The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-04-10


THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAN,
he said, consists of three parts-the brain,
the spinal cord and the nerves. The brain,
of course, is of the first importance The
spinal cord comes next in importance and
the nerves follow. The brain and spinal
cord are to the nerves what the galvanic
battery is TO the telegraph. These important
organs are composed or gray and white it's
sue. The gray matter is the creative matter
In the brain, the gray matter surrounds the
white matter. In the spinal cord it is diff
ferent. In the brain, the mass Of the gray
matter is outside. In the spinal cord the
gray matter is on the inside. The spinal
cord is the long mass of gray matter that
runs down q mans back. The nerves origi-
nate from these masses of matter. They
consist Of cords and flores, and those cords
ramify through all parts of the body 1t is
their function to transmit certain determine
tions originated in the brain and communi-
Gated through the spinal cord. The nervous
system then consists of tissue which serves
for the generation OF nerve force and of
other tissue for the transmission of that
force. Every created thing has. in my
opinion, nervous system. With this short
review of the constitution of the nervous
system. the lecturer came to the considera-
ton OF "What is the Mind?'
WHAT THE MIND Is.
That, be said, is question that has puz.
zled philosophers in all ages of the world,
and will probably continue to puzzle them
but nevertheless we are day by day getting
nearer the realization of what the mind is.
Mind is simply force-a force developed
by nervous action. hope you will bear in
mind that am notnow talking about the
soul. The soul is matter of faith. We
can prove the existence OF the mind, but the
existence of the soul is not matter for
scientific discussion. They are entirely dis
tinct. The mind is force, the existence of
which we can demonstrate and consequent
~ the mind comes beneath the purview of
scientific inquiry. 1t has been and, | be-
lieve, is still supposed, that the brain power
does not come from the nervous system It
is not long ago that the mind of man was
supposed to reside in his liver, and then
again in his stomach.
THE HEART
has also been called the residence of the
mind of man. 1t has been a matter of doubt
where the mind of man came from, and these
impressions have been by no means obllter-
ated. How are we TO prove that the mind of
man comes from his brain? We are to prove
it as we would any other scientific principle.
by a collection of facts. 1t Is fact that
when an organ is overworked it experiences
discomfort. If you extend your arm for
half an hour 1t Will get tired,
and if you wag your tongue too long
it will get tired also. 1t is the same way
with any organ that is oyerworked. If a
mans brain is subject to over eKertion his
mind grows weary. Another proof is that
of disease or injury II man receives a
blow in the foot it will lnjure the faculty OF
walking. II mans brain is injured you
will see it at once in the character of his
thoughts or the entire cessation of all
thought. Strike man on the head with a
club and he loses consciousness. So it is
with disease. \ man has Inflammation of
the brain. for instance, and he gets excited,
deliriOus and oftentimes insane. Another
and striking proof is that when we over
exert an organ we do it at the expense of the
substance Of that organ. IL you take the
muscles from frog aud connect them with
the wires of a galvanic battery the muscles
will contract. When this has been done
weigh the muscle and you will find it much
lighter than before the attachment was made.
The SAME thing is true of man. We can al
mostalways tell how much man has used his
brain in "a hours by the amount of phos-
pilates, which are the ashes of the nervous
system. | notice that some of my clerical
friends exhibit more phosphates than those
of other callings, and that the accumulation
is greater on Monday than any other day
owing to the excessive labor of Sunday. As
we know that the phosphates come from the
worked to produce them. The mind of man,
all other things being equal, is regulated in
power and strength by the amount of brain
he has. AS rule
THE SIZE OF A MANS BRAIN
indicates his capacity. The brain of the
Caucasian weighs 80 ounces, while that of
the negro weighs 10 onnces less, and that Of
the Tarssr one-half as much. Going into the
animal kingdom we find that the brain of
the chImpanZee or gorilla is smaller than
that of the negro, and the mental capacity
of the negro Is much smaller. Within our
own race there are some notable differences
Idiots have very small heads. Sometimes
the heads seem large, but the size is often
due to extraneous engagements. | have had
occasion TO examine many small heads, and
I've found the intellectual development
much below the standard. In one case the
brain weighed only % ounces. Although
the person was 30 years of age and otherwise
perfectly developed, her intellect was child
ish, and she came into my consultation room
with rag baby in her arms, 10 which she
paid great attention. There is boy on
Randalrs island who furnishes q good
illustration of the small amount OF brains
that man can. get along with. His skull is
only is inches in circumference, and he
does not possess the intelligence OF dog.
He knows the value of money, and If you
give him penny he will buy cake or an
apple, but / have seen dogs that knew
the value of money. There is one
other proof. When you cut off the
connection between the brain and the CEN
trail nervous system you at once prevent the
mandates of the will from passing to that
point. You might as well cut the telegraph
wire that derives its power from the battery.
When We divide the wire that connects the
brain with the several organs we divest those
organs of their power. | say the central
nervous system, because the mind does not
ali reside in the brain; portion of it resides
In the spinal cord. If knock a man on the
head or put bullet through his brain be
becomes senseless; he is stretched on the
floor and doesn see or hear, but if
TICKLE THE SOLE OF HIS FOOT
he will draw it up. The force to do so comes
from the spinal cord. Man, unfortunately,
is not we'll fitted for experiments. The frog
is the best instrument we have. Any ex-
pertinent tired upon frog can be applied to
any other animal. An experiment per-
formed upon the spinal column of frog
could be applied to the spinal column OF
man. Ii cut off the head of frog he will