bell published detailed studies of the nervous system in 1811, in his privately circulated book "an idea of a new anatomy of the brain". in this book, bell described his idea of the different nervous tracts connecting with different parts of brain and thus leading to different functionality. his experiments to investigate this consisted of cutting open the spinal cord of a rabbit and touching different columns of the cord. he found that an irritation of the anterior columns led to a convulsion of the muscles, while an irritation of the posterior columns had no visible effect. these experiments led bell to declare that he was the first to distinguish between sensory and motor nerves. while this essay is considered by many to be the founding stone of clinical neurology, it was not well received by bell's peers. his experimentation was criticized and the idea that he presented of the anterior and posterior roots being connected to the cerebrum and cerebellum respectively, was rejected. furthermore, bell's "original" essay of 1811 did not actually contain a clear description of motor and sensory nerve roots as bell later claimed, and he seems to have issued subsequent incorrectly dated revisions with subtle textual alterations.