Smyrna times., 1876-03-01
Extraordinary Mental Freaks.

The brall'S action unGef peculldt Sii iSuAAi-
stances is often directly the opposite from
what might be expected. lmbeclle chill
dren have been known to acquire some
degree of mental ability by a blow on the
head, while sensible persons frequently
lose a portion of their sense in the same
way. The case of gentleman is cited
who, by blow on the head from ham,
mer, lost his knowledge of Greek. An
Irish farmer, being struck with paralysis,
found on his recovery that he had lost all
knowledge of nouns and proper names, and
the most remarkable thing was he coul
remember the initial letter of the word h
wished to pronounce, but no more. not
a few-cases of brain disease persons have
forgotten acquired languages, and knowl-
edge of their mother tongue has returned;
bat DR.. johnson, when dying, tried in vain
to repeat the Lords Prayer in English, but
did so in Latin. curious anomaly in
brain action is that the brain can stand
still for years and then, on recovery, take
up exactly the same chain of thought which
was interrupted by disease or accident.
farmer in New England one day went
home from his field, after hiding his beetle
and wedge in a hollow tree. That night
he lost his reason and remained a lunatic
for eighteen years. A fortunate action re-
storing his mental faculties, he sat up in
bed and asked if the boys had brought the
beetle and wedges home. Being told that
they had not he went to the tree found
them, and brought them back. An English
captain, struck on the head at the battle OF
the Nile while giving an order, remained
unconscious for eighteen months. Being
restored by surgical operation he sat up.
and to the astonishment of his attendants
shouted in stentorian voice the remainder
of the interrupted order. 1t is not little
remaI Ikable that serious injuries have oc-
Cured to the brain without material de-
triment to the mental powers, while, on the
other hand, the mosscritical and scientific
examination of the brain matter of insane
persons fails to disclose any difference
between it and the brain substance of the
sane. Soldiers have been known to carry
bullets IN their brains without serious de
triment, and operations for removal of the
balls, still further injuring the brain, had
no effect on their Shrinking powers. A
case is detailed of man who received q
blow on the head, which fractured the
skull and caused suppuration, by whicl
more than half his brain was destroyed
and yet he retained his mental faculties il
full force till he died.
The brain sometimes loses control of the
muscular system, as in St. Vitus's dance, il
which the patient has no voluntary contro
of his muscles. Sometimes the physica
spasm is in one direction only, as in tn,
case of a lady whose mental diseas,
prompted her to double up her body anC
make leaps like frog. A more singula
case was that of girl, while the fit of men
tai alteration was on her, did nothing bu
repeat the action of standing on her head
These acts were in consequence of disea
sed brain. In health, as we all know, tn
brain exercises a control over the minutia
not only of voluntary action, but also q
memory; but in disease, particularly slip
of remembrance are often extracted fror
the mind, and total blanks exist in thei
place. An old soldier, after having su'
tanned the removal of a bullet from hi
brain, was found to have forgotten the od
numbers; and a teacher, having had
brain fever, forgot the letter F. Sometime
a sudden affection of the brain remove
whole masses of knowledge at once. Al
Italian, who was master of several langus
ges previous to his attack, spoke English
the language he had last acquired; tn
disease progressing, he forgot that an
spoke French, and on the day of his deaf
he had forgotten everything but Italian
Bali. Sun.