The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-19
workings of The Brain.

nr Brnwu-Sequard loctured, last week,
TO large audience in the lcciurc-room Of
Plymouth church, Brooklyn, upon the sub
icci, The Mechanism and the Scat in the
Brain If the Nolitioral, ScrsDrial, and
Mental Phenomena. Many prominent
phy ,iciaus uf both cities were in the audi
oncc, although the discourse was popular
one. After briefly describing the makeup
Of thu nervous system md brain, the lcc-
ture said in substance;
Certain irialions Of the brain not only,
hut OF many part- Of the nervous system,
may arrest activity OF excite morbid actyi-
ty with greater variety Of phenomena.
The brain itself may act upon itself in this
way. Many parts of the nervous system
have especial power in this respect, and
very slight irritation mayproducc tromcud-
ous activity. Strong commissions have been
ended by pairing away bit Of flesh where
in the irritation existed The causes are
sometimes extremely slight indeed l'rcd-
crlck the Great (so-calledl. Of Prussia, ate
his dinner ono day-that was all. There
were some dozen Dishes among the lighter
of which were beef, stcwed in brandy, po-
tcnta, aud veal pic, so hot and highly
seasoned that it seemed TO have been baked
in--in place very far from this lecture
rOom--and he was thrown into commissions.
Irritation of certain muscle of the eye
may produce the catalyptic state. What
is the kind of irritation by which activity
can be arrested? Respiration can be stop
ped by an act of will, or by pressure of a
certain nerve. Coughs, sncezing, and hic-
coughs by the WILL or by pressure of a GER
tain nerve in the face. Consciousness
ceases during Sleep but its cessation is
caused by an active irritation. have had
thirteen cases wherein commissions of the
lower limbs have been stopped by pres
sure upon the big toe. The cOnvulsi0n
which draws the head around to one side
can be stopped if, before consciousness
goes, the head is pulled around to the other
side. A jet of carbonic acid forced through
the larynX will stop the commissions caused
by strychnne or following loss of blood.
A disease or injury of the brain, even when
slight, may produce great variety OF phe-
nomena of great intensity, while it may
again extend over one entire side of the
brain without producing any phenomena
whatever. The two sides of the brain
are exactly alike in function, and either
of them is perfectly competent to perform
the functions commonly attributed to both.
Oar education of the body is unfortunate
in that it is One-sided. If the left hand and
the left side were as good as the right hand
and right side it is extremely probable that
two sides Of the brain would act where one
acts now and it would he a great gain if
we had two brains instead of one. Some
who are now dumb would certainly gain
the power of speech in that case. The
mind does not play on the nerves rs a man
on the piano, or receive sensations by re-
turn vibrations. In the first place the num-
Der of fibrcs of communication with the
body is extremely small as compared with
the number of absolutely different motions
we can perform or sensations we can re-
ceiyc. In the second place the bond Of
Union may be almost entirely affected. We
cannot infer, either. that the scat OF
irritation ia the seat OF the mental
act causing the activity which the
Irritation produces. For irritation s0f
the bowels may produce aphasia, and We
should be unwilling to seat the mental act
in speaking in the bowels. Tickle the feet
and the muscles Of the face contract, nul
we do not assume that the seat Of will ior
those muscles Is in The feet. We know
generally that the base Of the brain con-
trolls the muscles. The scat of vital force
has been placed IN the mcdulla oblongala,
but animals live when their mcdulla is re-
moved. The mind has little powef oyer
the body rs regards acts of will, What
eau be done without the will is sometime,
immense. The will is no great power Its
function consists only in pointing an end,
and not AT all in performing the movements
it has indicated. \ great many facts 20
to show that when the will has given an
organ something to do that thing is done
without further trouble to the WILL as Il
tccgrHphic dispatch had been sent and
lone with. And the fact that when almost
all the libres OF the medulla oblongata are
destroyed sense and motion may be perfect
seems to indicate that the communication
has been by a kind OF telegraph for which
one wire is as good as many, and not by Il
vibration of fibres wherein separate fibre
is needed to transmit each order from the
will for each sensation TO it.