Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1880 — THE HUMAN TELEGRAPH. [ARTICLE]

THE HUMAN TELEGRAPH.

The Wonderful Telcrrnphlr Rfyatem In the Unman Hkiill—ll«w eadly It Work* When the Wires Are Down or Ont of Bepnlr. Recent investigations into the intricacies of the mind and brain have a realistic or mechanical tendency. The brain ‘ is treated like a vast and complicated telegraph system in a populous community, with various centers of information and intelligence, communicating and intercommunicating their news ana wants, sending messages hither and thither along the nerves, and having their business done at the very extremities of the bodily continent—at the capes Horn and Good Hope represented bv the feet, at the highly organized island nations like England and Japan, to which one may liken the hands and lingers. But all this is so mysterious and hidden that its regular operations cannot be detected. It is only when the telegraph wires break down, or the Atlantic cable ceases working, or the railroad tracks are blocked with the subw, that we fully realize the necessity all these inventions are to our civilization. And so it is only when some portions of the apparatus called the brain is diseased that it is possible to discover the relations of the parts to one and another and to the whole. Even then it is largely conjectural, and the conclusions of some scientists are disputed by others; but still there has been something discovered, and the observations in regard to the organism of that part of the brain relating to speech have, in consequence of paralysis or palsy, been reasonably well determined. Verbal memory, thought, and expression by speech or writing depend upon the activity of what are called auditory and visual word centers of perception; that is, those central brain batteries, as one may call them, where words, after being heard or seen in printer writing, are understood, and given off again in speech and writing. Any breaking down of the nervous telegrapli lines between these centers result in peculiar disorders. Sometimes disease lowers their activity; then there are defects in speech or in the capacity to write or to read. At other times disease may intensify the activity of the battery and telegrapli, and then there will be ilelusions, hallucinations and other mental disorders peculiar to the insane. Among the slight defects in this apparatus, common to nearly all persons, is a momentary forgetfulness of words or names, with power of recovery after a time. But sometimes this defect is permanent and habitual, and the power to recall names and words is entirely gone. One person suffering from this loss of power, caused by paralysis, could not, when asked about his nightcap, tell what it was. “And yet I know very well,” he said, “what it is. but I can’t recollect.” When told that it was a nightcap: “Oh! yes; it is a nightcap.” The same thing, with few exceptions, like his pipe, was reported, when various articles were shown him. He had worked all bis life with a shovel and pickax, but could not recall their names. When they were told him, he would at once recognize the words, but two minutes afterward he was as helpless as before. AT A LOSS FOR A WORD. Many persons in perfect health are often at a loss for a word, but in the diseases of old age this is very common; although it frequently happens that the first letters of words are recollected. A farmer fifty years Old had a stroke of paralysis, resulting in a painful hesitation of speech, which, however, was confined to nouns and proper names.. He could, moreover, recollect the first letter of every word ho wanted to use, but could not recollect the word itself. So he made a list of words he was most in the habit of using, and put them down on a piece of paper in alphabetical form, including the names of iiis family, his servants, and acquaintances. This he kept conveniently in his pocket. If he wished to ask anything about a cow, he would turn to the letter C, and finding the word “cow” would keep his finger upon it until he had finished his sentence and introduced the word. So long as he had his eyes fixed upon the written letters he could pronjouce the word “cow” at the proper place, but the moment he shut up bis book it passed out of his memory and could not be recalled, although he still recollected the initial and could get at the word by turning to his book. Although he could not recollect his own name or those of his acquaintances, he never was at a loss for the initial of the word he wished to use. UNABLE TO SPEAK. The telegraph communicating the word from the ear or eye to the wordcenter may lie in working order, when the line between this word-center and the organ or center of speech is “down.” In this case persons are entirely able to comprehend what is said to them, but, unless by some* accident or event not under their control, they cannot put their thoughts into speech. Many years ago a French artillery officer, who had suffered from a stroke of palsy, recovered the use of his hands and feet. He was able to speak distinctly words which he made no effort to speak, or which were*slowly and loudly repeated to him. But when he tried to speak, only an unintelligible murmer was heard. He could read aloud from a book or paper without the slightest impediment, but if the book or paper was taken away, he could not repeat a single word of what he had so distinctly read a moment before. In this case it is to be presumed that when the words came by way of the eye or car they stimulated the word-cen-ters to the extent of bringing into play the organs of speech, which, without this stimulus, the man’s brain could not do. THE HUMAN PARROT, Sometimes speech is wholly limited in merely repeating the words spoken to the presence of the patient, who is entirely unable to volunteer a statement. A woman who was born in Italy, and had lived iii Spain and France, was, by disease of the brain, deprived of her use of Italian and Spanish, and could speak but little French. She only repeated like an echo and without attaching any meaning to them, the words pronounced in her presence. Another woman who had this imitative trouble, repeated words, even in foreign tongues, she had never heard before. In the hospital when one

patient coughed she would imitate tire cough at once, and repeated every thing that was said to her. A man suffering from a trouble of this sort always replied “my faith,” or when pressed hard looked impatient, and uttered a fantastic oath he had invested —“By the Christen name of my heart I” “I asked him his name and occupation,” says the physician’ “he looked at me and answered, •my faith I’ I insisted, but in spite of his efforts, he only shook his head with an impatient gesture, exclaiming, ‘By the Christen’ name of my heart! As I wished to find out how many words he had at command I asked him, ‘ Are you from a Northern Province?’ He. retreated like an echo, ‘ Northern Province.’ ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Northern Province?’ ‘ Your profession?’ ‘Northern Province.’ ‘ But your name is Martin’’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘You are sure it is Martin?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘ What part of the country do you come from? Maj tin. ‘No, that’s your name.’ But withan an impatient gesture he exclaimed, ‘By the Christen’ name of my heart!’ ” UNABLE TO WRITE. In other cases the power of writing and spelling is very much impaired, whilst that of speech is affected only to a trifling extent. After a series of epileptic fits a young man first lost, but afterwards recovered, his powers of speech. And his great trouble was in writing. His penmanship was excellent, but he could not readily find the proper words and spelled them badly. He was able to copy correctly from a printed book, making only one or two trivial errors; but in writing from dictation could not spell at all. He could repeat perfectly the most dificult sentences when they were read to him, but when he attempted to read them aloud himself he could not succeed at all, wrongly pronouncing almost every word of two or three syllables. Perhaps the difficulty which some very intelligent and well-educated person find in spelling correctly, arises from an imperfectly developed “visual word sense.” USING THE WRONG WORD. An elderly gentleman was stricken with paralysis which made him completely deaf, but did not interfere with his powers of motion or liis vision. But in speaking he used wrong words, so as to be unintelligible. He recognized the Doctor and was glad to see him, but in trying to call him by name spoke only gibberish. Ho did not comprehend writing. He looked at the sentence, ‘ ‘Are you in pain?” and exclaimed: ‘ ‘Good, good, God. ” He attempted to w rite letters; the address was written two or three times at the head of the sheet, but “My dear sir” was written correctly. The sheet was filled with writing, but no word except wife was intelligible, the rest being utterly meaningless. Some letters were correctly formed, but no words until the end, where his name was signed with a steady hand and in his usual manner. In April a remittance being due him he was greatly excited, vainly trying to make himself understood. At length the letter announcing the remittance was shown him, and it pleased him, but he was not quite satisfied until the money was brought and counted before him. In asking for a bottle of liniment he said: “Bring the cord.” In speaking of pills he had been taking, he said he had been taking potatoes. There was often an association between his ideas and words, as when he saw them moving his vest with his watch in it, he said, “Take care of the break-fall.” Another patient, an old lady, spoke words very distinctly and exactly, but the words either had no application or were ludicrously inappropriate. She would rise very politely to receive a visitor, and kindly motioning to a chair, say: “ You pig, you animal, you nasty beast,” meaning by this that they were to take a sent; and was wholly unconscious of her insulting words. In another instance a man insisted on calling his bed his garden, and not until the words were written out could he be made to understand his mistake. Still another, after an attack of paralysis, always transposed the letters of a word, as in calling the word flute tufle, puc for cup, gum for mug. A woman could write “London” with her left hand, but not “cat ” or “dog” even after hearing them pronounced, though she could spell them very well. In ease of a gas inspector, after an acute attack, he wholly lost the power of writing and readingeven a gas-meter probably. If any familiar object was shown him he could not call it by name, though if it occurred in conversation he pronounced it without hesitation. Asked for the color of a card he could not give it. “Is it blue?” “No.” “Green?” “No.” “Red?” “Well, that’s more like it.” “Orange?” “Yes, orange.” A square and circle were shown him, and he could not name either; but when the circle was called a square, he said, pointing to the square. “ No, but that is.” A MAN WHO SAID “YES” TO EVERYTHING. An Englishman who had been able to transact some business very intelligently went into a saloon for beer, and to his astonishment found he could not speak. Otherwise he was as well and strong as ever. On arriving at home he could say only “oh, dear! oh, dear!” This continued a fortnight, after which he gradually regained his speech, but was still unable tc write. Au intelligent', cheerful old gentleman who could preside at dinner, eat with his left hand, give signs to the servants to pass various articles, and play an excellent game of cards, could only reply “yes” to anything asked him. “How old are you?” “Yes.” “How long have you been ill!” “Yes.” He was not satisfied, however, with these replies, and made impatient gestures, looking pleased when questions to which “yes” could be properly answered were put to him. One day a lady picked up his handkerchief, and he said to her, in a loud and distinct voice, “thanks!” His friends all thought he had recovered his power of speech, and he was implored to say the word again. It was repeated to him aloud, and he tried, but it was all in vain. He never succeeded in saying that or anything but “yes” again. WRITING WRONG. Another person, on being asked to write his name, wrote “was, was, was.” He knew perfectly well this was not what he wanted to write, and was much annoyed, but on being asked to write the name of his birth-place, wrote only ‘ ‘ alone, alone, alone. ” A woman in a hospital, afflicted after this fashion, wrote her name and address thus: Lunnil Siplaa Satreni, Sunest Nut ts Mev tinn—lam. This bore no resemblance to her real name and address.