FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. 99 



the phenomena — for the augmented or diminished energy, 

 or the altered nature of the various feelings and intellectual 

 faculties. 



I have examined after death the heads of many insane 

 persons, and have hardly seen a single brain which did not 

 exhibit obvious marks of disease ; — in recent cases, loaded 

 vessels, increased serous secretions ; — in all instances of 

 longer duration, unequivocal signs of present or past in- 

 creased action ; blood-vessels apparently more numerous, 

 membranes thickened and opaque, depositions of coagula- 

 ble lymph forming adhesions or adventitious membranes, 

 watery effusions, even abscesses : add to this, that the in- 

 sane often become paralytic, or are suddenly cut off by 

 apoplexy. 



Sometimes, indeed, the mental phenomena are disturbed 

 without any visible deviation from the healthy structure of 

 the brain ; as digestion or biliary secretion may be impaired 

 or altered without any recognizable change of structure in 

 the stomach or liver. The brain, like other parts of this 

 complicated machine, may be diseased sympathetically 5 

 and we see it recover. 



Thus we find the brain, like other parts, subject to what 

 is called functional disorder; but, although we cannot ac- 

 tually demonstrate the fact, we no more doubt that the 

 material cause of the symptoms or external signs of disease 

 is in this organ, than we do that impaired biliary secretion 

 has its source in the liver, or faulty digestion in the stomach. 

 The brain does not often come under the inspection of the 

 anatomist, in such cases of functional disorder ; and I am 

 convinced, from my own experience, that very few heads of 

 persons dying deranged will be examined after death, with- 

 out shewing diseased structure, or evident signs of increased 

 vascular activity. 



The effect of medical treatment completely corroborates 

 these views. Indeed, they who talk of and believe in dis- 

 eases of the mind are too wise to put their trust in mental 

 remedies. Arguments, syllogisms, discourses, sermons, 

 have never yet restored any patient ; the moral pharmaco- 



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