had no other facts in mind than those commonly known. He certainly did
not follow up his observation, and his statement at this point does not
differ very much from the observations of the old psychologists, that
emotions change certain physiological functions, of which a more or
less complete list is frequently given.[31]
It certainly is a long step from this vague statement to Mosso's
experimental investigations. His new instruments, the plethysmograph,
and the balance, enabled him to study the distribution of the
blood,[32] and he observed the influence of mental phenomena on the
circulation,[33] on the bladder,[34] and on the temperature of the
brain.[35] His work, "La Paura," describes the physiological effects of
emotions somewhat in detail.
The way toward applying the method of expression to the study
of emotions was shown by the results of previous physiological
investigations. Casual observations of the influence of certain
sense-stimuli on respiration and circulation were made by Naumann,
Couty and Charpentier, Thanhoffer, Dogiel, Gley, Mays, Istomanow and
Tarchanoff, Féré, Delabarre, and others.[36] The changes of breathing
seem to be of greater importance, and some writers account breathing
the most delicate physiological index of feelings.[37] It seems,
however, that a satisfactory treatment can be obtained only by direct
comparison of the respiration and circulation, and it now but seldom
occurs that circulation is observed exclusively.
There are three different instruments for observing the circulation:
the plethysmograph, the sphygmomanometer, and the sphygmograph. Each
of these instruments allows one to observe a different feature of the
circulation. The sphygmomanometer records the pressure in the artery;
the plethysmograph records the volume of a certain part of the body;
and the sphygmograph records the movement of a certain part of the
arterial wall. The curves traced with the sphygmograph indicate to a
certain extent the pressure of the blood, and sometimes they are called
curves of blood-pressure to distinguish them from the plethysmographic
curves which are called curves of pulse-volume.
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