Pierre Marie, 1916-1917: Functional radiographic imaging of vision and aphasia

This article describes how Pierre Marie developed a radiographic method to localize functional areas in the brain of French World War I soldiers having sustained a penetrating craniocerebral injury. The brains cadavers were removed from their skulls and lead wires were placed in the Rolandic, Sylvian, and calcarine fissures, and major sulci. The brains were returned into their skulls and x-rays were taken using the same size and magnification used clinically in visually impaired or aphasic soldiers. The position of the wires outlining the fissures and sulci were averaged and traced on a sheet of transparent paper, on which the gyri were labeled, thus creating an idealized brain map. The transparent brain map was placed over an injured soldier's skull x-ray, and both were placed on an x-ray viewer, revealing the site of the skull fracture overlying the cortical injury in relation to brain map. Marie was the first to apply new technology--radiology, tolocalise functional areas of the brain. Using this method, Marie andhis collaborators discovered the role of the calcarine cortex invision and formulated a new theory of aphasia.