Your left side is your best side

Our left cheek shows more emotion, which observers find more aesthetically pleasing

2012-04-21

(Press-News.org) Your best side may be your left cheek, according to a new study by Kelsey Blackburn and James Schirillo from Wake Forest University in the US. Their work shows that images of the left side of the face are perceived and rated as more pleasant than pictures of the right side of the face, possibly due to the fact that we present a greater intensity of emotion on the left side of our face. Their work is published online in Springer's journal Experimental Brain Research.

Others can judge human emotions in large part from facial expressions. Our highly specialized facial muscles are capable of expressing many unique emotions. Research suggests that the left side of the face is more intense and active during emotional expression. It is also noteworthy that Western artists' portraits predominantly present subjects' left profile.

Blackburn and Schirillo investigated whether there are differences in the perception of the left and right sides of the face in real-life photographs of individuals.

The authors explain: "Our results suggest that posers' left cheeks tend to exhibit a greater intensity of emotion, which observers find more aesthetically pleasing. Our findings provide support for a number of concepts – the notions of lateralized emotion and right hemispheric dominance with the right side of the brain controlling the left side of the face during emotional expression."

Participants were asked to rate the pleasantness of both sides of male and female faces on gray-scale photographs. The researchers presented both original photographs and mirror-reversed images, so that an original right-cheek image appeared to be a left-cheek image and vice versa.

They found a strong preference for left-sided portraits, regardless of whether the pictures were originally taken of the left side, or mirror-reversed. The left side of the face was rated as more aesthetically pleasing for both male and female posers.

These aesthetic preferences were also confirmed by measurements of pupil size, a reliable unconscious measurement of interest. Indeed, pupils dilate in response to more interesting stimuli – here more pleasant-looking faces, and constrict when looking at unpleasant images. In the experiment, pupil size increased with pleasantness ratings.

INFORMATION:

Reference
Blackburn K & Schirillo J (2012). Emotive hemispheric differences measured in real-life portraits using pupil diameter and subjective aesthetic preferences. Experimental Brain Research; DOI 10.1007/s00221-012-3091-y

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New genes contributing to autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders uncovered

2012-04-21

BOSTON, MA—When chromosomes replicate, sometimes there is an exchange of genetic material within a chromosome or between two or more chromosomes without a significant loss of genetic material. This exchange, known as a balanced chromosomal abnormality (BCA), can cause rearrangements in the genetic code. Researchers from 15 institutions in three countries including Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute found that due to these rearrangements, BCAs harbor a reservoir of disruptions in the code ...

Early treatment improves outcomes in rare, often undiagnosed form of encephalitis

2012-04-21

NEW ORLEANS – A mysterious, difficult-to-diagnose, and potentially deadly disease that was only recently discovered can be controlled most effectively if treatment is started within the first month that symptoms occur, according to a new report by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers analyzed 565 cases of this recently discovered paraneoplastic condition, called Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis, and determined that if initial treatments fail, second-line therapy significantly improves outcomes compared with repeating ...

Choice Hotels Europe Adds Hotel Property Videos to choicehotelsuk.co.uk

2012-04-21

Choice Hotels Europe, the company behind the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands in Europe, has announced that video footage on the majority of its UK properties has been posted on choicehotelsuk.co.uk, giving travellers a useful visual summary on each Choice-brand hotel and its amenities. The videos are presented by each hotel's General Manager who introduces the property and outlines the hotel's features and services, as can be seen for Quality Hotels Maida Vale. The programme is part of a European-wide initiative to include video footage of all Choice-brand properties ...

Study finds soda consumption increases overall stroke risk

2012-04-21

Friday, April 20, 2012 – Researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute and Harvard University have found that greater consumption of sugar-sweetened and low-calorie sodas is associated with a higher risk of stroke. Conversely, consumption of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk. The study – recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – is the first to examine soda's effect on stroke risk. Previous research has linked sugar-sweetened beverage consumption with weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, high ...

Warwick scientists uncover how 'checkpoint' proteins bind chromosomes

2012-04-21

The development of more effective cancer drugs could be a step nearer thanks to the discovery, by scientists at Warwick Medical School, of how an inbuilt 'security check' operates to guarantee cells divide with the correct number of chromosomes. Most cells in our bodies contain 23 pairs of chromosomes that encode our individual genetic identities. The process of chromosome segregation is monitored by a system called the spindle checkpoint that ensures daughter cells receive the correct number of chromosomes. If daughter cells receive an unequal number of chromosomes, ...

Range of diagnostic spinal fluid tests needed to differentiate concurrent brain diseases

2012-04-21

NEW ORLEANS – Teasing out the exact type or types of dementia someone suffers from is no easy task; neurodegenerative brain diseases share common pathology and often co-occur. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are continuing efforts to differentiate diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) from frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), as FTLD is often clinically difficult to distinguish from atypical presentations of AD. In a series of studies being presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting ...

Study finds that mild winters are detrimental to butterflies

2012-04-21

The recent mild winter throughout much of the United States was a cause for celebration for many. However, butterfly aficionados shouldn't be joining in the celebration. A new study by Jessica Hellmann, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and researchers from Western University found that mild winters, such as the one many of us just experienced, can be taxing for some butterfly or possibly other species. Hellmann and her fellow researchers studied caterpillars of the Propertius Duskywing butterfly, which feed on Gary Oak trees. ...

Fat outside of arteries may influence onset of coronary artery disease

2012-04-21

CINCINNATI—Researchers at UC have confirmed that fat surrounding the outside of arteries in humans—particularly the left coronary artery—may influence the onset of coronary artery disease, or atherosclerosis, which is the leading cause of death in the U.S. These findings, being presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) 2012 Scientific Sessions in Chicago April 20, 2012, may help in identifying the molecular culprit, with the goal of creating targeted therapies for atherosclerosis before the disease forms. Coronary ...

Marine scientists urge government to reassess oil spill response

2012-04-21

Athens, Ga. – On the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, a national panel of researchers including University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye is urging the federal government to reassess how it would respond to similar oil spills that might occur in the future. The 22 researchers, whose paper was published April 20 in the peer-reviewed journal Bioscience, noted that the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was unlike any other oil spill encountered previously. Although the well blowout occurred at unprecedented depths and released enormous quantities ...

Internal medicine physician specialists release policy paper on reforming Medicaid

2012-04-21

(New Orleans) A dozen recommendations to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to high-quality, coordinated care were provided today by the American College of Physicians (ACP). The new policy paper, Reforming Medicare in the Age of Deficit Reduction, was released at Internal Medicine 2012, ACP's annual scientific meeting. "This position paper considers the potential advantages and disadvantages of proposals to reform Medicare in an attempt to quell rising Medicare/health care costs. Options such as transforming Medicare into a premium support program, increasing ...

Your left side is your best side

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: