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WHAT IS HUNGER? 529
HUNGER CONTRACTIONS
This remarkable photograph—probably the only clear negative of its kind ever mad,—shows the rigors of fierce hunger.
The wave contractions pass in an unending succession from one end of the greedy stomach to the other.
the contraction periods come much more
frequently, and sometimes will cause
babies to show restlessness, wake up, and
cry.
"The recording of the gastric hunger
contractions of the new-born human infant
offers no great difficulties." Dr.
Carlson states, "if one uses delicate rubber
balloons IS cubic centimeters in
capacity, and very flexible rubber tubes
2 millimeters in diameter. Most of
the infants swallowed this apparatus
without difficulty or even violent protestation
and went to sleep in our arms
during the observation periods."
There is no doubt but that stomach
contraction produces hunger sensations.
The sensation as recorded in the minds
of the people experimented with and the
stomach contractions as recorded on the
revolving drum, run absolutely hand in
hand. In fact, where Dr. Carlson induced
artificial contractions of the stomach,
such contractions were felt by the
subjects of the experiment as hunger,
and were defined as such.
One of the points which Dr. Carlson
has brought out is the fact that a sharp
distinction must be drawn between
hunger and appetite. Appetite is a matter
of memory in the individual, the
pleasurable thoughts of past enjoyment
of edibles naturally causing us to seek
similar enjoyable experiences. It is
through this medium that "appetizers"
work. The general belief has been
heretofore that such substances increase
the vigor of the hunger contractions.
On the contrary. Dr. Carlson has shown
that they temporarily allay these contractions,
but produce a sensation which
tempts us to get "more of the same."
At the height of a hunger contraction,
Dr. Carlson introduced moderately cold
water, beer, wine, weak alcohol or weak
acids into his stomach through a tube,
so that the liquids did not touch the
mouth, throat, or the esophagus.