essays describing the individual characteristics of the Votyaks (Udmurts), a Finno-Ugric people under Russian rule who live in the Udmurt Republic between the rivers Vyatka and Kama. Then on April 4, 1881, Bekhterev successfully defended his doctoral thesis, "Clinical studies of temperature in some forms of mental disorders," and received his doctorate from the Medicosurgical Academy of St. Petersburg. This doctorate allowed Bekhterev to become a "private-docent" or associate professor, where he lectured on the diagnostics of nervous diseases. Contribution to neurology Throughout his career, Bekhterev conducted a large amount of research which greatly contributed to the current understanding of the brain. This research was described in works such as The Conduction Paths in the Brain and Spinal Cord, written in 1882, followed by a second edition written in 1896. In 1884 he published 58 scientific works about the functions of the brain. His extensive research led to an 18-month travel scholarship awarded to study and conduct research in both Germany and Paris. On this trip he worked with and learned from a variety of notable contributors the field of science such as Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), Paul Emil Flechsig (1847–1929), Theodor Meynert (1833–1892), Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal (1833–1890), Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818–1896), and Jean Martin Charcot (1825–1893). Bekhterev's scholarship lasted until September 1885, after which, he returned to Russia and worked as the head of the Psychiatry Department at the University of Kazan until 1893. During his time at the University of Kazan, Bekhterev made some of his greatest contributions to neurological science. He established the first laboratory of experimental psychology in Russia in 1886 to study the nervous system and the structures of the brain. As a result of his research, Bekhterev believed that there were zones within the brain and each of these zones had a specific function. Moreover, because nervous disorders and mental disorders usually occur in conjunction with each other, he believed that there was no definite distinction between these disorders. When conducting research at the University of Kazan, Bekhterev also identified Ankylosing Spondylitis or Bekhterev’s disease (more frequently spelled in English as Bechterew’s disease, following the German transliteration system for Russian names), a degenerative arthritis of the spine. As a result of his groundbreaking research, in 1891, Bekhterev was granted permission by the Kazan government to open and become the chairman of the Neurology Science Society. In 1893, Bekhterev left the University of Kazan to