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TRADITIONAL MODEL. “Under this ‘phylogenetic’ model, complexity of mimetic muscle morphology increased in a simple linear, step-wise fashion up the phylogenetic scale until humans, where the ultimate in complexity was achieved. This view has traditionally also been applied to facial display repertoire, with the most simple, undifferentiated displays being rooted in the prosimians, ever increasing in a step-wise, linear fashion up to humans, where the most complex, subtle, and graded displays are found.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

ROOTS OF MODERN THINKING. “Much of our previous understanding of mimetic musculature and its evolution in primates was rooted solely in phylogeny. Huber (1931) held that facial expression musculature was the simplest and least complex in prosimians (complexity here referring to number of individual muscles, relative sizes, interconnections, and attachment sites).” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

FACIAL MECHANICS. “Internal facial morphology consists of the mimetic musculature and its motor supply, branches of the facial nerve. Mimetic musculature is responsible for generating facial displays or facial expressions. These displays assist in regulating and maintaining social bonds and the social group by cueing conspecifics to the emotional and behavioral intentions of the sender.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

TRIBAL MAKEUP. “Skin coloration and patterning make up the ‘external morphology’ of the face. External morphology provides cues on identity, both at the species and individual levels, and is important in assigning identity for recognition of kin, individuals, and mate recognition.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

The first atom of the universe. View in LinkedIn

FAST VS SLOW. “Burrows et al. (2014) demonstrated that humans have a greater percentage of fast-twitch fibers than slow-twitch fibers, and the relationship holds true for both the closely related chimpanzees and the distantly related rhesus macaques. However, humans have a significantly higher percentage of slow-twitch myosin fibers than either chimpanzees or rhesus macaques.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

THE ARTICULATE LIP. “Some mimetic musculature in humans is also used during speech. Human lips act in part as ‘articulators’ during speech, refining the sounds that come from the larynx into specific, meaningful speech units.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

THE INDEFATIGABLE TONGUE. “A recent study by Sanders et al. (2013) showed that human tongue musculature has a greater percentage of slow-twitch fibers than tongue musculature from chimpanzees. Authors of that study correlated this evolutionary innovation in muscle physiology of the human tongue with the ability of the human tongue to slow down and produce more specific and longer contractions during speech, relative to how the tongue behaves in chimpanzees during vocalizations.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

DEEP CLUES. “These differences in the ratio of slow-twitch to fast-twitch myosin fibers can inform our understanding of muscle function and preceding evolutionary pressures.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn

FATIGUE FACTOR. “It is well established that human mimetic musculature is dominated by fast-twitch myosin fibers. Our facial muscles are able to contract quickly and spontaneously (think of how quickly and automatically we smile at the sight of a familiar friend or a funny joke) but it is difficult to hold that contraction longer than a few seconds before fatigue sets in.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12440/full View in LinkedIn