Effect on the brain centres.

HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS THE BRAIN. 

I once had the weird, tho' sad, chance of perceptive a similar development within the brain structure of a person, who, in an exceedingly fit of alcoholic excitement, beheaded himself below the wheel of a railway carriage, and whose brain was in a flash evolved from the os by the crash. The brain itself, entire, was before Maine at intervals 3 minutes once the death. It exhaled the odor of spirit mostclearly, and its membranes and minute structures were vascular within the extreme. It looked as if it had been recently injected with vermilion. The nervous tissue of the neural structure, adorned with red points, might scarcely be distinguished, once it absolutely wasincised, by its natural whiteness; and also the pia-mater, or internal vascular membrane covering the brain, resembled a fragile internet of coagulated red blood, therefore tensely were its fine vessels full. 

I ought to add that this condition extended through each the larger and also the smaller brain, the neural structure and neural structure,however wasn't therefore marked within the medulla or commencing portion of the funiculus. 

The funiculus and nerves.
-------------------------- 

The action of alcohol continuing on the far side the primary stage, the perform of the funiculus is influenced. Through this a part of thesystem we have a tendency to square measure accustomed, in health, to perform automatic acts of a mechanical kind, that proceedconsistently even after we square measure thinking or speaking on different subjects. therefore a talented employee can continue his mechanical work dead, whereas his mind is dead set another subject; and therefore we have a tendency to all perform numerous acts in an exceedingly strictly automatic approach, while not career within the aid of the upper centres, except one thing quite normalhappens to demand their service, upon that we expect before we have a tendency to perform. below alcohol, because the spinal centres become influenced, these pure automatic acts stop to be properly carried on. That the hand might reach any object, or the foot be properlyplanted, the upper intellectual centre should be invoked to form the continuing secure. There follows quickly upon this a deficient power of co-ordination of muscular movement. The nervous management of bound of the muscles is lost, and also the nervous stimulation is a lot of or less infirm. The muscles of the lower lip within the human subject sometimes fail 1st of all, then the muscles of the lower limbs, andit's warrant remark that the extensor muscle muscles dip ahead of the flexors. The muscles themselves, by this point, are failing in power; they respond a lot of feebly than is natural to the nervous stimulus; they, too, square measure coming back below the depressing influence of the paralyzing agent, their structure is briefly crazed, and their contracted power reduced. 

This modification of the animal functions below alcohol, marks the second degree of its action. In young subjects, there's currently, usually,projection with faintness, followed by gradual relief from the burden of the poison. 

Effect on the brain centres.
---------------------------- 

The alcoholic spirit carried however an additional degree, the cerebral or brain centres become influenced; they're reduced in power, and also the dominant influences of can and of judgment square measure lost. As these centres square measure unbalanced and thrown into chaos, the rational a part of the character of the person provides approach before the emotional, passional or organic half. the explanation is currently off duty, or is casual with duty, and every one the mere natural instincts and sentiments square measure orderedatrociously vacant. The coward shows up a lot of craven, the braggart a lot of proud, the cruel a lot of remorseless, the untruthful a lot offalse, the carnal a lot of degraded. ' In intoxicant veritas ' expresses, even, indeed, to physiological accuracy, truth condition. The reason, the emotions, the instincts, square measure dead a state of carnival, and in chaotic feebleness. 

Finally, the action of the alcohol still extending, the superior brain centres square measure overpowered; the senses square measurebeclouded, the voluntary muscular prostration is formed, sensibility is lost, and also the body lies a mere log, dead by virtually fourth, onthat alone its life hangs. the center still remains faithful its duty, and whereas it simply lives it feeds the respiration power. and then the circulation and also the respiration, within the otherwise inert mass, keeps the mass at intervals the vacant domain of life till the poison begins to depart this world and also the nervous centres to revive once more. it's happy for the inebriate that, as a rule, the brain fails ciaobefore the center that he has neither the facility nor the sense to continue his method of destruction up to the act of death of his circulation.so he lives to die another day.