By LaWanda Albright
E
ach of us comes into the
world with unique and universal
qualities. Our brains are wired to
expect certain stimuli from the
environment - someone to care for
us, someone to help us learn
language and communicate,
someone to help us negotiate the
social world. The neural pathways
that develop depend largely on the
culture and time into which we are
born. The language(s) we speak,
our social interactions, and where
we focus attention are prime
examples of the body-brain
interaction. The brain is expecting
to learn these things and looks for
cues in the environment. People in
our environment - parents, siblings,
neighbors - act on the shared
environment and influence our
development. Our brains receive
input from our bodies and integrate
all of the different signal