512 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



is to be regarded b)' him merely as a sign indicative of the 

 full development of those underlying physiological processes 

 which are the object of his investigation. 



The phenomena of Hypnotism may be viewed from 

 such a standpoint, the mental conditions being used as signs 

 of the development of physiological states. The subject is 

 one of great interest to both physiologists and psycho- 

 logists, since the curious phenomena of the hypnotic state 

 appear to be focussed around two phases of mental mood 

 which are themselves of fundamental importance, " atten- 

 tion " and "suggestion" — the first a predominant factor in 

 determining intellectual growth, the second a determinant 

 of the manifestation of volition. The profound modification 

 which the cerebral activities undergo through the produc- 

 tion of the hypnotic state brings these two aspects of mental 

 conditions into special prominence, and thus the phenomena 

 of hypnotism may not improbably provide a clue towards 

 the better realisation of the presumed physiological pro- 

 cesses which underlie these and other mental traits. 



It must be confessed that our knowledge of such pro- 

 cesses is most limited and vague, and that, as regards their 

 fundamental nature, we are at present only able to make 

 hypothetical inferences ; still the inference, even if hypo- 

 thetical, is strengthened by the circumstance that it is the 

 transference to the highest portion of the nervous system 

 of details more or less well grounded in connection with 

 lower portions of this system, and it gains in consequence 

 of its logical character, more than it loses by the hypo- 

 thetical element involved in the transference. 



A physiological aspect of Hypnotism must therefore 



ivolve the special group of phenomena as part of nervous 



henomena in general, and the object of the present article 



to set forth the extent to which modern views as to nerve 



tructure and nerve activity can be utilised for throwing 



-ight upon the special physiology now under consideration. 



At the outset it is necessary to clear the ground by stating, 



in a very general way, what physiological conditions are 



held by the writer to denote the presence or absence of 



volitional power; such a statement is convenient for the 



