Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 26.djvu/200

188 lastly, he had many horses in his stables, and needed the money paid for this horse, for a distinct purpose, which had been determined on before. From his own testimony he had many blanks of memory while drinking, and at this time had lost all recollection of passing events from the hour of dinner, during which he drank freely, until next morning, when he drank again and fell into another blank which lasted thirty-six hours. Other testimony indicated a gradual increasing dullness and abstractedness of manner during this time; also apparent disinclination to fix his attention on any one thing long. The suit went against him, and he soon after was brought to the asylum. In another case the president of a bank, a man of wealth and irreproachable character, forged a large check, put the money in his pocket, and the day after was amazed to find the money and to account for it. In an investigation it was proved that he suffered from these blanks of memory after drinking wine freely; that he had before done many unaccountable acts, apparently fully conscious at the time, and yet afterward disclaimed all memory of them, a fact which was supported by their motiveless character. This mental condition may be described as a loss of memory and consciousness of present and passing events, that is concealed and not apparent from a general study of the conduct; or, in other words, a state of the brain similar to somnambulism in respect to the unconscious character of the acts, and all recollection of them. For the time being the sufferer is a literal automaton, giving little or no evidence of hisactualhis actual [sic] condition, and acting from impulses unknown, and motives that leave no trace.

The late Dr. Beard believed this state to be one of general lowered brain-function, in which the cerebral activity is concentrated in some limited region of the brain, and is largely suspended in the rest. He also urged that the plane of consciousness was below the point of remembering; hence these cases were conscious at the time, but the memory failed to record the impression. In confirmation of this, the late Dr. Forbes Winslow recorded a case of a somnambulist who, while walking about, set his night-dress on fire, and with excellent judgment and coolness threw himself on the bed and extinguished the flames, then resumed his walk, and awoke next morning with no memory of it, and was greatly alarmed at the charred appearance of his dress. Whatever the pathology may be, it is clear that this is a state of irresponsibility, and for the time being a form of dementia and insanity, about which there can be no question. Careful study of those cases for many years has indicated the startling fact that they are very common in inebriety; also that in every case where alcohol is used to excess there are histories of loss of memory and consciousness of acts committed while using spirits. These conditions are almost infinite in variety and complexity, and are considered mere freaks of memory by many persons. Probably in a majority of cases in the early stages these blanks of consciousness and memory are partial, and appear in the