Depiction of the neuroscientific principles of human motion 2 millennia ago by Lucretius
Citation Manager Formats
Make Comment
See Comments

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Titus Lucretius Carus was an ancient Roman philosopher of the Epicurean school whose epic poem On the Nature of Things described numerous aspects of the natural world. In fact, much contemporary scientific understanding is consistent with or inspired by his work. Among Lucretius's contributions to neurology were his descriptions of epileptic seizures, sleep, and his theory of vision. This report identifies how Lucretius's description of human motion recognized the fundamental principles understood by contemporary neurologists and neuroscientists, namely the importance of the mind and intelligence in determining whether to move, in the initiation of motion and its effect on the rest of the body; the importance of mental imagery and perception of the motor task's nature and workload in addition to the necessary systemic changes occurring in parallel with the muscle activity. Lucretius was the first commentator to introduce into Epicurean poetry the concept of such a mechanism consisting of a logical order of processes which are still consistent with modern concepts.
Footnotes
-
Study funding: Oxford Experimental Neurology & Functional Neurosurgery is supported by educational grants from the UK Biomedical Research Collaborative of the National Institute of Health Research, Medtronic, Inc., the Wolfson Charitable Trust, and the Norman Collisson Foundation.
- Received October 11, 2010.
- Accepted April 7, 2011.
- Copyright © 2011 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)
Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here
Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page. Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00. Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means. The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use. Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.
Disputes & Debates: Rapid online correspondence
NOTE: All authors' disclosures must be entered and current in our database before comments can be posted. Enter and update disclosures at http://submit.neurology.org. Exception: replies to comments concerning an article you originally authored do not require updated disclosures.
- Stay timely. Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- 200 words maximum.
- 5 references maximum. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- 5 authors maximum. Exception: replies can include all original authors of the article.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Related Articles
- No related articles found.