Rhythm in Babies and Adults

Rock-a-Bye Baby The fact that the newspapers are lauding the discovery of the Sonitone-Securitone—the electronic box designed to soothe anxious tensions in young babies by imitating the sound of the maternal heartbeat—provides a motivation for reviewing what is known about man's rhythmic functions. Psychologist Lee Salk's application of maternal cardiac rhythm is rather simple. Observing that both monkeys and human babies behave more quietly when resting near the maternal heart, he postulated that an artificial reproduction of the same rhythm would have a soothing influence on the increased adjustment of neuroregulatory patterns that, after birth, were suddenly exposed to the irregular rhythms of reality. Nobody has as yet mentioned the danger inherent in an automatic mechanical device which replaces the valuable personal interaction between mother and child.* Those who are familiar with the training of pets know that a yelping, anxious baby dog can be