Such a case as this appears to me to be very similar to those
described by Dr. Beard in all its essential aspects.
A few years ago I had a gentleman under my charge who would attempt to
execute any order given him while he was asleep by a person
whispering into his ear. Thus, if told in this way to shout, he
shouted as loud as he could; if ordered to get up, he at once jumped
from the bed; if directed to repeat certain words, he said them, and
so on.
I am not able to give any certain explanation of the phenomena of
miryachit or of the "Jumpers," or of certain of those cases of
sleep-drunkenness which seem to be of like character. But they all
appear to be due to the fact a motor impulse is excited by perceptions
without the necessary concurrence of the volition of the individual to
cause the discharge. They are, therefore, analogous to reflex actions,
and especially to certain epileptic paroxysms due to reflex
irritations. It would seem as though the nerve cells were very much in
the condition of a package of dynamite or nitro glycerin, in which a
very slight impression is sufficient to effect a discharge of nerve
force. They differ, however, from the epileptic paroxysm in the fact
that the discharge is consonant with the perception--which is in these
cases an irritation--and is hence an apparently logical act, whereas
in epilepsy the discharge is more violent, is illogical, and does not
cease with the cessation of the irritation.
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