| Description Of Item | Letter from James Rorie, Dundee Royal Asylum, to Thomas Laycock. Letter details an experiment that Rorie believes will support Laycock’s future lecture on epilepsy. The experiment saw Rorie insert copper pins into the skull of a hedge sparrow and attach them to a battery, stimulating wing flapping and convulsions, eventually leading to comatose behaviour. This was repeated for a total of 3 attempts. Later examination showed perforation of cerebral lobe membrane, ‘considerable effusion of blood’, and was compared to an epileptic attack. Rorie intends to repeat the experiment in the future on a rabbit. Attached to the letter is a pencil drawing of the sparrow’s head with pin locations, and a key. |