614 Dynamic Theory. 



of the male to embrace the female, as in reproduction, was produced by 

 gentle pressure and rubbing, at the proper season, of its breast and the 

 inside of its arms. 1 We have in the acts of the headless frog, the same 

 actions which would have followed the same stimuli if his head had 

 been on. We are at liberty to conclude that such consciousness as the 

 frog possesses is not an essential link in some of the most important of 

 his actions. 



" The medulla oblongata is a center of facial and of some other 

 forms of what is usually regarded as emotional expression. Vulpian 

 has shown that if a young rat be deprived of all the encephalic centers 

 above the medulla oblongata, pinching of the toes will cause not merely 

 movement of the limbs, but also a cry as of pain. If the medulla be 

 now destroyed, pinching the toes will cause reflex movements of the 

 limbs as before, but no cry will be elicited. The cry as of pain is, 

 however, no real sign of pain, but only a reflex action of the laryngeal 

 and expiratory muscles. " ( Ferrier. ) 



The foregoing would indicate that the medulla oblongata is the co-or- 

 dinating center for the production of articulation. A disease known as 

 lulbar paralysis begins by paralyzing the tongue, then proceeding to 

 the lips, palate, pharynx and larynx, impairing and finally destroying 

 the functions of articulation, swallowing, and even the production of 

 sound. It is found to depend upon degeneration about the roots of the 

 7th, 9th, 10th and 12th pairs of nerves, in the medulla oblongata. 



It scarcely needs to be pointed out that the nature of reflex actions 

 depends on the habit of the organs operated upon. Most individuals 

 affect some gesture, movement or mannerism peculiar to themselves. In 

 unguarded, that is, unconscious, moments, such movements are apt to 

 exhibit themselves, and we have no hesitation in attributing them to 

 habit. The accumulation of nervous energy, which is constantly going 

 on, must needs have occasional escape, and the path it takes is the one 

 leading in the direction of the least resistance. This, in the absence of 

 purposive motives, is apt to be in the direction of a useless mannerism, 

 sometimes a hurtful one. The oftener such movement takes place, the 

 greater the facility, and the more likely the movement is to take the 

 same track. It often happens that the excitement generated in the per- 

 formance of some action, either of brain or muscle, is greater than ne- 

 cessary for such performance, or from the want of concentrativeness 

 cannot all be directed toward such performance. In such cases, the 

 surplus energy goes into the mannerism, trick, or useless habit. It often 

 happens that the trick so constantly accompanies the performance of a 

 certain mode of action that it gradually assumes the relation of a neces- 

 sary companionship, so that the legitimate action cannot be easily per- 



1 Maudsley's Body and Will, 107. 



