TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3890, 2 October 1928, Page 9

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Published by arrangement with the United Temperance Reform Council. THE BASIS OF' SOUND TEACHING. An Address by Sir Thomas Barlow, Bt., M.D., F.R.C.P. There have been during the last few years, considerable modifications in the mode of approach, as regards temperance teaching, and it is worth while to consider some of the salient features of this change. First and foremost we try now to look at temperance as a part of our general instruction in hygiene, instead of speaking of it as an isolated subject. We take it, so to speak, in our stride. In our general survey we are careful to state the true values of different foods, and we admit the solitary and very limited value of alcohol as contributing by. its combustion to the formation of animal heat, but now by rapid stages we arrive at the most important action of .this substance on the nervous system. Without using the moot term poison, we are solicitous to point out that the true influence of alcohol is always and from the- first narcotic, even in moderate doses. That is the keynote of the remarkable handbook—the joint work of several eminent physiologists—issued by the Central Liquor Board. By way of parenthesis, I should like to say that that handbook is one which all of us should master, but it is too difficult to place in the hands of our pupils except when we come to deal with the most advanced of the continuation classes.

Taking the keynote of the handbook, let us briefly consider some of the manifestations of the narcotic effect of alcohol. For example, in many a festive gathering, we notice, after a certain amount of alcohol has been taken, that the faces of the guests begin to get flushed, and the conversation becomes louder and more rapid. Presently it is accompanied by much gesticulation, and the laughter becomes more boisterous. Then some alternatives present themselves. Some men become argumentative and even quarrelsome; others become not only jovial, but confidential, speaking freely of their affairs, and telling things which in sober moments they would keep to themselves But whatever the alternatives, there is at this stage a marked abeyance of selfjudgment and self-criticism and self-con-trol. There is a- lack of balance and sense of proportion, and an odd inaccuracy is estimating values and details of time and distance.

Now, watch your guest, and if he still takes his wine you' notice soon a decided change. He becomes quieter. His arms slip down to his side. He is unwilling now to get up and move about. Such muscular movements as he performs he performs badly. He does not guide his glass well. If he is obliged to get up and walk, his gait is unsteady. Presently he becomes torpid, and then falls asleep. His sleep is heavy, and he is difficult to rouse.

Now, at this stage, obviously alcohol is a narcotic, and not a stimulant; But consider what were the physiological processes behind those earlier noisy manifestations. The earliest effect when alcohol gets into the blood current is the dilation of the superficial blood vessels, and, in a broad sense, that increased afflux of blood was responsible for the increased activity during the period of loud conversation, boisterous laughter, and gesticulation. But whilst there was increased activity of some of the brain cells responsible for movement and emotional discharge, the cells of the highest layers of the brain cortex were less active than normal.

The lessened activity of the highest cortical layer—its narcotism, in fact — led to the lack of control of the lower layers. One must always remember that the cells of the highest layer have normally what we .call an inhibitory effect on the lower layers. That is another way of saying the cells of the highest layer control the cells of the lower layers. The cells of the highest layer—the most highly-endowed—are the first to be attacked When they are weakened, narcotised, partly paralysed, the uncontrolled cells of the lower layers run riot, and this is translated into the rapid, disorderly speech, the boisterous laughter, and the gesticulation with which we are familiar.

If I hav e made my meaning plain, you will see that the narcotic effect of alcohol goes further back than its obvious manifestation in torpor and then sleep. It goes back to the noisy stage when the highest nerve cells have become narcotised, and the lower layers have in consequence uncontrolled activity. When the torpor and the toxic sleep have appeared the narcotic effect of the. alcohol has extended down to the basal structures of the brain. Now, it is very important to follow this line of- suggestion, and observe how alcohol lowers the activity of the nervous structures throughout. The time of conduction of any given stimulus through a nerve is a matter of definite experiment. Alcohol lengthens the reaction time —that is to say, it retards conduction. That is very marked with various sensory stimuli. The rapid and accurate recognition of the number of round dots thrown rapidly on a screen and made to vanish rapidly is one of the ways in which this can be illustrated. The perception of sounds of varying and rapidly-changing pitch is another. After nerve comes muscle —the combination of rapid' and accurate sense imp v essions, with rapid and accurate motor combinations, gives abundant illustration. The observations and experiments on typing, made by Dr Vernon, are very much to the point. It has been found that small doses of alcohol.render the rate of typing less and increase the number of blunders The rapidity of performance of simple processes of mental arithmetic is definitely lessened by small doses of Admiral Jellicoe points out that shooting efficiency was 30 per cent, greater before than after the grog ration. War experience is full to overflowing of illustra.-. ti.ons of the narcotic effect of alcohol, especially in the circumstances when rapid and accurate sensory impressions are required. to warn the soldier of danger and to stimulate to protective movement, and when prompt and well co-ordinated muscular actions are obsolutely imperative.