NATURE 



[July 29, 1897 



beneficial, the noises they make are certainly not always 

 pleasing, especially to the sensitive nerves of the cultured, 

 amongst whom this instinct is consequently suppressed, 

 though whether altogether to the gain of the individual is 

 questionable. 



The various acts referred to will now be considered 

 individually. 



Talking. 



As regards the psychic aspect of talking, thought becomes 

 much more vivid if it finds expression, whether in speech, 

 writing, music, or artistic production, than if it remains 

 unexpressed. The physical effects of thought are more pro- 

 nounced in talking than in writing. The cortical nervous 

 discharges underlying it send a stream of energy towards 

 the muscles involved in speech and gesture, and both 

 voice and gesture can be modified to convey subtle shades 

 of thought and feeling which cannot find expression 

 in writing. The very expression of these refinements 

 enhances the vividness and intensity of mentation. Talk- 

 ing is for this reason stimulating, and its influence in 

 this respect is in a measure proportional to the gesture 

 accompanying it. Few things are more calculated to stimulate 

 the body, to rouse it from lethargy, than " animated " conversa- 

 tion. In talking, as in laughing, shouting, singing, and crying, 

 inspiration is short, while expiration is prolonged, the exit of 

 air being checked partly by obstruction in the glottis and 

 partly, perhaps, by the action of the inspiratory muscles. The 

 actual amount of work done in talking is far more than might 

 at first sight be supposed, and should always be taken into 

 account in reckoning up the quantity of exercise taken during 

 the day. The amount of talking done by barristers, politicians, 

 and others enables them, to dispense largely with exercise as 

 ordinarily understood ; for not only do they in this way 

 expend a considerable amount of muscular energy, but they 

 experience the manifold advantages of active respiratory 

 movements continued for long periods together ; indeed, I 

 believe talking to be distinctly conducive to longevity. That 

 talking involves a considerable expenditure of energy is 

 shown by the exhaustion which it induces in those who are 

 nervously run down. Such are often greatly exhausted, even 

 after a moderate day's talking. This exhaustion is due to 

 mental as well as to muscular expenditure ; indeed, in the very 

 neurasthenic the bare process of thought may be an effort and 

 the mere effort to think may alone cause exhaustion ; and if 

 such is the case, how much more likely is the putting of thought 

 into speech to do so, seeing that, apart from the muscular 

 expenditure involved in speech, thought is so much more intense 

 when spoken than when unexpressed. Talking is a beneficial 

 exercise in heart disease, especially in those forms in which the 

 blood tends to be dammed back upon the lungs. The good 

 effect is here doubtless due to the increased amplitude of the 

 respiratory movements and to the help thus afforded to the 

 pulmonary circulation. It is for this reason that I always en- 

 courage talking in those suffering from passive engorgement of 

 the lungs. " The breathlessness due to dilatation of the heart," 

 observes Sir William Broadbent, "is often relieved by exercise 

 of the voice. I have met with numerous instances in which a 

 clergyman has climbed into the pulpit with the utmost difficulty, 

 and has not only preached a sermon comfortably, but has been 

 all the better for it" {The Lancet, April 4, 1891, p. 798). The 

 good result, I take it, in these cases is attributable to the deep 

 inspirations required by the loud voice necessary to fill a large 

 building. 



Shouting. 

 The psychic accompaniment of shouting is essentially 

 emotional. Emotion is not only expressed, but sustained, and, 

 indeed, intensified by it. Thus the shouting of children at play, 

 itself the outcome of exuberant emotion and pent-up neuro- 

 muscular energy, enhances the emotional outburst. In like 

 manner the hurrahs of an applauding multitude, the cry of the 

 huntsman, the war-whoop of the savage, the yells of an attacking 

 force, may so exalt emotionahty as to induce a condition border- 

 ing on ecstacy. A further effect of shouting is to dull sensibility, 

 tlie emotional exaltation which it provokes, and the voluminous 

 discharge of neuro-muscular energy accompanying it, in- 

 ducing a corresponding depression in the sensorial sphere. 

 It is on this principle that groaning, and still more the 

 shriek of acute agony, bring relief. The mere sound 

 produces a similar effect by violently energising the acoustic 



NO. 1448, VOL. 56] 



centres. 1 The shouting and gesticulation which accompany an 

 outburst of pa.ssion act physiologically by relieving nerve ten- 

 sion ; and, indeed, as Hughlings Jackson has suggested, swear- 

 ing may not be without its physiological justification. Passionate 

 outbursts are generally succeeded by a period of good behaviour, 

 and, it may be, improved health. One frequently notices this 

 in children, and I have also observed it in the adult. It is 

 possible that the outbursts of irritability observed in disease, as, 

 for instance, in gout, have their physiological as well as their 

 pathological aspect. As regards the modifications in the 

 respiratory movements caused by shouting, the important prac- 

 tical point to notice is that they are increased in depth. Hence 

 shouting favours the development of the lungs and accelerates 

 the circulation of blood and lymph. 



Singing. 

 Singing, like shouting, is more emotional than intellectual, 

 the degree of emotion called forth depending upon the extent to 

 which the individual throws himself into the spirit of the song. 

 The nature of the attendant emotion varies of course consider- 

 ably, and there is a corresponding variability in its physical 

 correlatives : if the theme of the song be joyous the proper 

 rendering of it is highly stimulating. From the medical stand- 

 point singing is a most important exercise, both by virtue of 

 its influence on the emotions, on the respiratory movements, 

 and on the development of the lungs. The good average 

 health enjoyed by professional singers is in large measure 

 attributable to the mere exercise of their calling.^ Such 

 therapeutic importance do I attach to singing that I recom- 

 mend it wherever opportunity affords. It is especially useful 

 in defective chest development and in chronic heart disease. 

 Oertel speaks enthusiastically of the beneficial influence of sing- 

 ing on the general health, and especially on the lungs, and he 

 refers to the fact that almost all eminent singing masters can tell 

 of serious cases of lung disease which have been cured by their 

 method of singing. He thinks there can be no doubt that weak 

 chests of various kinds can be greatly improved by it, and he 

 would even appear to include phthisis. 



Laughter. 



The psychic accompaniment of laughter being joyous emotion, 

 its effect is stimulating, and it has been truly said that the man 

 who makes us laugh is a public benefactor. Its beneficial effect 

 on the body is illustrated by the saying, " Laugh and grow fat." 

 The expiratory act in laughter is greatly prolonged, and, the 

 glottis being partly closed, intra-pulmonary tension is in- 

 creased ; and thus in excessive laughter there may be con- 

 siderable impediment to the flow of blood through the lungs, as 

 shown by the turgid head and neck. This disadvantage— for in 

 most cases of heart disease it is a disadvantage — is far more than 

 compensated for by other effects, foremost among which must 

 be reckoned the deep inspirations which separate the individual 

 paroxysms. 



Crying, 



In thinking of the term "crying," one must distinguish be- 

 tween the mere shedding of tears, and weeping accompanied by 

 sobbing. In the one the effects are limited, while in the other 

 the entire body may be convulsed. I have already referred to 

 the beneficial effects of crying in children. The crying of the 

 infant is peculiar. Expirations are prolonged sometimes for as 

 much as half a minute, and are interrupted by short inspirations. 

 During the expirations the glottis is contracted, and the intra- 

 pulmonary pressure rises considerably. Not only is the pulmo- 

 nary circulation thereby greatly impeded, as shown by the 

 swollen veins of the head and neck, but bronchial mucus, flatus, 

 and other noxious matters are evacuated. The paroxysm is 

 succeeded by rapid deep respirations, which restore the 

 equilibrium of the circulation. Women likewise often derive 

 benefit from "a good cry" — the profuse flow of tears lessens 

 blood-pressure within the cranium ; the voluminous discharge of 

 nerve energy relieves nerve tension ; the sobbing movements of 

 respiration influence in a very decided and doubtless beneficial 

 way the circulation and the movements of ihe abdomino-pelvic 



1 A famous quack extracts his patient's teeth to the blare of trumpets and 

 the boom of the big drum. 



■^ The splendid chest development of public singers is, of course, not 

 entirely attributable to the constant exercise of the voice, since no one can 

 attain a high excellence without having a good chest development in the 

 first instance. It must also be observed that every singer who attains to 

 fame is careful to lead a healthy life. 



