.Reverie, Somnambulism, Hypnotism, Sleep. 813 



opacity over more than one half of the cornea which not only prevented 

 distinct vision but occasioned an anmtying disfigurement. Having 

 placed herself under Mr. Braid's hypnotic treatment for the relief of 

 violent pain in her arm and shoulder, she found to the surprise alike of 

 herself and Mr. B. that her sight began to improve very perceptibly. 

 The operation was therefore continued daily; and in a very short time 

 the cornea became so transparent that close inspection was required to 

 discover any remains of the opacity. " Unconscious attention in this case. 



In rare cases the pulse rate has been increased' or reduced by sugges- 

 tion. In one case it was reduced from a regular beat of 98 to 92, and 

 after it returned of itself to 98 it was raised by suggestion to 119 per 

 minute. Once, bleeding at the nose was induced; and once a blister 

 was raised under the influence of suggestion, by putting eight postage 

 stamps on the shoulder and allowing them to remain while the sleep 

 continued, a period of 20 hours. 



As stated above, the earlier experimenters in hypnotism came to the 

 conclusion that there was no magnetism connected with it, and that the 

 operator could produce no effect by his silent will. This is true in the 

 great majority of cases. The subject is governed by his own internal 

 sense organs; but these are influenced by the suggestions of the opera- 

 tor audibly communicated like any other auditory stimulation. But as 

 shown in chapter 79, there is good reason to believe that there are cer- 

 tain people who are sensitive to direct impressions upon their own 

 brains made by the cerebral activities of others. Their sensitiveness in 

 this respect is greatly intensified if they are hypnotized, just as it is in 

 relation to the ordinary senses. The suggestions which may enter by 

 this aveuue become assimilated in the internal sense organs just like 

 other stimulations, and may become dominant ideas, just as if they had 

 entered by the auditory sense. 



Profound natural Sleep is a state of unconsciousness so far as ordi- 

 nary external stimuli are concerned, but an extraordinary impression 

 upon a sensory organ may force attention to itself and thus interrupt 

 sleep. Profound sleep is a state of total inattention. In all sleep 

 which is not profound there is some degree of attention some idea, the 

 organ of which is in a state of wakefu'lness more or less complete. A 

 person who is accustomed to watch by a sick bed, may go to sleep as to 

 every idea not relating to the patient ; but if the patient stir uneasily or 

 even whisper his name, he is instantly awake. So a person who desires 

 to awake at a particular hour may acquire a habit of partial wakeful- 

 ness as to that idea. 



The ph} T siological cause of sleep is the reduction of the flow of blood 

 to the brain cells. When it is reduced below a certain point, functional 

 activity of the brain cells is reduced below the point at which conscious- 



