Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-04-01
Loss OF MEMORY.
A COURSE OF TREATMENT TO BE
PURSUED WITH THE AGED.

A COURSE OF TREATMENT TO BE
PURSUED WITH THE AGED.
Instances Of Great Exa.tation of Memoir,
-~Intoxication by tho Use of Opium
Systematic Methods of Resuscitation-A
Bit of Advice to Old Folks.
An exaltation of memory is where q
multitude of recollections spring up in.
voluntarily en every hand. 1t has its
cause to an Increase of the circulation OF
the blood in the brain. It frequently
appears in acute diseases, espec-
ally feyers. 1t is common in mani.
acal patients, and it sometimes appears as
a feature of hysteria and in he early
stages of brain diseases. The subject OF
exaltation of memory will be best under
stood by some simple illustrations. There
have been many accounts Of persons
saved from imminent death by drowning
who all agree that at the moment of as
phyxia they seemed to see their entire
lives unrolled before them, even to the
minutest detail.
Some go so far as to say that every in
stance of former life seems to flash across
the memory, not o. IN outline merely,
but with every detail filed in with the
most remarkable minutie-every act of
life, whether right or wrong, comes back
with great vividness. Ribot cites the
case of q c~lear-headed man who was in
the act of crossing a railroad track when
an express train, running at full speed ap-
peared 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 feel
ing of impending 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 cay"
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OF MEMORY.
De Quincy, in his Confessions of an
English Opium Eater" gives an expert
ence which shows how the memory may
be exalted by intoxication by the use OF
opium. He says: Sometimes / seemed to
have lived from seventy to 100 years in a
| single night. The minutest incidents of
childhood or forgotten scenes of later
! years were often revived. Icould not be
said to recollect them, for if l had been
told of them on awakening, 1 should not
have been able to acknowledge them as
part Of my experience; but placed before
me in dream-1ike intuitions, and clothed
in all their evanescent circumstances and
accompanying feelings, l recognized them
instantly
Such argumentations Of the memory
may be regarded as abnormal and undesir-
able, 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 circulation of blood in the
brain. The same lesson is taught by an
opposite condition from that of an exalta-
tation-a elimination of the normal mem
DRY 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 ia
miliar example, and can only be accounted
for by a deterioration of the brain elements
and a diminutiont of blood sup
piled 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 ofless OF
memory III u person advanced in years,
who did not know that his memory had
failed most remarkably till / tole him of
y. ~ Ao lnohlA5 sASOlOuo Sllolo W Dl1uS
it back again. and with partial success.
TO STRENGTHEN A WEAK MEMORY.
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 clos.
est 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 experiences of the day, and
again the next morning. Every name
heard is written down and impressed on
his mind clearly, and an effort made to re
call 1t at intervals. Ten names from
among public men are ordered to be com.
mitted to memory every week. "A verse
Of poetry is to be learned, alse o verse
from the Bible, daily. He is asked to re
member the number Of the page in a bool
where any interesting fact is recorded
These and other methods are slowly re
suscitating a failing memory.
The aged should all look to this danger
in their lives, and resolve to combat Il
from the first. BY SO doing they viii
make their declining years more enjoya
bic, and give much greater pleasure tx
their friends. Unceasing self-culture, es
pecially in preserving the memory ant
intellectual faculties, should constitute !,
considerable part of the life Of every aged
person, even more than of the young
Only by it can this period of life lie rem
dered pleasant.-Herald of Health.