Ititl THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND ITS CONSERVATION 



dote tu tlu' fatigue substance.- at the end-plates. Under 

 the same conditions which cause the discharge of adrenalin 

 there is likely to be a notable rise in the sugar of the blood 

 above the usual small percentage. 



The rise of the sugar may be sufficiently marked to cause 

 Mime of it to pass into the urine. This feature of the 

 emotional state has been noticed in human beings. Can- 

 non found that such an escape of sugar occurred in most 

 of the members of the Harvard football squad at the time 

 of the game with Yale in 1913. This was true of the sub- 

 stitutes who had merely expected to be called in as well 

 as of the active players. Moreover, the same "emotional 

 glycosuria" was found to be common among the specta- 

 tors. It is probably a rather frequent reaction; possibly 

 the excitement of being examined for life insurance may 

 sometimes suffice to cause it and to mislead the physician 

 who detects sugar in the urine. In all cases it is the glyco- 

 gen or animal starch in the liver which has been trans- 

 formed to furnish the sugar, and it is believed that the 

 change is brought about by the influence of adrenalin in 

 the blood. 



Cannon has shown great insight in his explanation of 

 these phenomena of emotion. The fundamental fact is 

 that emotions are experienced by the lower animals and 

 by primitive men at moments when vigorous action is to 

 follow. Rage is the prelude to conflict. Fear will be fol- 

 lowed by flight. Sexual passion will eventuate in sexual 

 aggression. ( Civilization complicates the order of reaction, 

 and inhibition of the higher type represses these activities. 

 The physical accompaniments of emotion are better suited 

 to the ancestral than to the modern conditions. The 

 mobilixation of sugar appears to anticipate a demand for 

 fuel on the part of the skeletal muscles. The extra adre- 

 nalin at the same time promotes endurance. 



Very recently ( 'amion and his co-workers have demon- 

 strated another and a curious change in the blood after an 

 emotional crisis. This is a distinct reduction in the time 

 needed for coagulation. The clotting of the blood is a 



