THE STORY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY SCIENCE 



Breslau, and a host of other experimenters. The value 

 of the method in the study of mental states was soon 

 apparent. Most of Braid's experiments were repeated, 

 and in the main his results were confirmed. His expla- 

 nation of hypnotism, or artificial somnambulism, as a 



JEAN MARTIN CIIARCOT 



self-induced state, independent of any occult or super- 

 sensible influence, soon gained general credence. His 

 belief that the initial stages are due to fatigue of ner- 

 vous centres, usually from excessive stimulation, has not 

 been supplanted, though supplemented by notions grow- 



416 . 



