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Although remarkably little is known about the ætiological factors of encephalitis lethargica, extensive studies of the later manifestations (sequelæ) of this disease have led to great advances in the understanding of certain cerebral mechanisms, especially in the corpus striatum and mesencephalon. The literature of the disease has become enormous, and a large number of writers have paid special attention to the frequent and peculiar disorders of respiration occurring in patients who have suffered and still suffer from this malady: Various kinds of dyspnoea, bradypnoea, tachypnoea (often accompanied by sialorrhoea or spitting), irregular breathing, respiratory tics, spasmodic cough, hiccough, yawning, sighing, sniffing, blowing, puffing, and many others.
Dr. Jelliffe gives an historical summary of published clinical reports and of the various hypotheses that have been advanced to explain such symptoms: hypotheses of their peripheral muscular origin, bulbar and thalamic localizations, higher psychomotor tract involvements and emotional origins, and now he contributes some psycho-analytical studies of these respiratory disorders.
There is plenty of evidence that certain portions of the brain are