BRAINS OF RATS AND MEN. By Prof. C. Judson Herrick.
(University of Chicago Press. $3.)—Our knowledge of the functions of the brain has been derived partly from
observation on man in health and disease, and partly from experimental work on animals. When simple functions such -as reflex action are the subject of investigation probably the 'knowledge gained from experiments on animals can be trans- lated without reserve into the field of human physiology, but when more complicated functions, such as those of discrimi- nation, learning and memory, are the subject of study we must take into account differences in mental equipment before indulging in generalizations. Rats are used for many laboratory experiments and we presume it is because these animals stand near the bottom of the mammalian scale that Mr. Herrick has called his book on the origin and biological significance of the cerebral cortex, The Brains of Rats and Men. his observations are not limited to the anatomy and physiology of the brains of rats and men, nor even of the group of mammals, but the title indicates the object to which chief 'attention- is directed. Only students of neurology are likely to read it systematically--although the last three chapters are of general interest.
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