268 PSYCHIATRY 



the effect that the physiological basis of the treatment of the in- 

 sane lies in the fact that the normal functions of the cerebral organ 

 may be only temporarily disturbed or only partially impaired, 

 whether by transient disorder or pathological change; and the 

 consequent fact that, in most cases, some degree of normal func- 

 tion remains. This principle was stated to be in accordance with 

 the most important gain of modern pathology, the modern con- 

 ception that "Disease is, for the most part, normal function acting 

 under abnormal conditions." 1 



Mental diseases, in their study and treatment, include more than 

 is contained within one branch or department of general medicine 

 by having to deal with the mental effects of pathological condi- 

 tions of the whole body; psychiatry is not limited especially to 

 the nervous system with its central organ, which has functions of 

 a wholly different and higher nature than those of any other organ. 

 There are functions of the brain other than the common ones of 

 receiving impressions and reacting uniformly upon them like a 

 reflex mechanism; by its mental function it receives impressions, 

 retains and recalls its conscious experiences, selects from and re- 

 arranges them, and in new and orderly forms initiates and con- 

 trols the processes of motor expression. The psychiatrist newly 

 attempting the precise study of mental symptoms is confronted 

 at the outset with the oldest of problems, the relation of mind 

 and body. If he turns to physiology and neurology for light upon 

 the physiological terms, mental and physical, of his problems he 

 meets everywhere such statements as that of Wundt: "In matters 

 psychological the naturalist can only affirm that psychological 

 phenomena run parallel with physiological facts, but that on ac- 

 count of their different natures he has no prospect of ever bridg- 

 ing the gulf between the two." Edinger 2 writes, "We have no 

 idea how it happens that a part of the work done by the nervous 

 system leads to consciousness." Lloyd Morgan 3 offers the follow- 

 ing practical conclusion: "One of the difficulties is that of conceiv- 

 ing how mind can act on matter, or matter on mind. . . . Let 

 us at once confess our ignorance of the nature of the intimate rela- 

 tion of the one to the other. But certainly in many cases the 

 observed facts show that, our ignorance notwithstanding, they are 

 somehow related. . . . And since we cannot know the nature of 

 the relationship, let us be content to seek for some of its condi- 

 tions." 



The psychiatrist is a physician who should take his point of 

 view in a field even broader than that of general medicine in its 



1 Dr. Gairdner, Presidential Address, Brit. Mcd. Psych. Assoc., Jour. Ment. 

 Science, 1882. 



2 Edinger, L., Brain Anatomy and Psychology, The Monist, vol. xi, 1901. 



3 Relation of Mind to Body, International Quarterly, vol. vi, 1902. 



