There is more to a baby's face than meets the eye.
Psychologists at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, documented greater
emotional intensity on the right side of infants' faces while the youngsters
smiled or frowned. Curiously, previous studies found emotional expressions are
more intense on the left side of the face among right-handed adults.
Researchers think the adult pattern is influenced by the
right side, or hemisphere, of the brain, which controls most muscles on the
left side of the face and is critical in producing emotional displays. The left
hemisphere controls much of the right side of the face, and is thought to inhibit
emotional expressions, thus contributing to more intense expressions on the
left side.
The examination of babies' faces suggests the right
hemisphere matures more quickly during infancy, according to study director
Catherine T. Best. At first, it apparently dampens the expression of
spontaneous emotions, then gives up that function as the left hemisphere matures
during childhood. Further study of facial expressions may clarify the ways in
which infant and adult brains handle emotions, Best said.(Funk & Wagnalls
new Encyclopedia of Science Yearbook)