Baginsky on aphasia

The first functional representation of language processes, depicted in the form of a diagram, was probably produced by Adolf Baginsky in 1871. The present paper contains a short biography of Baginsky and a translation of the relevant part of his paper on aphasia due to a severe kidney disorder. It appears that Baginsky formulated a theory of normal language processing, based on the notions of (functional) centres and connections between centres. On the basis of this model he deduced various forms of aphasia. It is argued that, before Wernicke published his model for the representation of language in the brain in 1874, not only Baginsky but also other authors-in England, the Netherlands and France-have used concepts such as functional centres and connections. Apparently, Wernicke unjustly received credit for formulating the first connectionist model for language representation in the brain.