Historical Vignette: Cerebral Cortical Stimulation and Surgery for Epilepsy

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques
• Main Authors: Maroun, F., Fitzgerald, W., Rasmussen, T., Jacob, J. C., Sadler, M., Murray, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1996
• Subjects: Neurology (clinical); Neurology; General Medicine; Newfoundland; Canada
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0317167100038270; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0317167100038270

Abstract In 1909, in an isolated community hospital, on the northern tip of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Dr. John Mason Little, Jr. performed electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex, prior to cortical excision, as treatment of recurrent cerebral seizures in three patients. Extracts from Dr. Little’s written records of the clinical features, the neurosurgical procedures and cerebral cortical stimulation are summarised. A brief review of the contemporaneous history of neurosurgical procedures for epilepsy provides a prospective of Dr. Little’s remarkable surgical virtuosity.