The morning call., 1891-01-31
MEMORY.
DIR. Hirschfelder Talks of the
Important Faculty.
me Process Of Remembering Things De-
scribed- Different Memories Of
Different People.

Last night at Cooper Medical College DR..
hirscnfelder delivered very interesting
lecture in the Lane course, taking as his
SUBJECT, Memory" He said:
Memory has been well defined as the
power 70 recall, represent and reknow the
objects which have been previously known
or experienced in the soul 1t is the most
important of all the faculties, for without it
the exercise of the others would be inpossi-
Die. 1t is the servant of thought and he
c0nservator of our acquisitions. This was
well understood by the Greeks, who made
Mnemosyne the mother of the muses..
Memory seems to be quality inherent in
ORGANIZED matter. We see signs of it al
ready In the inorganic world. A photo
gfaphlc plate is exposed to the action of the
ight I'D a camera, and is laid aside for
months. Under the influence of the de-
Weeping mud the picture that had long ago
Deen impressed upon the silvered surface is
evolved, and what had been a simple white
plate a lew minutes before becomes pho
tographic negative.
IMPRESSION ON THE MUSCLES.
we have the best illustration of memory
IN organized matter. however, in the acts
whlch are learned by experience, and which,
Wnen sufficiently often repeated, become
automatic. Let us consider the art of swim
ming as an example. During the first period
the WoulQ-be swimmer must exercise his
vohtion directly upon each set of muscles
that Is called into play, and in so doing
numerous unnecessary accessory move
mens are made. Each time, however. the
act Is performed an impression Is made upon
Tue muscles and nerves involved, and a pOr-
tion OF this impression remains. 1t is re-
hlemDered, so that the next time the act be-
comes easier, and finally no attention on the
part OF the swimmer is required; he simply
Wits TO swim, and gldes along the water,
eaeh muscle acting at the proper time with
cut any special effort. Here we have an ex-
ample OF organic memory. Each act sug-
gests the one that is to follow, and it, there
fore, takes place.
That consciousness is not necessary for
action Is proven by pathological conditions,
such as epilepsy, IN the lighter forms OF
acts begun before the attack are sometimes
continued during and after the seizure.
NEVER EFFACED.
Sucn examples as these prove concluSiyely
that no Impression upon the brain is ever
completely effaced-that every sensation and
every thought is faithfully recorded and re-
quires but the magic touch of memory to
evoke 1t from its hiding place.
conscious memory consists of three differ
ent acts: First, the retention of certain
states; second, their reproduction; third,
their localiZation in the past. There is a
memory which does not. The first may be
termed pyschic memory, the second the or
ganic. In the form which we have termed
organic memory there is only retention of
the impression and its recall, but no local
ZatlOn In time. In psychic memory we have
all three. Ii is the localization in time which
Is the distinctive quality Of consciousness.
Inc location Of memory was formerly sup
posed to be the brain only. The Greeks i'm
agined that the seat of memory was between
the nVnhrnNys and tha Romano in
the laps OF the ears, while the Chinese sup
posedst to be In the larynx. The phi renolo-
gists gave it local habitation in the brain,
but taught that each of tile numerous facul-
ties OF which the mind is constituted has
special memory appropriate to Itself. There
Is no one seat of memory, but special seats
Tor each memory.
ASSOCIATION OF THOUGHT.
That which makes memory possible is the
power OF one mental state to call into exist
ence, or, as we say. to suggest another. This
association Of thought occurs in virtue of a
law called by psy, biologists the law OF redin-
tegration.
The completeness with which the original
thought will be recalled will depend upon
many conditions. The most important con-
dition Is the amount of attention directed
upon the PRIMARY perception. The more in
tense the original Impression the more ac-
curate will be its recollection. Those OBJ
jectS viii be best remembered, ali things
being equal, which have been the longest
and most frequently before the mind. Re-
cent events are more readily rememb ered
than past occurrences. The greater the
strength OF the emotion associated with Il
fact the more readily will it be remembered
for such occurrences produce a powerful i'm
preston on the mind.
Each sense has its images visual, audi
tive, tactile motor, etc. We may employ all
OF these sense images or may nabitualiy use
only one. Each person has his custom de-
ha hnt nf
and the result of the direction in which it
has been developed. Experience has shown
that individuals vary in the form of their
memories. One remembers sounds best,
another forms, another colors, another num-
beers.
THE MENTAL EAR
The second type of memory is the audi
tive. individuals belonging to this group
remember by sound. When they remember
what they have read they hear the words
spoken, as it were, in the mental ear.
A thlrd type OF memory Is the motile. In
most OF our sense perceptions, especially
sight and touch, certain movements play an
important role. Thus in vision the move
ments of the eyeball are the controlling
factor in our judgment of distance and size.
With certain individuals the recollections of
these movements are the basis of memory.
10 these types of memory described by
psychologists would like to add fourth,
TO which no reference has been made by
them, but which l believe to be the most
frequent, and that which is most utilized in
recollection. l will call it the concept
memory. 1t is the recollection of thoughts
which are not associated with any sense
image whatsoever. Certain of the mental
states are perfectly independent of all sense
perception. Such are, for example, the
emotions-hope, joy, sorrow, etc. These
may. be distinctly recalled and in their
recollection exactly the same emotion is ex-
perienced-true. not usually with the same
intensity as that of tho ORIGINAL notion I'm