ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- According to a study by researchers at Flinders University in Australia, smiley face emoticons trigger the same part of the brain as a human face.
In the study, 20 subjects were shown a number of different images, including pictures of human faces, a jumble of computer characters, and a smiley face emoticon with a colon for eyes, a dash for a nose, and a closed parentheses for a mouth. As the subjects were shown the images, researchers used electro-physiology to monitor their brain activity.
When the subjects were shown the emoticon inverted, it did not generate the same response. The researchers also did not show them any other type of emoticon. The regular smiley face emoticon did show something interesting.
The results showed that their brains reacted identically when the subjects saw a human face and when they saw the emoticon. Dr. Owen Churches, head of the study, said that before 1982 there is no reason the symbol would activate those areas of the cortex and added, "This is an entirely culturally-created neural response. It's really quite amazing."
Churches found inspiration for the study when he realized many of his students would sign their emails asking for extensions on their papers with :-).
[GeoBeats]
