334 ADVANCED PHYSIOLOGY 



quick to see and understand; one does less work or does it not 

 so well, although oddly enough he thinks that he is doing better 

 than usual. If more than a very small quantity of alcohol is 

 used, its narcotic action becomes extremely apparent. Even 

 before the person has any appreciation of the fact that the 

 alcohol has influenced him at all, it has begun its effects. He 

 becomes sleepy, loses control of his muscles, and staggers if 

 he tries to walk; finally he may become totally intoxicated, 

 in which condition his brain has become so completely para- 

 lyzed that it no longer has control over his body. In these 

 extreme cases the narcotic action of alcohol is evident, but 

 between the intoxication and the action of smaller amounts 

 (as in the case of the moderate drinker), the differences are 

 of degree rather than cf kind. 



One physiologist found after a dinner at which he had 

 taken light wines, in amount not sufficient to have any ap- 

 preciable effect upon him, that either his senses or his muscle 

 control had become dulled, as shown by the fact that, if he 

 went shooting at such a time, he always shot behind the birds, 

 not being quick enough in his judgment or action to allow 

 for their flight. 



The German physicist, Helmholtz, found that if he had a 

 difficult problem to think out, he must let alcohol entirely 

 alone, for even the smallest quantity destroyed the keen edge 

 of his thinking powers, and prevented him from doing his best. 



Careful observations have shown further that in work re- 

 quiring accuracy, e. g. adding figures or setting type, the use 

 of a very small amount of any kind of alcoholic drink impairs 

 a person's efficiency, making it impossible for him either to do 

 so rapid or so exact work as usual. These illustrations are 

 sufficient to show that even from the first the use of alcohol 

 acts as a narcotic upon brain functions and that its apparent 

 stimulating action is misleading, due to results which are the 

 direct outcome of its narcotic action, e. g. dulling sensibility, 

 relaxing the blood vessels and withdrawing self restraint. 



