PSYCHOLOGY: DODGE AND BENEDICT 
605 
A detailed description of all of the apparatus used, the results of the 
individual experiments, and a critical discussion of the technique of 
determining the respiratory exchange of man in short periods are given 
in Publication No. 216 of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. 
NEURO-MUSCULAR EFFECTS OF MODERATE DOSES OF 
ALCOHOL 
By Raymond Dodge and Francis G. Benedict 
NUTRITION LABORATORY. CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON 
Presented to the Academy, November 2, 1915 
In accordance with its widely distributed 'Tentative Plan'^ the Nutri- 
tion Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution has organized and initiated 
an exhaustive experimental study of the physiological consequences of 
the ingestion of small doses of ethyl alcohol in man. The first year's 
work under the psychological part of that Plan was devoted to an investi- 
gation of the effects of alcohol on a selected group of interrelated proc- 
esses covering the fundamental neural activities at various levels of 
the cerebro-spinal system, from the simplest reflexes of the lumbar 
cord to the most complex cortical arcs that we could accurately measure 
by available laboratory techniques. 
The selection of the particular group of neuro-muscular processes for 
measurement was determined by the following experimental demands: 
(1) The systematic demand for coordinate data covering as many as 
possible of the fundamental psychophysiological operations. (2) The 
interpretative demand for the least possible inclusion of unknown and 
uncontrolled factors. (3) The practical demand for natural reaction 
forms which would be comparable in a large number of individuals with- 
out special practice, and would show relatively little practice effect as 
a result of the experimental repetition. (4) The technical demand for 
dependable quantitative methods of stimulation and registration. 
Of the simple reflex arcs which are available for experimentation, the 
patellar reflex and the protective lid-reflex were chosen, chiefly because 
of their similar latency and the accuracy of their modern techniques. 
Our measurements of these reflexes include data concerning their latency, 
the extent of the muscle contraction, and the relative duration of the 
refractory phase. Of the more complex cortical arcs the following were 
selected: (1) eye-reactions to suddenly appearing peripheral stimuli, a 
thoroughly practiced phase of each individual's spatial adjustment; (2) 
speech reactions to visual word stimuli; and (3) free associations. The 
last two are characteristic phases of the individual's adjustment to his 
