Although an expression of joy, sadness or anger are universal gestures that resemble all individuals, each person has its characteristic expression. Charles Darwin has already made his hypothesis known in the book "The expression of emotions in man and animals", where he suggested that facial expressions are innate. A recent study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could confirm this theory.
Scientists at the University of Haifa in Israel have analyzed the expressions and gestures of 21 volunteers born blind and those of their families. Although the blind never saw the faces of their relatives, the facial expressions were extremely similar, the small differences that were appreciated were due to the anatomical particularities of each, such as the arrangement of the muscles and nerves, so his research suggests that facial expressions are hereditary.
During the investigation, the volunteers were asked to remember and report experiences in which they had felt angry, happy, sad, surprised, moments in which they had felt repulsion, they were tested for their expression of concentration, they were scared, etc. . The researchers were surprised at the great resemblance in the gestures of blind people and their relatives, but they claim that they looked much more similar when the emotions were negative.
To reach this conclusion, they used a facial recognition computer program, which analyzed the sequence and frequency of facial movements using a statistical algorithm. The program was able to relate 80% of the blind to their relatives by facial expressions.
According to the research team, facial expressions appear at six months of age. Some scientists suggest that genes could affect the muscles and facial nerves creating limitations that cause this similarity in gestures, so it is now necessary to find the exact genes.
Scientists say that this finding can help in research on autism, since facial expressions are very important in this disorder.
