In this lecture, I will discuss with you a phenomenon which I made known more than two
years ago. I communicated a note on it to the So ciété de Biologie in February 1896, and I made it the subject of a recent communication to the Congress of Neurology held at Brussels in September of last year.1 This phenomenon consists of a disturbance in the cutaneous plantar reflex.
Before giving you a description of it I must tell you something of the normal cutaneous plantar reflex in adults with whom I shall concern myself here. You should know that stimulation of the sole of the foot ordinarily provokes reflex movements, such as flexion of the foot toward the leg, of the leg toward the thigh, of the thigh toward the pelvis; however, I call your attention particularly to the flexion of the toes on the metatarsal bone. There are normal individuals whose