Twenty-Five

I wondered what causes smiles.  I know, emotionally, what causes us to smile, but I wanted to know more.  Here’s what I found:

…emotional data funnels to the brain, exciting the left anterior temporal region in particular, then smolders to the surface of the face, where two muscles, standing at attention, are roused into action: The zygomatic major, which resides in the cheek, tugs the lips upward, and the orbicularis oculi, which encircles the eye socket, squeezes the outside corners into the shape of a crow’s foot….Other muscles can simulate a smile, but only the peculiar tango of the zygomatic major and the orbicularis oculi produces a genuine expression of positive emotion.

That’s the process.  The real cause is that emotional data.  Read all about it, here.

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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One Response to Twenty-Five

  1. This made me smile…

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