Page:Outlines of Psychology (Wundt) 1907.djvu/223

 § 13- Emotions. 193 chological significance because of its genetic relations to speech (cf. § 21, 3). . The changes in -pulse and respiration which accompany emotions are of three kinds, i) They may consist, of the immediate effects of the feelings which make up the emotions, as for example a lengthening of the pulse curve and respira- tion curve when the feelings are pleasurable, and a shorten- ing of the same for unpleasurable feelings (cf. sup. p. 96). This holds only for relatively quiet emotions, where the single feelings have sufficient time to develop. When sufficient time is not given, other phenomena appear which depend, not merely on the quality of the feelings, but also, and that mainly, on the intensity of the innervations, due to the sum- mation of these innervations. 2) Such summations may consist of intensified innervation. This arises from an increase in the excitation which in turn results from an adding together of the separate .effects when the succession of feelings is not too rapid. This increase shows itself in retarded and strength- ened pulse-beats, since the more intense excitation affects most the inhibitory nerves of the heart. Besides these there is usually an increased innervation of the mimetic and panto- mimetic muscles. These are called sthenic emotions. 3) If the feelings are very violent or continue an unusually long time in a single direction, the emotion brings about a more or less complete paralysis of the innervation of the heart and a reduction of the tension of the outer muscles. Under certain circumstances disturbances in the innervation of special groups of muscles appear, especially in the innervation of the muscles of the diaphragm and the innervation of the sympathetic facial muscles. The first symptom of the par- alysis of the regulative cardiac nerves is a marked acceler- ation of the pulse and a corresponding acceleration of the respiration, accompanied by a weakening of the same, and a relaxation of the tension of the external muscles to a degree Wundt, Psychology. 3. edit. 13