MODES OF EXPEESSIOX BY MOVEMENTS. 59 



child, say two years of age, sitting on the floor 

 with playthings around him : his movements are 

 incessant, his head, face, eyes, hands, fingers, etc., 

 are incessantly moving. If a stranger enters the 

 room the child stops his play, his various move- 

 ments cease, his eyes are cast down, scarcely any 

 indication of his former condition of movement 

 remains. There is no reason to suppose that the 

 general conditions of his nutrition are interfered 

 with, for the circulation and respiration continue as 

 heretofore. His various movements are arrested or 

 inhibited at the sight of the stranger, and this inhi- 

 bition of movement is characteristic or expressive 

 of the child's condition. When any object strongly 

 attracts the attention of a man it usually produces 

 inhibition of movements. This is probably a very 

 important factor in some mental phenomena. 



Nutrition may be directly expressed by move- 

 ments, for it commonly happens that movement 

 is the most obvious outcome of nutrition in a 

 subject. A young infant is full of movement while 

 awake, if its nutrition is good; its arms and fin- 

 gers are moved apparently spontaneously.* A baby 

 thus lively is well nourished. Clinical experience 

 shows that the condition of its nutrition is in part 

 indicated by this spontaneous movement. Now, if 

 the child becomes ill, say from the effects of bad 

 feeding, from lung or stomach disease, the spon- 

 taneous movement described almost ceases, the 

 lowered condition of nutrition lessens the amount 

 of spontaneous movement. A large amount of 

 * See chap. xiv. fi<?. 31, p. 245. 



