THE NERVOUS 8Y8TKM 41] 



man takes a very large amount of alcohol, even the nerve centere 

 governing respiration and circulation may become poisoned, and 

 the victim may die. 



Influence of Alcohol on the Nervous System. — The exact action 

 of alcohol upon the human nervous system at every stage of the 

 above-mentioned process has not as yet been completely accounted 

 for. 



It is agreed that in large or continued amounts alcohol has a 

 narcotic effect; that it first dulls or paralyzes the nerve centers 

 which control our judgment, and later acts upon the so-called 

 motor centers, those which control our muscular activities. 



The reason then that a man in the first stages of intoxication 

 talks rapidly and sometimes wittily, is because the centers of 

 judgment are paralyzed. This frees the speech centers from con- 

 trol exercised by our judgment with the resultant rapid and free 

 flow of speech. 



In small amounts alcohol is believed by some physiologists to 

 have always this same narcotic effect, while other physiologists 

 think that alcohol does stimulate the brain centers, especially the 

 higher centers, to increased activity. Many scientific and profes- 

 sional men use alcohol in small amounts for this stimulation 

 and report no seeming harm from the indulgence. Others, and 

 by far the larger number, agree that this stimulation from alcohol 

 is only apparent and that even in the smallest amounts ak-oliol 

 has a narcotic effect. One of the most serious effects of alcohol 

 is the lowered resistance of the body to disease. It has been 

 proved that a much larger proportion of liard drinkers die from 

 infectious or contagious diseases than from special diseased con- 

 ditions due to the direct action of alcohol on the organs of the 

 body. This lowered resistance is shown in increased liabiUty to 

 contract disease and increased severity of the disease. 



But many cases of illness are directly due to the action of 

 alcohol on the tissues. ''Such chronic diseased conditions 

 arise from the gradual poisoning of the system by the con- 

 tinued use of beverages containing alcohol. Even though 

 we admit that alcohol in a definite small amount is. in some 

 cases at least, fully oxidized Id the body, Uke other cai'bo- 



