SPINNING AND BALANCE

A mother is spinning her child. Although this action may seem simple, her brain is actually solving a very complex problem. Scientists have found that the mother relies primarily on two sources of information to maintain her balance. Part of her brain interprets what she sees, and another part interprets signals from her organs of balance, the cochlea located in her inner ears. Her brain combines this information to understand where she is, where she is moving, and what she needs to do next.