The brain as an organ of mind / by H. Charlton Bastian.

  • Henry Charlton Bastian
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The brain as an organ of mind / by H. Charlton Bastian. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    697/740 (page 669)
    was quite unable to remedy the defect. After the expiration of eight months, however, he was so far improved that he was able to repeat the same bye-law after Dr. Osborn as follows :—“ It may he in the 'power of the College to evliavine or 'not ariatm any licentiate seviously to his amission to a spolowship, as they shall thinlc fit.'* Some little time after this Dr. Osborn says he “ repeated the same bye-law after me perfectly well, with the exception of the word ‘power,’ which he constantly pronounced prior. He was also able to pronounce all the letters of the alphabet except d, h, and c.” He progressed in this way under the directions of Dr. Osborn, who advised him to commence learning to speak again like a child, repeating first the letters of the alphabet, and subsequently words, after another person, on the ground that he had “lost, not the power, but the art of using the vocal organs.” In this strange but very interesting case there seems to have been no appreciable mental defect. It appears con- ceivable that a disordered relation between the Auditory and the Kinaesthetic Word-Centres, or else a disordered activity of the latter Centres themselves, may have sufficed to induce some such defect. Trousseau records another interesting case, in which there was an absence of mental defect and a simple inability to Speak. He says :— “ I received one day in my consulting-room a carrier of the Paris Halles, very young, and having the appearance of a man enjoying excellent health. He made signs that he could not speak, and handed to me a note in which the history of his illness was detailed. He had written the note himself, with a very steady hand, and had worded it well. A few days previously he had suddenly lost his senses, and bad been unconscious for nearly an hour. When he came round he exhibited no symptom of paralysis, but could not articulate a single word. He moved his tongue perfectly, he swallowed with ease, but, however much he tried, he could not utter a word. He was ineffectually galvanized for a fortnight, nut without any special treatment he completely recovered his speech five or six weeks after the invasion of the complaint. It is very remarkable, however, that during the whole course of this