Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-05-07
BRAIN AND BACKBONE.
A Famous Physicians Theory as to
the Seat OF the Mind.
Nar- V,-r- vv,-rH Rr--

The annual meeting OF the New Ork
Neurological Society was held last evening
at the College Of Physicians on Twenty
third street, Besides bis brief inaugural
address, the Chairman, Prof. William A.
Hammond, read highly interesting paper
to prove that othe brain is not the sole or
gan Of the mind.s 1t was listened to with
far more interest than the essays Of medi-
cal men usually excite.
Before developing his theory, the Pro
fessOr affirmed that there is no evidence in /
physiology that the mind can exist indie
pendent Of the nervous system. The glnga-
liza and nervous tissues Of the brain and
spinal cord, aided by the outlying nervous
system, are the sole discOverable media Of
perception. The white matter Of both IS
but = conducting and protective element.
The brain itself is by far the largest mass
of nervous matter pertaining 10 any ami
NAL. In man its average weight is 49a
ounces. Daniel Webster had 63s ounces
of brain and lDr. AbeTcrOmbie 63 ounces.
WebSter's, which was the biggest skull on
record, held 122 cubic inches Of brain nat
ter. The average Englishman, TeutOn or
American has a capacity Of %
inches; the 'man and brother" about s.,
and the HottentOt Of South Africa only %.
The brains Of the inferior animals ara
often larger in proportion to the animals
bulk than those Of man, and thrTe is no
definite relation between the intelligence
of the animals and the proportions Of Drain
to weight. An alligator six feet long, for
Instance, has only about half an ounce Of
brains. The brain of a tOm-tIt is one
twelfth of his whole weight, Of a canary
one-tenth, and Of a goose only the thirty
sixth hundredth part. Man himself has a
brain which is usually no more than one
fiftieth Of his weight. All these contrast /
ing figures, however, refer only to the white
substance; and if they prove anything,
prove that the mass Of the brain is no cri-
teriOn Of intellectual superiority. What
can be claimed on behalf Of heavy brains,
if a tOn-tit has propOrtionately much more
than a man, or an intelligent goose three
hundred times less than a canary? In tis-
sue it is, only, that man IS decidedly the
largest stockhOldeT; and this tissue is by no
means confined to the cerebrum and cere-
bellum.
MIND NOTHING But NERVOUS ACTION.
Now, continued the Professor, mild IS
nothing more than force developed by
nervous action. To realize anything
around us, to perceive, requires the coop
Grafton Of three faculties, an organ Of sense,
a nerve and a brain nerve tissue. Such
actions or cOntOrtiOns as result from pain,
tickling on the feet and snufftaking are
not always dependent on brainial peTcep-
tiOn. They take place with people who
are mentally unconscious. The source Of
perception must therefore have been else
where. Here the professor gave an account
Of a remarkable series Of experiments
made by him on the lower animals. A
frog with the brain removed will kick and
struggle if pinched; if pricked
viii lift up the right or left leg to
brush away the offending needle, and
will even swim if placed in the water. A
decapitated alligator will 60 and do like
wise. A rattlesnake has struck out with
his headless body and knocked down his
execUtiOner. These things prove that the
spinal cord has volitiOn Of its own, and is
something more than q mere conductor Of
impressions TO the brain. If the spine Of
the salamander be severed, the two parts Of
the body will still move in harmony. If|
the Centiped be cut in pieces each part viii
march of as if it bad brain Of its own.
Ii has ganglia in each section Of its spine,
and the ganglia, therefore, are separate
centres Of perception and v0liti0n. A
young duck, just out Of the eCg-shell, will
swim like a veteran, even after its brain is
removed. a pigeon in like predicament
will brush down his feathers and put his
head under his wing 10 sleep.
HUMAN BEINGS EXISTING WITHOUT
BRAINS.
OF human illustrations there are many
in which an infant without brains has lived
a short time, and had an infants motions
and perceptions. Reverie. SOmnambulism,
catalepsy and trance are human conditions
which 90 also to establish that the spinal
cord is a highly respectable organ. Don't
men walk, and ladies play the piano, care
fully and correctly, while the brain is utter
IL absorbed in other operations or else to-
tally quiescent? There must be a con-
sciOusness, therefore, elsewhere than in the
eerebTun.. Il was not claimed to be quite
so important rs the latter, but no one
could deny after such experiments and OBJ
servatiOus that the brain is not the sole
centre of mind.
The Professor having concluded, DR..
Taylor added his conviction also that the
mind has no special seat. There ara worms,
he said, who spontaneously divide their own
bodies, and each particular section starts
out as an independent worm. There is a
worm, even, with the eyes at one end Of the
line and the mouth at the other. WhynOt
90 further than DR.. Hammond? May il
not well be that mind peTvades the whole
bOdy2
Dr. Parsons next said that it all depended
on ones definition of the word mind. Some
say that mind is a conscious exercise Of
feeling, thought and will. In the case Of
DR.. HammOnd's experiments there might
be a mere mechanical habit, acquired by
the inferior centres from the teachings Of
the superior, but certainly not an indepen-
ent perception or vOlitiOn.
Professor Hammond responded that if
Drained frog be pinched OF burned with acid
and hits out from the shoulder Of his hind
leg, he is giving fair evidence Of perception
and vOlitiOn. What more could be expect
ed Of any reasonable frog
A discussion Of this nice point occupied
the scientists during the balance Of the
session.