BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 351 



neither hear, nor see, nor understand ; but the motory nerves 

 were excited, and the muscles thrown into violent action. 

 The child had eaten great quantities of unripe fruit, which 

 the stomach could not digest. But as soon as the stomach 

 was relieved of this unnatural load, the convulsions ceased, 

 and the consciousness returned. But she had no recollec- 

 tion of what had passed. Here was decided proof that the 

 brain and nerves were connected with the digestive organs. 



807. Indigestion and nausea, which create pain in the 

 head, impede mental action. When suffering from dyspep- 

 sia, the student cannot apply his thoughts to weighty subjects, 

 and the accountant is unwilling to attend to his figures, and 

 make his calculations. Recently, a merchant, whose dinner 

 oppressed him, found his mind so confused that he left his 

 counting-room and went home to recruit his powers. Hav- 

 ing a taste for grave matters, he attempted to read history ; 

 but he could not confine his attention to the subject. He 

 then tried to read an exceedingly interesting biography the 

 life of a friend; but even this required too much mental ex- 

 ertion ; and at last he betook himself to one of the lightest 

 of t les, Valentine Vox, which he said required all the 

 energy of mind that he could then exert. 



8C8. The same indisposition to mental exertion follows 

 after eating an excessive meal. Great eaters, who keep their 

 digestive organs constantly at work, have usually but little 

 intellectual activity. They prefer sleeping to thinking, arid 

 study is a burden to them. On the contrary, hunger is none 

 the less an enemy to mental labor, ( 154, p. 73,) and in 

 cases of extreme hunger, the mind cannot apply its powers 

 to any matter of thought or business ; and in starvation it 

 loses its self-control entirely, and insanity sometimes follows. 



809. The moral powers and affections are influenced by 

 the state of the digestive organs. A sour stomach produces 

 a sour temper, and men are usually thought to be cheerful 

 and good-natured while at dinner. Dyspeptics are frequently 

 irritable and suspicious. They are sometimes gloomy, and 

 look upon all about them with fear and distrust. A friend, 



