The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-01-15


same is true of working brain cells as
OF working muscle cells. The more ac-
tive the brain the greater the amount Of
poison which gets into the brain, tho
greater the amount of poison which gets
into the blood, communicating the nerves
and cells of other parts. This is
supposed to be why over work Of the
brain makes us nervous and bodily i'll.
Nervousness is said to- be characte1-
istic of nearly every man of great in
tcllectuality III these busy days When
fatigued, the mind is found to send out
lessened force from its nerve ccntcrs
to the muscles. One side of the brln
appears to bccme fatig,cd sooner than
the other. This causes the head to
hang on one side, The arms when cX-
tended horizontally are not of the sane
level. when an effort is made to place
them so.
Tests have been also made for tho
purpose Of locating the marks of facial
expression, which are changed by mem
tai pain and those which arc changed
by bodily pain. Mental pain is usually
indicated by the muscles of the fore
head, bodily pain by depression of the
angles of the mouth.
series OF tests made by one of lhc
specialists Of the board of education In
dicatcd that mental concentration I'M
poverishcs the blood. An elastic tube
placed around the chest registered oach
expansion and each contraction on a
cylinder OF record paper Subjects
were attached to tho instrument Willie
thinking OF nothing In particular and
afterwurd while concentrating their
minds upon somo problem or reading.
In almost every case concentration caus-
ed the breathing to grew slower. Tho
blood for the time being thus received
less oxygen and was therefore lmpovcr-
ishcd. Possibly this is Il reason why
students are apt to bc thin bloodcl.
Another instlrncn: is used to meas
urc the actual raplAity with which the
brain can telegraph command to tho
muscles. The tired brain Will, of coarse,
send more sluggish message than Il
rested one. A cylinder holding record
paper rcvolvcs by clorkwork. and cncll
hundrcltll of an inch in the revolution
Indicates certain length OF time. The
hand, for example, is placed IN contact
with a little bellows, which, when
squeezed causes II point to make Il YER
tical mark on the registering paper. The
subject is given a shock of electricity,
which Immediately sets the cylinder to
moving, and IS told to press the boil
lows the instant he fclls 1t. The mark
on the paper indicates how far the cylin-
der rcvovcs after tho shock is given and
until the muscles Of the hand have re-
ccived the signal to press the bellows.
Another instrument IS a sort of cv-
clometcr, to be applied to tho brain. In
tests the rapidity with which Il person
can think. A clOckwnrk registering cy-
Under is attached to an automatic de-
vice, which drops Il card bearing come
common word, ns bird" for instance.
Ihc subject, as soon as some thO,llh ht
is suggested to him by tho word OK
presses the thought, as by saying flies"
for instance. Just as he says II the me-
rhanism is stopped by tho operator, who
Afterward measures how far the cyliu-
der has gone and reaches tho distance
to time, as to hunMrcdths of seconds.
But how is tho nervous child to he
distinguished from tho lazy one? In
vcstigation results in showing that
many persons arc really "h0rn tired"
as result of nervous disease in their
parents, produced by mental ovrrwork.
such children arc apt to be the quickest
in perception and the most intellectual
generally. Yet they have no mental
endurance. Old fogy nllnts ana unclcs
call them lazy and their teachers say
they lack application. They are really
invalids, sometimes on the rond to In
sanity. Tho characteristics of the ncr-
vols type, as distinct from the lazy
type, are as follows, according to a
specialist:
The typical nervous child IS too tan
for his breadth. He sleeps badly, talks
and grinds his teeth in sleep, has head
aches, is irritable. though quick in mind
and affactionatc. Though his body and
limbs are cmncintcd his head may be OF
excellent FORM his features good and
l.is complexion healthy. His face often
looks rotund IN contrast with the re-
maindcr of his physical make up. His
hands are shnky, especially the left.
lie usually holds his head over toward
the right. ] lis spine has Il "sway-bark"
appearance. His eyes move Il great
deal, unnecessarily, usually from side to
side rather than up and down. He cam
not hold his tongue still when he pro-
trudcs it. His fingers twitch invOlun-
tarily. He is restless. Tine canine teeth
are usually ground at the points from
nervous gritting. On the other hand, the
cat and out lazy boy is apt to be fat
and sleepy without the nervous symp-
toms mentioned.
Specialists who have conducted these
cXUcrim imCutS arc prurru1lv or tho mi jni,,,