title: Horsley was the first to use electrical stimulation of the human cerebral cortex intraoperatively.
abstract: Fedor Krause has previously been credited with being the first surgeon to use electrical stimulation to define epileptic foci in the human cerebral cortex before extirpation. We provide evidence indicating that Krause was probably preceded by Horsley, and Bidwell and Sherrington in England, and by Keen in the United States. Sir Victor Horsley apparently first used electrical stimulation diagnostically in 1884 and slightly later (1886) to define epileptic foci.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Indiana University School of Medicine, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vilensky
authors.forename: Sid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilman
mesh_terms: D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000601:surgery; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans