Movement Is Fundamental to the very Existence of a Brain

Conrad Ho read the following quotation from the July issue of Edu-K Update, a regular newsletter to member of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation. He found it so interesting that he would like everyone in our database to have the piece of information, especially those who are not yet members of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation:

“Movement is fundamental to the very existence of a brain. Interestingly, only an organism that moves from place to place requires a brain. Plants enhance their chances for photosynthesis by turning their leaves to face the sun, but this is done through the growth of cells, not by changing their position.

A tiny marine creature known as the sea squirt illustrates the point. In the early part of its life, the sea squirt swims about like a tadpole. It has a brain and a nerve cord to control its movements. However, when it matures, it attaches itself permanently to a rock. From that moment on, the brain and the nerve cord are gradually absorbed and digested. The sea squirt consumes its own brain because it is not needed anymore.”
From A User’s Guide to the Brain
by John J. Ratey, M.D., p 156