The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-02-26
HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE
MEMORY.

MEMORY.
DR.. Holbrook. in the February num-
Der of the Herald of Health, says there
Is one feature of the memory which
naS not before been considered. and
that Is its exaltation in some forms of
disease.
An exaltation is where multitude
OF recollecti0Ds spring up involuntar-
LILY on every hand. 1t has its cause In
an increase of the circulation of the
blood in the brain. It frequently APP
pears IN acute diseases. especially
fevers. 1t is common in maniacal
patients, and it sometimes appears as
a feature of hysteria and in early
stages of brain diseases.
The subject of exaltation of memory
will be best understood by some SIM
pie illustrations. There have been
many accounts of persons saved from
imminent death by drowning who all
agree that at the moment of asphyxia
they seem to see their entire lives I'M
rolled before them, even to the minut-
est detail. Some go so far as to say
that every instance of former life
seems to flash across the memory, not
as an outline merely. but with every
detail filled in with the most remark
able mlnutia-every act of life, wheth-
er right or wrong, comes back with
great vividness. Ribot cites the case
of a clear-headed man who was in the
act OF crossing railroad track when
an express train running at full speed
appeared close at hand. The man had
barely time to throw himself down in
the center of the road, between the
two lines of rails and as the train
rushed over him. the feeling of impend-
ing danger brought to his recollection
most wildly every act and incident of
his former life in such an array as to
suggest to him the opening of the
great book at the last great day.
There is no doubt much exaggera-
ton in these statements; yet they
show an enormous temporary increase
or exaltation of the natural memory.
De Quincy, in his Confessions of
an English Opium Eater" gives an ex-
perience which shows how the memory
may be exalted by intoxication from the
use of opium. He says: Sometimes
| seemed to have lived from 20 to 100
years in single night. The minutest
incidents of childhood or forgotten
scenes of later years we're often reviv-
ed. l could not be said to recollect
them, for if / had been told of them
on awakening, / should not have been
able to acknowledge them as part of
my experience; but placed before me
in dream-like intuitions, and clothed
in all their evanescent circumstances
and accompanying feelings. l recog-
nized them instantly"
Such approximations of the memory
may be regarded as abnormal and un-
desirable, being indications of disease
but they teach one lesson to those who
would strengthen their memories, and
that is the value and necessity of a
perfectly healthy and vigorous circula-
ti0n of blood in the brain. The same
lesson is taught by an opposite condi-
ton from that of an exaltation-a
diminution of the normal memory by
a decay or whitening of the brain cells
and a diminished supply of blood to
the parts.
The loss Of memory in the aged is a
familiar example, and can only be &C
counted for by deterioration of the
brain elements and a diminution of
blood supplied to them. One of the
worst features of such cases is the fact
that an old person is not for a long
time after decay has begun, aware of
it. | am now treating a case of loss
of memory in a person advanced in
years, who did not know that his men,
DRY had failed most remarkably till
told him Of it. He is making vigorous
effort to bring it back again, and with
partial success.
| The method pursued is to spend two
hours daily, one in the morning and
one in the evening, in exercising this
faculty. The patient is instructed to
give the closest attention to all that he
learns. so that it shall be impressed on
the mind clearly. He is asked to recall
every evening all the facts and expert
ences of the day, and again the next
morning. Every name heard is writ
ten down and impressed on his mind
clearly, and an effort made to recall it
at intervals. Ten names from among
public men are ordered to be commit
ted to memory every week. A verse
of poetry is to be learned, also a verse
from the Bible, daily. He is asked to
remember the number of the page in
any book where any interesting fact is
recorded. These and other methods
are slowly suscitating failing mem
DRY.
| The aged should all look to this dam
ger in their lives, and resolve tie COM
bat it from the very first By so doing
they will make their declining years
more enjoyable, and give much greater
pleasure to their friends. Unceasing
self-culture, especially in preserving
the memory and intellectual faculties,
should constitute a considerable part
of the life of every aged person, even
more than the young. Only by it can
this period of life be rendered pleasant
and profitable.