Stroke Damage Halted by a Tickle

This is some of the most exciting info. I have found in some time. In Dec. 4, 2010 of Science News on page14, a smallish article describes an experiment with a bunch of rats that had been given strokes. The neuroscientist at University of Arizonia in Tucson stimulated a single whisker of half the rats. The whisker stimulation rerouted blood flow in the brain and got it to the stroke damaged area. The end result from 5 minutes of whisker stimulation was that there was no noticeable stroke damage in the rats whose whisker was tickled. The brain imaging show no difference between these rats and an unaffected rat brain. The only caveat is that the stimulation must be done within two hours of the stroke.



Picture from www.handle.org

Although not proven, the scientist see no reason why this might not work for humans. The whiskers relate to the mouth and hands in humans. So Face Tapping, lip and mouth buzzing, Buzz Snap and facial and hand reflex integration could make a huge difference in human recovery from stroke! Hurray for our developmental resources and neuro-plasticity! I hypothesize that this may not be the only neuro-motor trigger for help in trauma.