A microexpression is a tiny facial expression that lasts less than a quarter of a second. They often occur involuntarily, and can reveal emotions people are trying to hide, or may not even be aware of themselves. Photographs from the 1862 book Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine by Guillaume Duchenne. ... In psychology and common use, emotion is an aspect of a human beings mental state, normally based in or tied to the persons internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. ...

Most people do not seem to perceive microexpressions in themselves or others. However, in the Diogenes Project, Paul Ekman found that these tiny movements often can expose lying, and that a very, very small percentage of those he studied had a preternatural knack for detecting them. He now claims that anyone can be trained to see such microexpressions relatively easily. Paul Ekman (born 1934) was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Newark, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, and southern California. ... A lie is a statement made by someone who believes or suspects it to be false, in the expectation that the hearers may believe it. ...

The neurotoxin, Botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, is used in the medical cosmetic treatment of dystonia (involuntary muscle contractions) but it is also helpful in concealing unconscious facial microexpression. It operates as all neurotoxins do by attaching itself to nerve endings. There are many different kinds of nerves, but the botulinum toxin attaches to nerves that control muscles (peripheral motor neurons). The botulinum toxin prevents the nerve from sending its chemical signal to the muscle, so in turn preventing the muscle from contracting. In the brain the difference between a conscious "lie" and a conscious "truth" is a difference in neurological pathways. These different pathways connect to different motor neurons, hence the twitching eye of the liar. Applied with the correct precision, Botulinum toxin can be used to specifically clog the "lying" pathways without hampering the "truthful" pathways. A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells, or neurons, usually by interacting with membrane proteins and ion channels. ... Botulin toxin or botox is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. ... Botulin toxin or botox is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. ... Cosmesis, or medical cosmetic treatment, is the field of medicine concerned with improving the appearance of the patient. ... Dystonia (literally, abnormal muscle tone) is a generic term used to describe a neurological movement disorder involving involuntary, sustained muscle contractions. ... A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers or axons, which includes the glia that ensheath the axons in myelin. ... In vertebrates, motoneurons (also called motor neurons) are efferent neurons that originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibers to facilitate muscle contraction and with muscle spindles to modify proprioceptive sensitivity. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... In vertebrates, motoneurons (also called motor neurons) are efferent neurons that originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibers to facilitate muscle contraction and with muscle spindles to modify proprioceptive sensitivity. ...

Microexpressions are a kind of nonverbal communication. See body language. Often defined as communication without words, nonverbal communication (NVC) refers to all aspects of a message which are not conveyed by the literal meaning of words. ... Body language of US General Michael W. Hagee Body language is a broad term for several forms of communication using body movements or gestures, instead of, or as a complement to, sounds, verbal language, or other forms of communication. ...

External links

• The Naked Face