Psychology & Psychiatry

Oxytocin plays a role in facial mimicry

Studies have demonstrated that oxytocin (which acts as an hormone and also as a neurotransmitter in the brain) plays a role in facilitating the perception of emotions in other people's facial expressions. An international ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Botox treatment affects the perception of emotions 

Botulin injections in the facial muscles, which relax expression lines and make one's skin appear younger as a result of a mild paralysis, have another, not easily predictable effect: they undermine the ability to understand ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Reading an opponent's face gives the edge in martial arts

There's more to excelling in the martial arts combat sport of taekwondo than just being able to produce well-aimed kicks or punches. A participant's skill at reading the emotions on an opponent's face and to therefore anticipate ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Why smiles (and frowns) are contagious

Smile! It makes everyone in the room feel better because they, consciously or unconsciously, are smiling with you. Growing evidence shows that an instinct for facial mimicry allows us to empathize with and even experience ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Face time: Tech reads facial expressions for autism symptoms

There's an app for everything these days—from weight loss to working out. Now, thanks in part to support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), there's an app that may screen for autism by reading kids' facial expressions ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Processing facial emotions in persons with autism spectrum disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty recognizing and interpreting how facial expressions convey various emotions - from joy to puzzlement, sadness to anger. This can make it difficult for ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Our head movements convey emotions

When people talk or sing, they often nod, tilt or bow their heads to reinforce verbal messages. But how effective are these head gestures at conveying emotions?

Psychology & Psychiatry

Reading emotions in a second language

If we read about someone who is smiling and happy, without realizing it, we smile as well, and a similar reaction also occurs for the other emotions. If, however, the text is not in our mother tongue but in a second language, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Do people transmit happiness by smell?

As emotions go, happiness usually hides in plain sight: seen in a broad smile, heard in a raucous laugh, felt in a big hug.

Psychology & Psychiatry

ADHD: Brains not recognizing an angry expression

Japanese researchers first identified the characteristics of facial expression recognition of children with ADHD by measuring hemodynamic response in the brain. They showed that children with ADHD showed significant hemodynamic ...

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