nature physiological element emotion von wright almroth edward (1 Ergebnisse)

Brain, 18. - London, John Bale & Sons, 1895, 8°, 12 pp., orig. Broschur. Rase Offprint! "Prof. A.E. Wrigh, Army Medical School, Nettly." Repinted from Brain, Parts II and III. 1895. "PR0F. A. C. WRIGHT contributes an interesting paper " on the nature of the physiological element in emotion " to Brain (parts 70 and 71), the object of which is to apply the results obtained by Gaskell's observations on somatic and splanchnic nerves to the study of the emotions. Prof. Wright begins his paper by taking as an example the phenomena observed in a kitten confronted with a strange dog, and shows that such an emotional stimulus would call forth in the kitten a regular series of reflex responses : first of all, through the involuntary viscera efferent nerves ; then the semi-involuntary muscles, such as those of the face, would be called into action ; and, lastly, there would be reflex response of certain parts of the voluntary muscular system. The essential features to be recognised in this example and in every emotional reaction are-the origination of the emotion in a violent sensory stimulus, a condition of extreme neural tension in the reflex centre, and an overflow of neural energy into different paths. This overflow takes place first into channels associated with involuntary muscle, then into those associated with semi-voluntary muscle, and lastly into those associated with voluntary muscle. The physiological essence of the emotion is to be found not in the visceral reflex actions, but in the high neural tension of the reflex centre which gives rise to these actions. In childhood sensory stimuli call forth in each case responses both of involuntary and voluntary muscle, while with increasing age the outflow of neural energy from the reflex centre becomes more and more restricted to paths associated with voluntary muscle. As a result of such transformation we get purposive voluntary action. The author notices the a priori necessity for some system of control of the reflexes, since "if each minimal stimulus were to evoke a separate reflex movement in an organism which was endowed with a sensitiveness at all approaching that of the human organism, life would be a mere chaos of muscular movement." Voluntary muscles react to the slightest stimuli, but involuntary muscular actions are only called out by intense stimuli, or by a summation of slighter ones. High neural tension in the reflex centre is therefore necessary for these reactions of involuntary muscles, and all such high neural tension is attended with a sense of distress. The replacing of the " generalised somatico-visceral reflexes of inexperience and childhood by the specialised purposive reflexes of experience and adult life" . . . " is not so much a question of substituting one variety of reflex for another, as it is a question of substituting a condition of low neural tension for a condition of hi^h neural tension"." Nature, Januar 2, 1896, p.206 Sir Almroth Edward Wright's (1861-1947) ."in 1892 Wright was appointed professor of pathology at Army Medical School, Netley, where for ten years he did original work in blood coagulation and in bacteriology, achieving notable suceess in developing a vaccine agianst typhoid fever.".