Emotions and Facial Expressions We all know that emotions give our lives meaning, and life without emotions is impossible to imagine. Emotions are a vestige of our evolutionary history and are primarily controlled by an archaic part of the brain. This is why Dr. Matsumoto describes emotions as immediate, involuntary, automatic, and unconscious reactions to…
Read MoreA Tribute to Law Enforcement Officers
Guest Blog Post by Anthony “Tony” Ciaburro The month of May (Law Enforcement Appreciation Month) is when we pause to remember our fallen officers. As I reflect on those whose names are on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, I take comfort knowing that our profession remains undaunted. The last few years have been the…
Read MoreDoes Music Elicit Universal Emotional Responses?
It’s no mystery that major and minor chords in western music makes us feel good. But could this be because of an evolutionary trait? Recent research led by Eline Adrianne Smit and colleagues from the MARCS Institute for Brain suggests this could be the case. Turn to any major pop radio station in the Western…
Read MoreDisgust and Fear Linked To More Acidity In Stomach
We’ve all experienced “gut feelings” but a new study out of Sapienza University supports the idea that these feelings could be tied to physiological changes. Researchers in Rome investigated how emotional states such as disgust and fear could affect acidity levels in the gut. The Methodology Giuseppina Porciello and her team asked 31 men whose…
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