232 Life and Health 



that is, the stage of unsteadiness of muscle ; nor between 

 that which causes the second and that which eventuates 

 in the third, the stage of drunkenness. 



353. The Effects of the Habitual Use of Alcohol upon 

 the Brain. The effects of the habitual use of alcohol on 

 the substance of the brain itself have been studied by 

 means of high-power microscopes and staining methods, 

 which show actual changes in the brain cells caused by 

 frequent contact with alcohol. The fine granular struc- 

 tures on the outer branches and twigs of the nerve cells 

 soften and swell and appear to run together in small 

 masses, causing local coarseness. 



These changes in the cells whose function is the evo- 

 lution of thought make the brain slower in receiving 

 impressions, because the fine structures thus changed are 

 concerned in the formation and association of images. 

 This is also verified in real life, where changes in mental 

 power and in moral character keep pace with the increasing 

 indulgence of the drinker. 



354. The Power of Self -Control weakened by Alcohol. 

 The effect of even a small amount of alcohol upon the 

 brain is shown by its action in weakening the power of 

 self-control. No one can tell, if he begins to drink, how 

 many indulgences in even a moderate amount of alcohol 

 may make him the victim of an overmastering alcoholic 

 appetite. A single glass, in the case of a person who has 

 at any previous time been overcome by such an appetite, 

 may at once, for the time being, take away his self-control. 

 It is the general testimony of such men that if they take 

 but one glass of any alcoholic liquor, their power of further 

 resistance is destroyed. It is not that such men had in 

 the beginning less power of self-control, but that alcohol 

 weakens the will by its effect upon the nervous system. 



