The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-19
MIsrIKIN foR DRUSKENNEss.
Some Very Singular Freaks of Person. At
Tackled by ApoulrNy.
From "a. brush N'nra' Jo'vna'.

We have insisted on the difficulty Ia Gro
fregaeutlt u ia the 90 gnu-ls hetWlXt tutoXic4-
ton Hul fatil apIpleNf. AnlplcNy from c.r.-
utal hem"rrh.se Initiates no. oly the coma
t1so stIg5 # drunkenness, but occa-ipuly
wat We call the uproaril us stage. 4 recent
case cNeupllos tuis remark. gentleman was
found Ntng ia gutter 3D., a pni.l,n .,l. uud as
tne gentleman sang Tommy, make vav for
yolr uncle and nlso SAID part OF the l,,r.'s
PRAYER, he was supposed ID he druak. and was
taken to the police office. Later On. "a he
seemed - be 10 az, he was sent = a ho.ylti
AID lied tIere next morning ~ apopifKf n IN
disease Of the brain. Wnetler That aplplrxy
Vas OWING TO cerebral " meningeh nemor
rha-e. or not. w III not know. ! he ciil ilty
- n course, the greatest " "a there Is nO his
tory, as M spital ana police case.. lao Az
operlc tieut, from the text books point of
view ia Tx "a ~ ~ home, aud ger circum-
stances IN wIllh the ilaxuIsls, 50 fir as TO ak
oildr drunkenness. Il ready made. In hospital
anu police practice. ths history rs 700 often Ike
that Of this y or gentleman, he Is found In
gutter insen,ible or uproarinus. But not only
MAY A patient he violent In apop.exy that may
be speedily fatal. out he may, when otherwise
apparently deeply insensible. perform elaborate
actions. We must be on our quart not ~ be
misied by t1o-e cases. Let us mention one or
two cases OF automatic actions occurrlug during
c,ma. Tue "suggcstioR Of the particular ac-
VA. doing when his illnrss set In. mus \ wo-
man who bad fractured her skull ~ failing
downs ;alrs wnlle she was laying down some oil
partly lnssnsi0le; ma died Ia a lev hons.
We have seen lady wno dutlng Otherwise
deep coma would o4ahorately 81. n.e her face
when the sronge wAs put IN her rshs hand,
ana this only few hours before her de4th.
lhi- iady's SYMPTOMS az tho onset were u the
popular mind ~ AXE those OF Dir 4nieunoss IN Il
she was hailed by the street boS.. " See the
drunken LADY" when she was brought out Of
the house where she WAS nrst taken al. some
times the automatic action T. the survival of
deeply organized habit. DR.. HuEnlings Jackson
has recorded the case OF a man who, during IT,
al coma, elaooratell twirled his mOustachs. IL
WAS afterward found that this was a very cotn-
mon trek u his. lilo had been soldier. We
consider u \ great misfortune that such cases
are often looAei on as mere scientific Gu lsi-
ties, and, again, that Comparative study ID not
made Of the effects Il alcohol, epilepsy, and
ot1er comliiznS AGENTS. The performance II
very elaborate actions may be seen in cases Of
apop.ex, to 10 speedily fatal; they occur, too,
after epilAptic seizures, and after drinking
Hence III 'ulties IN diagnosis TINS cases are
illustrative OF LavcocAs doctrine Of the reflex
function u the brain. A careful study ofaIto-
matte actions occurring IA numerous cases OF
insensiptly from vari 1us causes, by the Hight OF
several principles snuuciited long ago by lay
COCK, would be very profitable, not only a. tie
means ~ Investigating import ant problems In
thai which l. comm only called tbs " physiology
Of mlnd." hut for the directly unitarian pu r
poses Of diagnosis and prOgnOss.