212 PHYSICAL EXPKESSION. 



of the forehead transverse and vertical furrows," an 

 appearance commonly resulting from the condition 

 of brain associated with grief. For a long time I 

 was deceived by this face, and thought the boy 

 depressed, but later, on cross-questioning him, and 

 inquiring of his mother, he appeared not only 

 unconscious of these movements but not to feel 

 any mental distress. I was therefore compelled 

 to regard the facial movements, which were sugges- 

 tive of the expression of distress, as analogous to 

 those of the fingers, which more resembled athetosis 

 than any other phase of involuntary movement. 

 The movements of the fingers were slow, involun- 

 tary, and unconscious ; no child in chorea puts up 

 his hand to straighten out the fingers which have 

 curled up on the other hand. There were no 

 general twitching movements, and those that did 

 exist were not twitching in character. These points 

 appear to indicate an analogy to athetosis, rather 

 than to chorea, both in the hand and in the face. 



Throughout the mechanism of the human body 

 the muscles are arranged in groups, acting antago- 

 nistically to one another. In the limbs flexors oppose 

 the extensors, pronators oppose the supinators, etc. ; 

 likewise in the face the muscles, which contract 

 the openings oppose the muscles which dilate them. 

 These opposing groups of muscles may be energized 

 by nerve-currents, either separately or together, or 

 more commonly they are stimulated to contract in 

 unequal degree, and so the muscles which are 

 stronger, or the most stimulated, produce the actual 

 movement. If the flexors are the most stimulated, 



