426 THE NEKVOUS SYSTEM 



paralysis, is seen in the speed with which these centers 

 become dulled, while the tendency to attack the higher 

 centers first is shown by the fact that speech is lost before 

 control of movements. 



In regard to the effect of alcohol in small doses there are 

 at present two different opinions. One school of physi- 

 ologists holds that alcohol in small doses is a true brain 

 stimulant, and that the exhilaration felt as a result of such 

 doses is accompanied by increased keenness of judgment, 

 and that, while temporary in its effect, this effect is not due 

 to loss of control by paralysis of higher centers. 



The other school claims that alcohol is never a stimulant, 

 but always a narcotic, whether in large or small doses. 

 They explain the evident exhilaration which follows small 

 doses as due to the same causes as the excessive exhilara- 

 tion, namely, that it results from, a partial paralysis of the 

 centers of judgment and control. They say that, by re- 

 moving the inhibiting influences from the speech and other 

 centers, such paralysis inevitably causes in these centers a 

 freedom of restraint which manifests itself in apparent 

 stimulation. In short, this school claims that alcohol from 

 its entry into the system is never a stimulant, but always a 

 narcotic in its effect upon the nervous system as a whole. 



The determination of the true position in this regard 

 must come as a result of experiment, and the results of 

 experiment have so far been extremely conflicting. Not 

 enough has been done as yet to settle the question for either 

 side, and all that can be said at present is that by far the 

 larger number of physiologists take the view that alcohol 

 is always a narcotic, even in small amounts. 



Alcohol and time reactions. — Many experiments have 

 been made to determine the effect of alcohol on the time 



