T H E B R I T I S H J O U R N A L O F A N I M A L B E H A V I O U R

read with advantage by a much wider circle. Their value as an introductory text would have been enhanced by the addition of selected references.

Ecological Animal Geography. By W. C. ALLEE 8r KARL P. SCHMIDT. Chapman & Hall. 1951. Pp. xiii + 715. 68s. Those familiar with the first American edition

of this work will know that it was based on the late Richard Hesse's Tiergeographie auf oekolo- gischer Grundlage. The process adopted for that first edition, viz., the intermingling of translated with fresh material, has been developed still further in an attempt to bring the whole of this comprehensive work up to date. For some reason the first edition was never very widely adopted in Great Britain, although it appears to have been a standard American text of some im- portance. The additions that have been made are extensive, and it is to be hoped that the work will now find its rightful place on British bookshelves, and will come to be used more widely by students. There is no work of compar- able scope and documentation in the English language.

Physiological Foundations of Neurology and Psychiatry. By ERNST GELLHORN. Minne- apolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1953. Pp. xiii + 556. $8.50. Though written primarily for neurologists,

psychiatrists and clinical psychologists this book contains in its twenty chapters a great deal of material of prime importance to the student of animal behaviour. Dr. Gellhorn, whose general position indicates clearly the influence of that great physiologist W. B. Cannon, believes firmly in the value of synthesis; and in this book he has gathered up and given perspective to a vast amount of recent experimental work on integrative neuro- physiology. Among the topics discussed are: The unit analysis of nervous activity; the motor cortex, voluntary movements and reflex activity; experimental convulsions; the physiology and pathology of consciousness; the autonomic nervous system; the principles of neuro-endocrine action; the physiological basis of emotion; factors involved in conditioning, and homeo- static mechanisms.

Unlike many psychological and behavioural writers Dr. Gellhorn seldom argues in advance

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of experimental support. There are 1,263 references in the bibliography, more than ten per cent of which refer to the work of the author and his collaborators. It is inevitable that specialists will disagree with one or other of his interpretations. For example, his views on the so-called 'plasticity' of the nervous system, on the problem of the functional significance of the motor cor tex and the probable role of the 'suppressor areas' in nervous homeostasis already have powerful dissentients, and a large number of the footnotes are devoted to explain- ing away evidence that does not fit with his story. But Dr. Gellhorn performs a valuable service in throwing into clear relief the functional interaction of different nervous 'levels' lying between stimulus and response. He stresses the importance of recent work on the functioning of the brain stem reticular system and the hypo- thalamus. The former is viewed in particular relation to spinal sensory and motor mechanisms and t o its activating influence on the cerebral cortex. The hypothalamus receives attention in regard to its integration of somatic, auto- nomic and endocrine activity. Dr. Gellhorn shows how together they may serve as a basis for explaining many hitherto puzzling features of behavioural phenomena.

The reader who is interested in finding a neural substratum for ethological concepts of a heirarchical organisation of instinctive be- haviour will find the book of particular relevance, for it effectively disposes of outworn ideas of localised nervous 'centres.' The gap between our knowledge of the integrated working of the nervous system and our knowledge of instinc- tive activities is still very large, and it is perhaps permissible to note that the former information is chiefly drawn from investigations on a few mammalian species, in which ethological data are scanty or non-existent. Nevertheless no theory of behaviour which ignores nervous mechanism is likely to win general acceptance, and this book provides perhaps the best account cur- rently available of the present potentialities of neurophysiology in this respect.

The book is written in a clear style without flourish, and is bountifully illustrated with diagrams and experimental records and protocols. The type and paper are of a very high standard and the value of the work is enhanced by the numerous cross references and an excellent index.

B. A. C.