Monthly Archives: February 2012

A Gripping Tale – Each Flick of a Finger Takes the Work of Five – NYTimes.com

Posted by on

Each Flick of a Digit Is a Job for All 5…Not only are the ring and pinky fingers physically tethered together by a shared tendon, as anatomists long have known; measurements of neuromuscular activation patterns have shown that all fingers, including the ones with the greatest structural autonomy, the thumb and index finger, are keenly responsive to every flex and twitch of their neighboring digits.

“Even when you think you’re moving just one finger,” said Marc H. Schieber, a professor of neurology and neurobiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, “you’re really controlling your entire hand.”…

A Gripping Tale – Each Flick of a Finger Takes the Work of Five – NYTimes.com.

Anat Baniel: Children With Special Needs: A Revolutionary Approach Gives New Hope

Posted by on

“…think of your brain as the CEO of you. It manages all that you do — physically, emotionally and intellectually. For the healthy child, as well as the child with special challenges, the information his or her “CEO” brain needs in order to learn something new does not come from directly trying to perform what it doesn’t yet have the information to perform. Instead, the necessary information comes from many small and varied movements and experiences that may seem completely unrelated to the final accomplishment. With the healthy child these movements are always within the range of what he or she can already do. The brain of the child with special challenges requires the same process to be able to learn and thrive!”

Anat Baniel: Children With Special Needs: A Revolutionary Approach Gives New Hope.