CHAPTER X.

ALCOHOL.

General considerations concerning its effects upon the nervous system--Its use at the present time as compared with that of the past--Society now reaping the effects of its use in the past--Physiological effects of alcohol upon the system-- Experiments of Dr. Parkes and Count Wollowicz--Its effect upon the action of the heart--Its effect upon the circulation of the brain, the blood-vessels, and cells, resulting in a less sensitive condition of these parts, and ultimately in organic changes--Its effect upon the character of mind; upon the electrical currents of the brain; upon other portions of the body; upon the brains of children and young persons--The alcoholic diathesis likely to be transmitted 153