, 1870-07-24
ON SLEEP AND DREAMS.
Ry mn Old FhyAfeinn.

i1cm oI,t .coa snd FROM tho a;r wc -reathe.
The hair Of yesterday, says Dr.. Hammond, an
eminent American phyeiologist and physician.
trcm uhore rec, =. volume, on asleep and ita
pt1angements," we shall borrow freely in
these raperc, is not the hair Of to-day; the
mrsc1e which extends the arm " not iden.i-
c1lly the same muscle after as before ifs ac-
Ton; and this systcm Of decay and stimuli
t,neous repara'lon is especially sctife IN the
brain For While even those actions which
are most CONTINUOUS, such az the respiration
aud the rulsation Of the heart. have distinct
intervals Of suspeneion-ehott. it in true, but
very nuuefous-and the voluntary muscles
have fat greater amount Of reposee, the
brain (he ne1s) ID never At rest except during
aleep; and even this condition IL often only
one OF comparative lutelude. It's substance
is consumed ~ every thought, BY every &c
tion OF the will, By every eouud that is heard.
by every ohjee: that i seen, BY every cub
efaEce thct IS touched, By every odor that is
su'ened, ty every psiniul or pleasoz1ble son
estion; snd 60 each instant Of our lives Wit
1esrea the decay OF come portion OF it's maes
.nd the formation Of new material to take lis
llac-.
The necessity for sleer is duo to the fact
hat, dus7ng the period Nc are awake, tho
I y1uatior OF new cerebral or ncrvous matter
doer not 60 en- 70 r4ptl1y ~ the decay and
di.iutfgrttlon Of the old; and the more sctiye
the brain is, go ulucl the greater il tho neces-
Etr for f1eer. This ne:cs-itr for sleep is
sometimes go argent, that the strongest e1-
ertion Of the will fail. to ncutralize it, and to
/ t1ue1s or failors on wAtch-although knowing
the rifE they run il found asleep when On duty
are often physically unable to shake or the
droveiness tha, Is leading them into penl.
Soldiers have frequently been knowu to sleep
on horseback during prolonged nisht.marcl-
tunna, whole battalion. Of infantry slept while
in raIid nnarrh. Damien.. 1t history il to be
believed, tltpt on tic rack, and it was only by
continually changing the mode OF torture that
he wAs kept awnke; and in CONFEDERATION Of
abe she e. snEson m H. rea s.,
s r.1 b.. a'fs ia the vast ''s sre:s eapea
rience-tells ,1s that he has eect, Individuals
who had been exposcd to Sreak fatigue sleep
through the pain caused By the amputahou
knife.
In illustration Of the appalling torments
csueed BY the prolonged deprivation OF sleep,
the following case {qno;cd ly Dr. Forbes Wins
low. ''On Obscure Diseesea Of the ErA4n,"
from sn American medical iounal,) may bc
convicted of numbering lis wife, md was sen-
tenced to die by being deprived of sleep. This
psinful mode Of death was Carried iuio effect
under the following circumstances: The con-
demned vas placed in prison ,1nder the care Of
three Of the police g1.ard, who relieved esch
other every alternate honr, and who prevented
He thus lived nineteen days without enjoying
apy sleep. At the commencement of the
eighth day his tufleringn were 60 intense that
he imrlored the authorities to grant him the
e1eesed opportunity Of being strangled. guillo-
Quasterea, blown up win gunpowlef. or put
to death in any conceivable way thci1 humani-
ty or ferociy could invent"
II cur memory does not deceive ns, Mr..
Proude. in his History Of England" men,
tions, in foot-note, the case OF man named
form Of death, It is said than animal-tamesa
lion kings and such like-resort to this
Ecans Of breaking the temper or stlbd1i1g the
ote,lnacy of specially insractab1e beasts.
In d'ecase;ng the esnscs II sleep, We must
d;stnsnlsh between rec wh.t rbS,aiisologists anl
eautes. The e1riting cause IL 10 ba founa In
the necessity that At stated times tho brxin
shonld enjoy 1epoee, in order that its worm
oat and ef1e1e tissue should he removed md
rprlaccd BY new msterial. II the tisintegrAted
tissues Of tie brain and other organs were re-
! t:ined, they would rapidly poison the blood
snd cause tisesse: and hence their due remov-
n ie provided for through tue action OF the
Kidneys.
The imn'edidte Cause Of slcep is proved by
tie experiments and otservations Of many
psychologists - amongst whom we muat
Hospital; Dr. Fleming. of birmingham, late
Professor Of Mafc1ia Melica at Queens Col
lece. Cork; 3r. Moore OF tho Mtatl1csex Hos
T!tali and Dr.. Hammond, Of Now York-to be
Iefershle 10 a dinainusion Of the quantity Of
| t1ood circulating in the brain. How, our read
! err may ask. can this te rrovede In reply,
| will five few of the fActa obviously tending
! 10 eetshiist this theory,
Dr.. Fleming, II, the rea: 1855. whi'c prepar-
| ing lecture on the mode Of operation Of nar-
L At,L -
the etYeet Of eo1nrrc.sins the esrotid arteries
Of the neck, whirh CIT! to the brain By Ear the
larger quantity Of IT. altesial blood. The first
4 experiment. wss made on himeeff hy friend,
! with the effect ct causing immediate and deep
| sleep. ~ soft, hurroing NOISE" he OBJ
then steals over the whole bo1y; and in
few seconds complete unconsciousncss and
;s Pfs9s 'fsrHsps sna saan19 b. SO h ha
mnud tells ur that lle has only once repeated Or,
remme'e experiment on the human subject ;
md N that care fleer. or condition rescm.
Hing it. was instantaneo1al5 induced-cou-
sciouHne.H teinS regained as soon as TIC pres
ture WIS removed The reason Why Ae has
not more frequently tried this method is, thai
carotid artefies OF dogs and rabbits, fpr q
lnrEer time than one minute, conSuIsious Gau.
erslts follow the accession Of sleep. As esi.
| dtnce OF similar nature, NO may refer to q
care, quoted BY Dr. Hammond. in which q
lady bait both her carotid arteries tied-ops
teyeu years ago, and the other some year
.ater-for the direasc termed aneuriAm Iht
| most marked symptom that followed these OF,
eralions was persistent droweincaa, which wa
+.pecislly wellmsrked after the last operation
, And which !. etil' trout lesome.
Mr., Durham arrived at the immediate caust
If rleep hy the following experiment. Ia or
der to ascertain hy ocular examination II,
condition Of the circulation Of the b; ain durin;
sleep, he placed dog under the influence o
:hlesttorn and removed portion Of the rid
Of the skull az large as shi1lipg. togetbe
With the tnhjacent tonsh membrane called tn
tWr1 mnhT. he thus brought into vier
The highly vascular membrane Of the beai,
known ~ the pia n'o1sr, which il traverse,
IN each direction By blood-yessels entering ant
;s, ssr'nF s thst .e,g,, ee5,gsn During The adnnistra
more and more dstendcd With dark colose,
Hood: bit aftervasd, a. tbs elects of th
.seAt rassrd away and the nniua1} sank into
natural a1ecp, the surface became pale pl1n
~ the T1evieus{x dlstensiesf ye.scis ceased i
be arpaEens. snd the cs1so.el h.aip, instead 0
;,cnc. 0n revising the animal, the surface bs
t!~smc ru!yrsta with red blush, and Aga,n be
came convex, moreover, the circulation in
creased m 1apidity.. Alter being led, the sni
naal fell asleep. and the exposed braiu agai
possible effc2t Of atmospheric pressure,
watrl1-Elass wAa securely etnented to til
aEnil nver the opening; and it waH found tha
no alteration OF the rhenomena occurred
Hence he canre 10 the conclusion that. "du1
ling r'.er. 'he train ir in comparatively blooG
less condition. and the blood IN the ceseb-,
vesee}s ia not tnly Diminished iii quantity, bu
mover With diminished sspidNr.'
~ some unseeonntsble oversight, MT. Dur
|fam. whn-e essay appears in the Guy
ii1ios1 tsl lteposte" Tor 1850, makes no allusio
to The experiments Of III. Fleming, whic
were published Ave years rresious1y.
In Hli ques,ienn Of disputed discovers faa i
The case OF Adams and L. yerrie1) the matte
r. settled bv priority Capitalization. D.. HAn
tsnond gracefully y1c1ds hts Assent to this rult
,1though he bad made s1nailar observations I
}ehoee Of Durham At an earlier period tlS54
lt,td had arrived at similar conclusions
i'hat yesr, = mnn came tn1er his notice Wit
}n frghtful railway accident. had lost Ahor
It,ighteen square inches OF his akult, there tein
hAsurc Of his e1znirm three inches vide 10
to l(.ix tncher long. The lost borg wall consiste
20 ,f the greater n rton nf the LETT parietxl, Al
ID ear Of thc frontal, ts,eirta1, and night raret
q, 14oneH-the pariesal lonee forming the great.
part OF the rides md top Of the skull. D
Hammond attended him for eTlept1c fits AT
g llsoon astertained tha', 1t the beginning Of II
I've komstote or stuf ur-llke condition which ru
be- be- raiiatly an elevation Of the rortie
" pf the scalp eorrting the. dahcien'
:. ri the. eranintn: while, When norm
= tleep bad replaced the sturnr, the aeslp grad
= (ehy became depressed; When the man VI