INORGANIC SALTS, STIMULANTS, AND CONDIMENTS. 927 



in many respects conflicting. Only a brief summary can be 

 attempted here. Regarding its stimulating action the general 

 experience of mankind attributes a result of this kind to its use 

 in small quantities, but the experimental evidence is of an uncer- 

 tain nature. Some observers have claimed that the reaction 

 time is diminished after the use of alcohol, but most of the recent 

 investigation goes to show that in the work of skilled labor, in 

 which the neuromuscular machinery is involved, alcohol even 

 in small quantities decreases the efficiency.* It has been sug- 

 gested, therefore, that as regards the higher nerve centers it acts 

 from the beginning as a narcotic or paralysant to the inhibitory 

 centers. By thus removing inhibitory control there is an apparent 

 increase in activity which is not due to a direct stimulating effect. 

 On other mechanisms different results are reported. Thus it is 

 stated that the secretion of the gastric and of the pancreatic juice 

 is markedly increased by the use of alcohol in small doses, so far, 

 at least, as the water secretion is concerned. The content of the 

 secretion in digestive ferments seems to be diminished. On the 

 heart and blood-vessels alcohol in small quantities appears to have 

 no positive effect of a stimulating character. It is known that 

 even in small doses it causes a dilatation of the skin vessels, giving 

 a feeling of warmth and leading to increased loss of heat; but 

 whether this effect is due to a stimulation of the vasodilator centers 

 or, as seems more probable, to a narcotic or depressing action 

 upon the vasoconstrictor centers has not been definitely demon- 

 strated. The experience of explorers bears out the general view 

 that under conditions of stress and of maintained exertion alcohol 

 is of little value as a stimulant to the neuromuscular apparatus. 

 Whatever action it has in this direction is temporary, and is due 

 probably to an initial stimulating effect upon the afferent fibers of 

 the mucous membrane of the stomach. A drink of whisky, for 

 example, may remove promptly the feeling of faintness due to a 

 vasomotor collapse, following an accident, by a reflex effect of this 

 kind on the vasomotor apparatus. After the day's work is done, 

 or in conditions of mental depression, the use of alcohol 

 may remove the sense of fatigue and exhaustion and lead 

 to a sense of well-being. The most important work of re- 

 cent years has been directed toward determining the nutritive 

 value of alcohol. Does it function under any circumstances as a 

 food? Much depends in such a discussion upon the meaning of 

 the terms used. In the present brief statement it is to be under- 

 stood that by food is meant material which can be oxidized in 

 the body with the production of usable energy, but without in- 



* For literature and discussion, see Abel, "The Pharmacological Action of 

 Alcohol," in "Physiological Aspects of the Liquor Problem," vol. ii., 1903; 

 and Horsley and Sturge, "Alcohol and the Human Body," 1907. 



