A recent study from the University of Essex entitled, “Smiling and Frowning Induced by Facial Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (fNMES) Modulate Felt Emotion and Physiology” explored whether electrically induced smiling could influence emotions. Participants had electrodes placed over their zygomaticus major muscles—those that lift the corners of the mouth. A gentle electrical current forced a…
Read MorePandemic Kids Struggle to Recognize Happy and Fearful Faces
A large Danish study called The effects of Covid-19 related policies on neurocognitive face processing in the first four years of life was recently published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. The study authored by Carlijn van den Boomen, Anna C. Praat, Caroline M.M. Junge, and Chantal Kemner investigated the effects of Covid-19 related measures on two…
Read MoreA Pocketbook Guide to the Basics of Emotion
We’re excited to announce the launch of The Humintell Emotion Primer – a pocketbook guide to the basics of emotion. It’s a little book that we put together that summarizes and describes some of the major points about emotions, especially about the basic emotions that we talk about in our work and that we’ve studied and…
Read MoreLack of Facial Expressions May Reveal Severe Depression
Doctors may soon be able to diagnose a severe form of depression, known as melancholia, simply by looking at someone’s (lack of) facial expressions. According to VeryWell Mind, melancholia is a form of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is characterized by a complete loss of pleasure in all or almost everything. In addition, research has found…
Read More