Pierre Flourens, born in
1794, was a physician interested in the functional capabilities of various parts of the
brain. He was able to
infer the function of various structures in the brain by experimentally removing them from the brains of animals and observing their
behaviour. The function of the
ablated brain
segments were determined from seeing what the animals could no longer do.
By this method, Flourens was able to demonstrate the
respiratory center in the
medulla and the function of the
cerebellum in muscular co-ordination.
Flourens died in
1882.