Bodily Changes In Pain, Hunger, Fear And Rage (1920)

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Text extracted from opening pages of book: BODILY CHANGES IN PAIN, HUNGER, FEAR AND RAGE AX ACCOUNT OF RECENT RE SEARCHES INTO THE FUNCTION OF EMOTIONAL EXCITEMENT BY WALTER 11. CANNON, M. I)., C. B. GEORGE HIGr. INSON, PROH'SSOR Oh 1' IIYSlOLOGY IN HARVARD I MVLHSITY NEW YORK AND LONDON D. APPLETOX AM) COMPANY 1927 PREFACE Fear, rage and pain, and the pangs of hunger are all primitive experiences which human beings share with the lower animals. These experiences are properly classed as among the most powerful that determine the action of men and beasts. A knowledge of the conditions which attend these experiences, therefore, is of general and fundamental importance in the interpretation of behavior. During the past four years there has been conducted, in the Harvard Physiological Laboratory, a series of in vestigations concerned with the bodily changes which occur in conjunction with pain, hunger and the major emotions. A group of remarkable alterations in the bodily economy have been discovered, all of which can reasonably be regarded as responses that are nicely adapted to the individual's welfare and preservation. Because these physiological adaptations are interesting both in themselves and in their interpretation, not only to physiologists and psychologists, but to others as well, it has seemed worth while to gather together in con venient form the original accounts of the experiments, which have been published in various American medical and physiological journals. I have, however, attempted to arrange the results and discussions in an orderly and consecutive manner, and I have tried also to elim vii Vlll PREFACE mate or incidentally to explain the technical terms, so that theexposition will be easily understood by any intelligent reader even though not trained in the med ical sciences. My first interest in the conditions attending pain, hunger and strong emotional states was stimulated dur ing the course of a previous series of researches on the motor activities of the alimentary canal. A summary of these researches appeared in 1911, under the title, The Mechanical Factors of Digestion. The studies recorded in the present volume may be regarded as a natural sequence of observations on the influence of emotional states on the digestive process, which were reported in that volume. W. B. CANNON. Boston, Mass. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGES THE EFFECT OF THE EMOTIONS ON DIGESTION Emotions favorable to normal secretion of the digestive juices Emotions unfavorable to normal secretion of the digestive juices Emotions favorable and un favorable to contractions of the stomach and in testines The disturbing effect of pain on di gestion 1-21 CIIAPTEK II THE GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE VIS CERAt NERVES CONCERNED IN EMOTIONS The outlying neurones The three divisions of the out lying neurones The extensive distribution of neu rones of the sympathetic or thoracico-lumbar di vision and their arrangement for diffuse action The arrangement of neurones of the cranial and sacral divisions for specific action The cranial division a conserver of bodily resources The sacral division a group of mechanisms for emptying The sympa thetic division antagonistic to both the cranial and the sacral Neurones of the sympathetic division and adrenal secretion have the same action 22-39 ix x CONTENTS CHAPTEE III PAGES METHODS OF DEMONSTRATING ADRENAL SECRE TION AND ITS NERVOUS CONTROL The evidencethat splanchnic stimulation induces ad renal secretion The question of adrenal secretion in emotional excitement The method of securing blood from near the adrenal veins The method of testing the blood for adrenin 40-51 CHAPTEE IV ADRENAL SECRETION IN STRONG EMOTIONS AND PAIN The evidence that adrenal secretion is increased in emo tional excitement The evidence that adrenal secre tion is increased by painful stimulation Confirma tion of our results by other observers .... 52-65 CHAPTEE V THE INCREASE OF BLOOD SUGAR IN PAIN AND GREAT EMOTION Glycosuria from pain Emot