words of one of Meynert's teachers,
the anatomist J. Hyrtl (1810-1894), the charac-
teristics of the brain were 'obscura textura,
obscuriores morbi, obscurissimae functiones'
(Torok, 1942, p. 758). Rokitansky, the founder
of scientific pathology in Vienna, made some
significant observations which he included in his
textbook, e.g. the appearance of cerebral
calcifications ('brain stones'). L. Tiirck (1810
1868) was, however, the first to carry out sys-
tematic neuropathological investigations. His
discovery of secondary degeneracy of severed
nerve fibres (generally known as Wallerian de-
generacy) associated with accumulation of fat
granule cells, previously described by C. Wedl,
was the first finding of a lesion specific to the
nervous system. The ingenious application of
this phenomenon to experimental studies laid
the foundation of the structural anatomy of the
brain. Tiirck himself identified a number of
tracts and drew conclusions about their function.
In 1855, he published an early detailed histolog-
ical description of the plaques of multiple scle-
rosis. In 1856, he developed the concept of sys-
tem degeneracy of the nervous system. After his
invention of a practical laryngoscope in 1857, he
abandoned the study of the nervous system and
devoted himself to laryngology, becoming one
of the fathers of ear, nose and throat surgery.
Nevertheless, as O. Marburg (1874-1948)
rightly pointed out, he remains the initiator of
brain research in Vienna.1
1
Marburg O. (1919); Heinrich Obersteiner + Arbeiten
aus dem neurolosischen Institute 22, XXIV - XXV
(24/25).
266 FRANZ SEITELBERGER
Apart from good gross descriptions, several
microscopic discoveries were made throughout
Europe. F.Th. Schwann (1810-1882) discovered
the cells now known by his name. Other micro-
scopic investigations were carried out, among
others, by C. Bell (1774-1842), F. Magendie
(1783-1828), B. Stilling (1810-1879) and A.
Koelliker (1817-1905), but there was no sys-
tematic knowledge of the internal structure of
the brain, its connections and functions (Finger,
1994). Comparative neuroanatomy was rudi-
mentary. The interest in the brain had been stim-
ulated by the pre-scientific 'phrenology' of F.J.
Gall (1758-1828) and taken up by contemporary
psychiatry, as practiced in 'lunatic asylums'. It
was not, however, treated rationally, and was
justifiably criticized by Meynert as based on
ignorance of both morphological and psycholog-
ical facts.
Meynert's medical interest in the brain was
soon directed towards functional disturbances.
His aim was 'to imprint the character of a scien-
tific discipline on psychiatry, based on the foun-
dation of anatomy' (Schonbauer, 1947, p. 364).
This represented an extension of Rokitansky's
new approach to medicine into the field of psy-
chiatry. It agreed with the approach of the Ger-
man psychiatrist W. Griesinger (1817-1868)
who, at about the same time, emphasized the
urgent need to establish a rational basis in aca-
demic psychiatry. This common aim of the two
independent reformers was an expression of the
contemporary scientific positivism which saw in
the brain an undiscovered territory, the explora-
tion of which was likely to yield a rich harvest
of original observations and of rational solutions
to many problems.
The humanist in Meynert went beyond purely
scientific curiosity and was inspired to explore
the anthropological and philosophical implica-
tions of brain research. This was based on the
age-old concept of the brain as the organ of
man's special mode of being and behavior as
first postulated by the Greek philosophers Alk-
maion and Plato. In one of his poems, Meynert
put the following words in the mouth of the fa-
ther of anatomy, A. Vesalius: 'I want to sow
thoughts in cadavers from which will rise the
bread of many spirits'. 2 This may be taken as a
creed of Meynert's own endeavours. It has been
expressed by Meynert's pupil, C. Wemicke
(1848-1905), famous by his work on cortical
localization and eponymous to the sensory
speech center, in the words: 'only since Meynert
has the brain acquired a soul' (Wagner-Jauregg,
1927, p. 73). Firmly convinced of the attainable
knowledge of all natural phenomena and in his
belief in a natural order reminiscent of a work of
art, Meynert undertook the gigantic task and
meticulous labor of discovering the unknown
reality of the human brain.
Meynert's first publications appeared imme-
diately after he graduated as an M.D. in 1861.
They dealt with lesions of the pons and mid-
brain, with fiber connections of the frontal cor-
tex and above all, with new methods of prepara-
tion essential to his morphological studies
(Anton, 1930). These included dissection of the
deep structures of the brain to reveal fiber tracts
and the establishment of planes of sections
which optimally displayed the internal structure
of the brain. Meynert's section (1865) separat-
ing the brain stem from the cerebral hemi-
spheres was a prerequisite for the systematic
investigation of both structures. Only primitive
methods were at his disposal for microscopic
examination. Sections were cut with a razor on
the so-called cylinder microtome which was a
simple holder of the tissue block. The rotating
microtome was not invented until much later by
Meynert's pupil A. Forel (1848-1931). The
blocks were fixed in alcohol and the sections
stained with carmine or impregnated with gold.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Meynert's early publications soon earned him
international recognition. In 1865, he submitted
his habilitation thesis on the 'Structure and func-
tion of the brain and spinal cord and their signif-
icance in disease'. He was promoted 'Privat-
dozent' (Associate Professor) by Rokitansky
and appointed director of the prosectorium of
the State Psychiatric Hospital in Vienna, a post
2
Meynert (1905): Sel Publ (Selected Publications of
Theodor Meynert) 14, p. 17.
 THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) PIONEER AND VISIONARY OF BRAIN RESEARCH
specially created for him. In view of his interest
in psychiatry, his speciality qualification was
extended to cover this discipline (Marx, 1971).
His pioneering discoveries and far-reaching pro-
jects, as well as his magnetic personality and
eloquence attracted colleagues and pupils from
Austria and abroad. Among his Austrian follow-
ers, a few deserve a mention: H. Obersteiner
(1847-1922), G. Anton (1858-1933), C. Mayer
(1862-1936) and F. Chvostek (1864-1944). S.
Freud (1856-1939) worked for a period as a
trainee in Meynert's department; his application
for an assistantship was turned down as he was
establishing a family at the time and Meynert
preferred unmarried collaborators. Foreign stu-
dents included C. Wernicke, A. Forel, and H.
Grashey (1839-1914). Close relations were also
established with B. von Gudden (1824-1886),
H. Waldeyer (1836-1921) and L. Edinger
(1855-1918).
In 1870, Meynert was promoted to extraordi-
nary professor of psychiatry at the University of
Vienna and, on Rokitansky's proposal, director
of the 1st Psychiatric Clinic established at the
State Psychiatric Hospital. In 1873, he was ap-
pointed ordinary (full) professor of psychiatry.
His activity at the hospital led to conflicts with
its management for reasons which will be dis-
cussed later. A demand for his resignation fol-
lowed in 1874, at which time Meynert had an
invitation to Zurich University. To prevent him
from leaving Vienna, Rokitansky succeeded in
establishing a 2nd Psychiatric Clinic at the Vi-
enna General Hospital (Lesky, 1965). There
were thus two academic departments of psychi-
atry, a fact which had important consequences
in the history of Viennese neuropsychiatry until
recent times. In 1887, Meynert established a
neurological out-patient department at his
clinic.
His work at the General Hospital brought him
into contact with the eminent surgeon Th.
Billroth (1829-1894), with whom he developed
a close friendship, broken only by Meynert's
untimely death on May 31st, 1892. In 1891,
Meynert was elected Corresponding Member
and one year later Ordinary (Full) Member of
the Imperial (now Austrian) Academy of Sci-
ences.
267
MEYNERT'S MORPHOLOGICAL WORK
Meynert's primary aim was to establish afferent
and efferent connections between gray matter
areas rich in nerve cells. In following the course
of these connections he tried to define
accurately the caliber of their fibers, their
branching and side-to-side-crossing. He began
with the study of the major tracts ('projection
fibres'), the motor tracts descending from the
cerebral cortex to the spinal cord and the sen-
sory fiber systems ascending from the spinal
cord to the telencephalon. He also identified
finer descending fibers, the origin of which he
surmised in the basal ganglia. He observed the
fan-like radiation of the sensory fibers in the
white matter of the postcentral gyrus and pin-
pointed the origin of the motor fibers in the pre-
central gyrus of the cerebral cortex. In 1870, he
traced the visual pathway from its origin in the
retina to its termination in the calcarine cortex
of the occipital lobe.
To clarify the composition of motor fibers, he
undertook comparative studies on animals with
under-developed upper limbs, such as the kanga-
roo, or over-developed ones, such as the bat. He
established that in the brain stem, the sensory
fibers are situated dorsally, while the motor fi-
bers occupy a ventral position. In the spinal
cord, he found that the fibers serving the lower
limbs are situated deep in the lateral columns,
while those of the upper limbs run more superfi-
cially. All these observations establish Meynert
as one of the pioneers of comparative neuro-
anatomy. His ideas on the development of the
brain and skull in the process of hominization
are also largely compatible with modern con-
cepts.
Furthermore, Meynert observed that the py-
ramidal tracts are unmyelinated in the human
neonate, with important effects on their func-
tion. This was the foundation of RE. Flechsig's
subsequently developed so-called 'myelogenetic
theory of neurobiology', according to which the
higher functions of the late myelinating tracts
supersede the primitive functions of those parts
which myelinate earlier. This important pheno-
menon in evolution of brain functions is nowa-
days expressed as the regulatory control by the
268 FRANZ SEITELBERGER
cerebral cortex over the deeper centers. Mey-
nert's belief in the reciprocal relationship of the
various neuronal systems is a development of
the mechanistic inhibition theory, adumbrated
by the philosopher J.F. Herbart (1776-1841).
The wealth of detail which Meynert discov-
ered with very inadequate means, particularly in
the brain stem, is truly amazing. Only a few
findings have turned out to be erroneous, most
of them apparently inevitable in view of insuffi-
cient tools of investigation. Apart from tracing
the course of major projection fibers, he estab-
lished the connections of cranial nerve nuclei
with sensory functions, as well as the major cer-
ebellar connections. The following structures
still carry his eponymous designation:
1. the habenular-peduncular tract,
2. the dorsal tegmental decussation,
3. the fibers from the superior colliculi to the
oculomotor nuclei,
4. the dorsal supraoptic commissure,
5. the lamina of pyramidal cells in the cere-
bral cortex,
6. the solitary pyramidal cells in the calcarine
cortex,
7. the nucleus basalis.
This last structure has acquired a paramount
importance in recent years as the source of cho-
linergic fibers to the cerebral cortex. Severe loss
of neurons in the nucleus basalis is found in sev-
eral dementias, particularly Alzheimer's disease.
Worth mentioning is Meynert's neuropatho-
logical examination of a single case of Parkin-
son's disease which led him to the conclusion
that the condition is due to a functional distur-
bance in the basal ganglia. Meynert's Work 'The
structure of the cerebral cortex...' (1868) is a
landmark in the unraveling of this most complex
neuronal structure. In this book, he established
the lamination of the cortex, the characterization
of its cell types and the regional differences of
its cytoarchitecture. His findings were subse-
quently developed and systematized by K. Brod-
mann (1868-1918). Meynert's observations led
him to speculate whether the cortex functioned
as a whole or whether the interaction of its vari-
ous parts was responsible for mental functions.
He left the question open, to be decided by fu-
ture work.
He also distinguished two types of cerebral
cortex: that with a gray and that with a white
surface. The former corresponds to the 'homo-
genetic', the latter to the 'heterogenetic' cortex
of Brodmann, or, in current terminology, the
neocortex (isocortex of C. and O. Vogt, 1919)
and allocortex respectively. All subsequent cyto-
architectural studies rest on Meynert's pioneer-
ing observations. The great Viennese neurosci-
entist C. von Economo (1876-1931) dedicated
his monumental work on 'The cytoarchitecture
of the adult human cortex' to the memory of his
illustrious predecessor.
While maintaining that all cortical neurons
are connected with each other through a network
of fibers, he also found in his clinico-anatomical
studies that localized lesions of the cortex led to
specific functional defects, such as aphasia in
lesions of the insular region. In 1993 H.A.
Whitaker and S.E. Etlinger drew attention to
Meynert's study 'A case of speech defect, ana-
tomically substantiated' of the year 1866 in
which he first described the syndrome of sen-
sory aphasia (loss of understanding of speech
with paraphasia) associated with a lesion in the
posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus and
the planum temporale. In his classical work on
the subject (1874), Wernicke acknowledges
Meynert's influence without quoting the 1866
paper which clearly establishes Meynert's prior-
ity in the identification of the syndrome.
Meynert had a special interest in the fiber
connections between various cortical areas both
within the same and the contralateral hemi-
sphere. He called these connections 'association
systems' to which he subsequently ascribed im-
portant functions, to be discussed later.
A further point may be added to this brief
account of Meynert's morphological achieve-
ments: the physiological observations on the
caliber of the cerebral blood vessels and the lo-
cal blood flow. He postulated a connection be-
tween the regional blood flow and the activity of
the appropriate part of the brain, based on a self-
regulatory mechanism of dilatation of the regio-
nal blood vessels. He ascribed this mechanism
to association fibers activated during mental
activity. He hypothesized a similar variation in
relative blood flow between the cortex and basal
 THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) PIONEER AND VISIONARY OF BRAIN RESEARCH
ganglia and ascribed to it a significance in men-
tal disorders. He developed this hypothesis in
his 'Psychiatry. The clinic of diseases of the
forebrain' (1884).
MEYNERT'S MODEL OF BRAIN-WORLD
RELATIONSHIP
Meynert carried his morphological research to
its attainable limits and then transgressed them
by hypotheses without losing his scientific ap-
proach. Based on several premises, he con-
structed a model of interaction of the various
parts of the brain, as well as of the interaction of
the brain with the perceived outside world. This
model, while partly based on empirical morpho-
logical findings, also involved some deductive
speculative thinking, devoid of proof, yet fused
into a coherent whole. The following section
constitutes an attempt at a brief presentation of
Meynert's world image.
The structural element of the brain, the nerve
cell is, in Meynert's view, endowed with a
'soul', best understood as Aristotelian 'energeia'
or vital force, and maintains an 'aggressive'
character. By 'aggressivity' Meynert - refering
to Ch. Darwin and Rokitansky - understands the
innate animal (probably also human) drive of
assaulting members of the same species in active
self-defence which is primarily rooted in 'the
hunger of protoplasm', and is.different from
hostile aggressivity. The cerebral neuronal sys-
tem (metaphorically) manifests aggressivity by
means of its sensorimotor functions of appre-
hending and grasping the world. Thus, Meynert
conceives the function of the cerebral hemi-
spheres as analogous to 'colonies of living be-
ings, capable of consciousness, connected with
each other with feeling threads and grasping ten-
tacles, and controlling their image of the
world'. 3 Alternatively, he compared the role of
the cortex with 'a tactical arrangement for the
reception and control of the external environ-
3 Meynert (1892): In: Das Zusammenwirken der
Hirnteile. Sel Publ 13, p. 205.
269
ment'. 4 The nervous forces flow through the
great projection systems from the sense organs,
receiving impulses from the outer environment
and transmitting them to the cerebral cortex. On
the other hand, the forces flowing through the
motor system act in and on the environment.
The motor system operates through reflex activ-
ity in the early stages of development, but later
becomes conscious, is controlled by intention
and based on information received from the out-
side world and its cortical interpretation. The
'sensation of innervation' reflecting the memory
of our former body movements is the pathway
for our conscious, deliberate movements, which
we experience as acts of our free will. This as-
sumption of a sensory feedback, surmised also
by J. Miiller (1801-1858), received support in
1950 from the work of E. von Hoist and H.
Mittelstaedt who discovered the principle of cy-
bernetic reafference. Still, the concept of a con-
scious autonomy of the will defies scientific ex-
planation. It may be mentioned in passing that
Meynert distinguished 'potential speech', con-
sisting of symbols based on recollection of be-
havior (actions and states) and stored below the
level of consciousness in the subcortical centers,
from 'conscious speech' being a function of the
cerebral cortex.
The projection systems of the brain form the
framework of the unconscious animal life, the
'primary ego' or the 'body as such'. In contrast
to this, Meynert postulates an 'ego-forming
functional center of the brain' localized in the
cerebral cortex with its association and commis-
sural systems. This produces the conscious 'sec-
ondary ego' depending on functioning cortical
nerve cells. At this level, the objective sensory
signals from the outer world are centrally inte-
grated and subjectively interpreted. Cognitive
processes also originate in association mecha-
nisms: 'We must think of the brain as achieving
both logical and accidental connections through
associations... The number of logical connec-
tions increases continuously, as the recollection
4
Meynert (1892): In: Das Zusammenwirken der
Hirnteile. Sel Publ 13, p. 204.
270 FRANZ SEITELBERGER
of memories grows through the repetition of
identical connections' .5 This concept of associa-
tion activity foreshadows the fundamentals of
modern neuropsychology and the principles of
neural information processing of McCulloch and
Pitts (1943). Meynert's association theory ex-
plains not only learning and adaptation pro-
cesses, but allocates to its capacity of reaching
conclusions the central position in cognition. He
identifies 'conclusions' with 'thought' and con-
siders causality as a result of pure cerebral activ-
ity. The capacity to reach conclusions based on
material furnished by the sense organs enables
the brain to construct an image of the world.
There is thus no contradiction between the 'ego'
and the outside world. To quote Meynert: 'The
brain forms not only things but also the space in
which the things appear, and the things include
its own body'. And 'the continuity of connec-
tions, built by the association fibers in the whole
brain, conditions the continuity in the succession
of phenomena, and creates time'. 6 Similarily,
the contemporary psychologist W. Wundt main-
tained that 'thought and time are one and the
same'. In Meynert's view, inductive conclusions
form our images of objects, enriched during the
lifetime of the 'secondary ego' and retained in
memory in a retrievable form. In view of the
extent of the association system over the brain,
one should not view the 'ego' as localized, but
decentralized, and consider individuality as im-
mensely complex and changeable. From the full-
ness of the association process arises not only
the illusory appearance of reality as a phenome-
non of consciousness, but also the subjectivity
of the freedom of action. 'If we knew the com-
position of individuality we would realize that
all the actions originating from a complex ego
obey a basic law'. 7
5 we dominate our internal image of the world, just
Meynert (1892): In: Uberden Wahn. Sel Publ 13, p.
89.
6
Meynert (1892): In: Zur Mechanik des Gehirnbaues.
Sel Publ 13, p. 23, 32.
7
Idem: p. 39.
THE ELEMENTS OF MEYNERT'S PSYCHI-
ATRIC CONCEPTS
The 'cerebral mechanism' of ego formation,
severely criticized by contemporary psycholo-
gists, offers, according to Meynert, an explana-
tion of mental disturbances. According to L.
Berze (1936), Meynert's concept of the psycho-
ses, his 'amentia', is a precursor of the later con-
cepts of dementia precox or schizophrenia. It is
based on disturbed cooperation between the var-
ious parts of the brain, a disturbance of associa-
tion coordination, which may be caused not only
by gross lesions but also by 'functional distur-
bances of the social nature of the brain' (Cf. E.
Bleuler's 'loosening of associations'). In a state
of such 'subcortical weaknes', the functional
antagonism between cortex and brain stem may
become derailed, as the demands of cortical neu-
rons for increased blood flow may deprive the
deeper structures of an adequate blood supply
and cause an 'irritative subcortical weakness'
which may lead to hallucinatory confusion.
Meynert's views on emotions and affects also
deserve mention. They combined the assumption
of an 'aggressive' nature of neuronal activity
with the functional role of the cerebral blood flow
and the antagonism between cortex and subcorti-
cal centers. The feelings of the 'primary ego', i.e.
in the corporeal sphere, consist of an appetite for
pleasure and a defense against pain. Meynert dis-
tinguished 'unbound' affects connected with ag-
gression from 'bound' ones linked to defense. In
the 'secondary ego' acquired images and memo-
ries link association activities with emotional
reactions (coupling of cognition with emotion).
The conclusions of the undisturbed thought are
thus combined with the positive affect of happi-
ness. Thought, however, requires as much energy
as action, and increases the cerebral blood flow to
the detriment of deeper structures. In Meynert's
words, 'thought must be considered, not only
metaphorically, as mental aggression by which
as much as our aggressive movements dominate
the world of our bodies' . 8
8
Meynert (1892): In: Uber die Gefhle. Sel Publ 13,
p. 60.
 THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) PIONEER AND VISIONARY OF BRAIN RESEARCH
By contrast, the feeling of unhappiness is
linked with an inhibition or suppression of the
neuronal activity of the association system and
corresponding reduction in blood flow. Affects
are therefore 'manifestations of the nutritional
state' of the cortical neurons. This concept of
the physiology of emotions also underlies Mey-
nert's interpretation of pathological emotional
disturbances.
Meynert's teaching on the nature of mental
and emotional diseases is based on the contem-
porary knowledge of anatomy, physiology, che-
mistry and psychology, as well as on his per-
sonal achievements, yet transgresses the limits
imposed by these premises. In his attempt to
create 'psychiatry as a comparative brain biol-
ogy' and to understand 'psychological facts
mechanistically as far as possible' (Von Torbk,
1942, p. 759), he combined the various strands
into a concept of a pluridisciplinary 'biological
psychiatry' and anticipated the modern trans-
disciplinary approach within the framework of
the neurosciences (De Crinis, 1939; Papez,
1970). Meynert aimed at the integration of neu-
rology and psychiatry and emphasized the need
to bring the two academic disciplines under a
common direction, a goal which he achieved
only five years before his death.
BETWEEN RESEARCH AND
INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE
This modern program for psychiatry, based on
Meynert's competence both as physician and
scientist anticipates the present day scientific
and organizational autonomy of the discipline.
Meynert's aggressive demands for the immedi-
ate realization of this program brought him into
violent conflict with traditional institutional psy-
chiatry and its representatives (Stockert, 1959;
Schulz, 1977). The latter saw their function only
in the care for the well being of their patients
and denied the need of clinical research in the
traditional asylum system. This led not only to
local discussions with personal conflicts and to
Meynert's move to the ad hoc-founded 2nd Psy-
chiatric Clinic, but mutatis mutandis somehow
persists to this day in the organizational and fun-
271
damental differences between institutional and
academic psychiatry. One may only mention the
relevant pronouncements of J. Wagner-Jauregg
and above all of the philosopher psychiatrist K.
Jaspers.
MEYNERT'S ANTHROPOLOGY
Having discussed his medically oriented con-
cepts of the world, we must now turn to Mey-
nert's anthropology. In its basic principles, it
goes without saying, it is a neuroanthropology.
It is not surprising that Meynert anticipates the
problems of modern sociobiology and interprets
its theses in depth. He deals with the central an-
thropological problem of human behaviour in
the context of ethics and religion in his lecture
on 'Brain and morality', delivered at the 1888
meeting of scientists and physicians in Cologne:
In a broad introduction, he deals with the func-
tional hierarchy of living beings, based on his
comparative neuroanatomical studies, as pre-
sented in his article on 'The brain of mammals'.
He takes into consideration A. Forel's work on
the societies of ants, but distances himself from
some of Darwins theses, e.g. concerning drives.
His concept of moral progress is based on the
antagonism between parasitism and mutualism.
Developing Rokitansky' s anthropological prem-
ise that 'evil is already apparent in primitive
protoplasmic organisms and expresses itself in
aggression, rooted in hunger of the proto-
plasm', 9 Meynert points out that, in the struggle
for survival, success depends either on one's
own or on someone else's strength which can be
exploited parasitically or reciprocally, i.e.
mutualistically. Parasitism may be considered
one evil (not the evil) in nature, while mutualism
is not only 'the foundation, but also the ultimate
goal, of human morality'. 10 The progress of ma-
terial civilization, the exploitation of the world
by man, is not related to moral progress. The
latter can only be achieved through the suppres-
sion of parasitism by mutualism. The 'mecha-
9
Meynert (1892): In: Gehirn und Gesittung. Sel Publ
13, p. 165.
10
Idem: p. 167.
272 FRANZ SEITELBERGER
nism of morality', particularly in man, resides in
the activity of the forebrain which inhibits that
of the deeper centers. Owing to the complexity
of the structures involved, there cannot be a sin-
gle 'center of morality' in the sense of F.J. Gall.
The development of personality progresses from
the parasitic ego of the child through awareness
of one's own body, followed by awareness of
the world outside, to the full development of
consciousness in the 'secondary ego', by the
mechanisms of association and innervation, out-
lined above. Further development of the second-
ary ego depends on the 'concept of parallelism,
i.e. the awareness that events in one's con-
sciousness also occur in the consciousness of
others'." This social acknowledgement of the
'thou' in others is the foundation of the 'ideal of
mutualism, reciprocity and fraternity'. This ac-
tive expansion of the secondary ego is accompa-
nied by a quasi-aggressive feeling of happiness.
The almost infinite range of interaction of moti-
vations may lead to the experience of freedom
on the one hand, to the intention of controlling
one's motivation by one's conscience on the
other. Finally, it leads to the phenomenon of
compassion, i.e. empathy as a 'high degree of
mutualism', the good as prerequisite of shared
joy. 'An organization of the state on the above
principles would tower over everything hitherto
achieved in human society', and on the highest
level 'conscience would be self-love, but in the
context of a higher secondary ego'. 12
Meynert explains pathological aberrations of
morality and criminal activity as disturbances of
the secondary ego in its biohistorical origin, by
which evil, i.e. the impulses of the parasitic pri-
mary ego, originating in the subcortex, gain the
upper hand. He denies categorically the exis-
tence of hereditary criminal traits and moral de-
fects and therefore the existence of 'congenital
criminals'. In a social context, Meynert, like R.
Virchow (1821-1881), condemns the parasitic
exploitation of human labor and advocates the
institution of social, medical and humanitarian
services.
11
Idem: p. 171.
12
Idem: p. 172.
MEYNERT'S THOUGHT PROCESSES:
SOURCES AND CONTEMPORARY INFLU-
ENCE
Several aspects of Meynert's work and influence
have been omitted from the above account. The
working domain of psychiatry has only been
touched upon. His medical-humanitarian moti-
vation was paramount in all his activities, also
his teaching mission which ultimately led to the
formation of a European School of Brain Re-
search. Through the efforts of his pupil, H.
Obersteiner, the founder of the Neurological
Institute of the University of Vienna (1882), this
became an international research center.
The presentation of the epistemological gene-
alogy of Meynert's imposing edifice of thought
has been left incomplete in favor of a factual
account of his achievement. Some aspects of his
background will now be considered. It is an es-
tablished fact that Meynert integrated the exist-
ing material of individual observation, supple-
mented by his innovative personal contributions,
into a thematically and methodologically
defined whole. His philosophical model aspires
to universality in that he not only presents the
noblest human organ as a marvel of organization
of the human body, but tries to explain the men-
tal dimension of human existence and behavior
as a product of brain activity. This was by no
means a new idea which Meynert took as a start-
ing point according to the maxim 'always aspire
to the whole'. His contribution consisted in a
first attempt to establish an order based on em-
pirical findings and on a rational recognition of
their relations (Hofler, 1892). In this bold ad-
vance into the territory of brain-mind relation-
ship, which hitherto was either not undertaken
or obscured by mythical speculation, Meynert
was motivated by his inherited artistic desire for
an aesthetic totality, as well as by his inclination
towards systematic philosophy. His image of the
world unites his factual findings and extrapola-
tion therefrom with knowledge derived from
various sources, not always free from specula-
tion, and finally with a profession of faith.
Meynert never excluded the reality of a meta-
physical unity overruling the apparently contra-
dictory experiences of life and the world.
 THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) PIONEER AND VISIONARY OF BRAIN RESEARCH
Meynert's internal polarity manifests itself
also in his interpretation of cosmic forces, where
he combines physical rationalistic mechanics
with vitalistic effective dynamics. One can de-
tect here the unmistakable influence of the em-
piricism of J. Locke, of the association philoso-
phy of D. Hume and D. Hartley, perhaps also of
J.S. Mill. On the other hand, his constructive
idealistic concept of consciousness and percep-
tion was inspired by I. Kant's critical philosophy
of reason. In Meynert's aggressive dynamics of
organic life, one can find echoes of Schopen-
hauer's naturalism and the unconscious power
of his 'will', or perhaps of its differentiated ver-
sion according to F. Brentano's 'intentionality'.
The latter had been his personal friend. Mey-
nert's notion of the function of the subcortex as
the 'basement' of the brain forshadows S.
Freud's theory of the subconscious and of
the 'Id' as the sum total of impulses. P.D.
MacLean' s theory of hominization through three
;teps of cerebral organization follows closely
Meynert's prototype.
It would be wrong to interpret Meynert's
brain-world system as a heterogenous eclectic
product. It represents an original integration of
various intellectual and philosophical trends into
a coherent concept. Derogatory criticisms of
|Meynert's work, as for instance the frequently
quoted remark by H.N. Gruhle 'as soon as he
left the territory of pure anatomy he produced a
confused brain mythology' are incorrect and
unjust. No doubt some of Meynert's hypotheses
greeted on the shaky ground of the still imma-
ture neurosciences are no longer tenable. In gen-
eral scientific hypotheses, theses, theories and
laws are provisional. The fact that some of
Meynert's discarded hypotheses were stepping
stones on which, for instance, E. Kraepelin
(1856-1926) and others built the modern theory
[of psychoses, shows that they were provisional
in the best sense of the word and exposed to fal-
sification. One may recall Berze's comment on
Gruhle's unkind remark: 'One may be reluctant
to admit that we owe a considerable part of the
development of our psychiatric theory and prac-
tice to the decried brain mythologist'.
In the pursuit and systematic extension of his
Comprehensive neurobiological work, Meynert
273
accepted a calculated risk in attempting bold
extrapolations from contemporary science into
still unexplored fields of knowledge. When seen
from our standpoint, some of his premature as-
sumptions turn out to be blind alleys. Yet some
blind alleys may be extended to lead into open
country. Meynert's system remained a torso,
incomplete because of the provisional nature of
all scientific endeavour and the insolubility of
the neurophilosophical problems of the brain-
mind-world relationship which has defied all
attempts at scientific explanation. Even in these
days where the 'dream of a system' has fallen
into disrepute, one cannot help admiring his aes-
thetically inspired desire for universality which
ranks with other great intellectual edifices. If
one applies Meynert's modest definition of ge-
nius as 'a far lesser degree of fallibility of
thought and insight than that granted to ordinary
human beings' to himself, one must admit that
he was an investigator of genius. He bequeathed
to us the inheritance of his achievements, a heir-
loom to be used and honored.
REFERENCES
Anton G (1930): Theodor Meynert. Seine Person, sein
Wirken und sein Werk. Eine fachgeschichtliche
Studie. Psychol Neurol 40:256-281.
Berze J (1936): Meynert und die Psychiatrie. Zschr
Ges Neurol Psychol 154:265-274.
Brodmann K (1909): Vergleichende Lokalisations-
lehre der Grosshirnrinde, dargestellt auf Grund des
Zellbaues. Leipzig, J. Barth.
De Crinis M (1939): Meynert und seine Lehren in
ihrer Bedeutune fur die heutige Psychiatrie. Zschr
Ges Neurol Psychol 165:17-38.
Finger S (1994): Origins of Neuroscience. A History
of Explorations into Brain Function. New York,
Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Gruhle HW (1932): Geschichtliches. In: Bumke's
Handbuch der Geisteskrankheiten, Bd.IX. Berlin,
Springer Verlag, pp. 1-30.
Hartmann F (1905): Gedichte von Theodor Meynert.
Wr Klin Wschr 29:788-89.
Hofler A (1892): Worte der Erinnerung an Theodor
Meynert und an sein Verhaltnis zur Philosophi-
schen Gesellschaft an der Universitat Wien. Wien
und Leipzig, Wilhelm Braumiiller.
Hoist E von, Mittelstaedt H (1950): Das Reafferenz-
prinzip. Naturwissensch 37:464-476.
Jaspers K (1948): Allgemeine Psychopathologie. Ber-
lin und Heidelberg, Springer Verlag, 4. Aufl.
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Lesky E (1965): Die Wiener Medizinische Schule im
19. Jahrhundert. Graz-Kln, Verlag Hermann
Bhlaus Nachf.
Marx OM (1970): Nineteenth-Century Medical Psy-
chology. Theoretical Problems in the Work of
Griesinger, Meynert and Wernicke. Isis 61, 355-
370.
Marx OM (1971): Psychiatry on a neuropathological
basis. Th. Meynert's application for the extension
of his venia legendi. Clio Med 6, 139-158.
McCulloch WS, Pitts W (1943): A logical calculus of
the ideas immanent in nervous activity. Bull Math
Biophysics 5:115-133.
Papez JW (1970): Theodor Meynert (1833-1892). In:
The Founders of Neurology. Haymaker W. &
Schiller F.(Ed.) (1953, 2nd E.1970) Springfield
Illinois, Charles C. Thomas Publishers.
Schnbauer L (1947): Das medizinische Wien. 2.
Wien, Aufl. Urban & Schwarzenberg).
Schulz F (1977): Prof. Dr. Th. Meynert - seine
gehirnanatomischen und psychiatrischen Arbeiten
1863-1892. Im Eigenverlag.
Stockert-Meynert DJ (1930): Theodor Meynert und
seine Zeit. Zur Geistesgeschichte sterreichs in
der 2. Hlfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Wien und Leip-
zig, sterreichischer Bundesverlag.
Stocken FG von (1957): Theodor Meynert. Ein
fhrender Gehirnforscherund Pyschiater. In: ster-
reichische Naturforscher, rzte und Techniker.
Wien, Gesellschaft fr Natur und Technik, pp.
137-139.
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS OF THEODOR
MEYNERT
(1865): Anatomie der Stirnrinde und ihre Ver-
bindungsbahnen mit den empfindenden Ober-
flchen und den bewegenden Massen. In: Leides-
dorf M.: Lehrbuch der Psychiatrischen Krank-
heiten. 2. Aufl., Erlangen, pp. 45-73.
(1866): Ein Fall von Sprachstrung, anatomisch be-
grndet. Med Jbcher 12 (22 Jg): 152-187.
(1867): Der Bau der Grohirnrinde und seine rt-
lichen Verschiedenheiten nebst einem patholo-
gisch-anatomischen Corrolarium. a) Vjschr Psy-
chiat 1:77-93; b) JH Heuser, Neuwied und Leipzig,
1868.
(1869): Studien ber die Bedeutung des zweifachen
Rckenmarksursprunges aus dem Grohirn.
Sitzungsber. Akad Wissensch, II Abt 60:447-462
+1 Tafel.
(1869): Beitrge zur Kenntnis der zentralen Projektion
der Sinnesoberflchen. Sitzungsber Akad Wsch, II
Abt 60:547-566 +2 Tafel.
(1870): ber Unterschiede im Gehirnbau der Men-
schen und der Sugetiere. Mitt Anthropol Ges
Wien 1:79-126.
(1872): Vom Gehirn der Sugetiere. In: S. Stricker:
Handbuch der Lehre von den Geweben der Men-
schen und Tiere. Leipzig Bd. 2:694-808.
(1877): Die Windungen der convexen Oberflche des
Vorderhirns bei Menschen, Affen und Raubtieren.
A. Hirschwald, Berlin.
(1884): Psychiatrie. Klinik der Erkrankungen des
Vorderhirns begrndet auf dessen Bau, Leistungen
und Ernhrung. I.Hlfte, Braumller, Wien.
(1885): Psychiatry. A clinical treatise on diseases of
the forebrain. Putnam's Sons, London.
(1887): Die anthropologische Bedeutung der frontalen
Gehirnentwicklung nebst Untersuchungen ber den
Windungstypus der Hinterhauptlappen der Suge-
tiere und pathologischen Wgungsresultaten der
menschlichen Hirnlappen. Toeplitz & Deuticke,
Leipzig und Wien.
(1890): Klinische Vorlesungen ber Psychiatrie auf
wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen fr Studierende
und rzte, Juristen und Psychologen. Braumller,
Wien.
(1892): Sammlung von populr-wissenschaftlichen
Vortrgen ber den Bau und die Leistungen des
Gehirns. Wilhelm Braumller, Wien und Leipzig.
(1905): Gedichte. (Hrsg. D.v. Stockert-Meynert) Wil-
helm Braumller. Wien und Leipzig.