|
TITLE CHAPTER I: THE FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM CHAPTER II: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEMISPHERES CHAPTER III: CEREBRAL RELATIONS CHAPTER IV: THE INHIBITIONS CHAPTER V: THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS CHAPTER VI: THE GANGLIONAR CENTERS OF THE CEREBRUM CHAPTER VII: DEVELOPMENT OF THE CORTICAL COORDINATIONS CHAPTER VIII: CEREBRAL LOCALIZATIONS, SENSORY CHAPTER IX: CEREBRAL LOCALIZATIONS, SENSORY (Continued) CHAPTER X: INTERMEDIATE AND MOTOR AREAS CHAPTER XI: LANGUAGE CHAPTER XII: RELATIONS OF SOMATIC AND CEREBRAL PROCESSES CHAPTER XIII: EDUCATION IN THERAPEUTICS CHAPTER XIV: CERTAIN OLDER VIEWS
This volume was prepared in the hope of presenting in a simple manner those physiological conditions which underlie the rational treatment of abnormal mental conditions. If the manner in which the subject is presented appears too grossly materialistic in the light of the idealistic methods which have characterized most of previous discussions of the processes of consciousness, it must be remembered that whatever is really true is of more worth than even the most beautiful of untrue ideas. We do not now think of astronomy as being materialistic because the laws which govern the heavenly bodies are being determined. The glory of the nightly sky is not lessened because the stars have been analyzed and the planets have been weighed. The forces active in the formation of mountains and oceans are studied. Even the most whimsical of Nature’s moods, the variations in the weather, are subject to laws which are being daily made more clear. The development of plants and animals, the physiological activities of the human body and its development, are studied, and the immutable laws are being demonstrated day by day. In all the domain of human thought, the study of conscious phenomena alone has been kept subject to the necessity for an idealistic method of treatment. This method, which long retarded the development of other sciences, should be set aside also in the study of conscious phenomena. A rational psychology must depend upon the use of those methods which have been successful in the study of other sciences. In preparing this book a knowledge of the history of the race was found essential to anything like a clear understanding of the manner in which the phenomena of consciousness have been developed. It has not been possible to secure anything like an adequate knowledge of this history, but all available sources of information were studied. Anthropology, geology, the histories of civilized races, studies of savage tribes the world over, the development of art, music, letters, education, science, sociology, the religions of all races, the diseases and the crimes, and the methods of treatment of the sick, the criminal, and the insane, all are significant of the trend of human progress. The study of the mental processes of criminals, degenerates, inefficients, insane and neurotics is of value in this connection, together with a study of fairly normal people under times of great stress and under the influence of the emotional states, the psychology of gangs and mobs, and of children during their development. These things add to our understanding of the phylogeny of consciousness. The therapeutic procedures have been tested repeatedly. Their efficiency in any given case depends upon several factors, of which the most important is the exactness with which the diagnosis is made. In the preparation of this volume I am indebted to Dr. Ada M. Laughlin for the drawings, and to the teachers and students of The Pacific College of Osteopathy for much assistance and encouragement. The help given by the A. T. Still Research Institute has been of great value in the experimental part of the work, and permits the publication of this volume at this time. LOUISA BURNS.
THE OSTEOPATHIC VIEW OF CONSCIOUSNESS In the development of osteopathy the physiological aspect of the etiology and treatment of disease has been emphasized, and each year this assumes more importance. The existence of disease as an entity has been disproved; the importance of normal structural relationships has been demonstrated; the necessity for normal environmental conditions has been placed first as a preventive of disease. The biological aspect of human life is constantly found of greater importance in the attainment of the best methods of cherishing health and caring for the sick. Health is a relationship, a condition. If the body
is properly related in all its parts, and is properly related to its environment,
it is said to be healthy, and its condition is that of health. If any person
act properly in regard to his environment, and recognizes this relationship,
he is said to have a healthy or sane mind, and his condition is that of
sanity. If any person is not properly related to his environment, or if
the parts of his body are not properly related to one another, he is unhealthy.
If this condition affects his speech or actions in such a manner as to
interfere with the best good of himself or his race, then he is called
insane or imbecile.
Given the proper brain structure, the normal activity of the cortical neurons depends upon the good circulation of good blood, upon the normal sensory stimulation by way of the sensory organs, and upon the normal paths for the expression of the motor impulses. Given these things, the normal activity of the brain is assured. Without the normal brain structure, or with poor blood, or abnormal circulatory conditions, the function of the cortical neurons is apt to become more or less abnormal. The physiological view of consciousness bring all
of the phenomena of abnormal mentality into harmony with the osteopathic
theory. If malfunction of any other organ of the body is found, the ultimate
cause of the malfunction is sought diligently. No one considers that a
heart beats irregularly, with many murmurs and rough sounds, because it
so chooses. But if the brain cells act irregularly, with murmurs and rough
sounds, too many physicians yet consider that it chooses to act in this
painful and injurious manner. The place of choice is as important in one
organ as in the other, and the best good is accomplished by a recognition
of this fact.
In any case in which pathological mental phenomena occur there is some efficient cause for the malfunction. Bony lesions may be efficient in causing disturbances of the quality or the circulation of the blood, or in initiating abnormal sensory impulses of etiological value. Even if other causes of malfunction are present, the correction of any of these causes of disturbance may exert a favorable influence upon the progress of the disease, especially in the borderland cases. In the so-called functional nervous and mental diseases there may be only the effects of previous experiences which are exerting an unfavorable influence upon the normal activity of the cortical neurons. The cerebral condition is that of a series of neurons not quite normally related. The effect of experiences associated with shock is usually to lower the liminal value of certain neuron systems. These systems may be concerned with almost any of the motor or sensory areas of the body, or with almost any of the lower centers. The symptoms concerned vary according to the functional relationships of the neuron systems affected. The important consideration is the best method of
securing the activity of different neuron groups, and thus to secure the
rest of those so long overstimulated. The whole significance of the diagnosis
and treatment of these cases is essentially the same as in the diagnosis
and treatment of diseases of other organs of the body.
Instead of finding the immobility of the bony lesions, or the excessive pliability of the atonic muscles, or the knotted feeling of the irritated muscles associated with the bony lesions, or the excess or deficiency of the secretion or movement of any organs of the body, there are found in the neurasthenics the increased irritability of certain cortical areas, the excess or diminution of activity on the part of certain inhibitions, the tendency for environmental stimuli to be referred to certain motor reactions rather than to others, or to certain lower centers. Or, as it is often found that almost the whole spinal column may lack pliability, or lack normal tone, so the entire cortex may be affected by toxemias, or by circulatory abnormalities, or by the other causes of malfunction. The overstimulation or overinhibition of the cortical centers is as efficient a cause of malfunction as is the overstimulation or overinhibition of the spinal centers. The efficient osteopath is the one who recognizes the cause of malfunction, corrects it if possible, and advises the best care for the incurable cases. |