<P> The amygdala plays an important role in facial recognition . Functional imaging studies have found that when shown pictures of faces, there is a large increase in the activity of the amygdala . The amygdala receives visual information from the thalamus via the subcortical pathways . The amygdala may also have a significant role in the recognition of fear and negative emotions . It is believed that the emotion disgust is recognized through activation of the insula and basal ganglia . The recognition of emotion may also utilize the occipitotemporal neocortex, orbitofrontal cortex and right frontoparietal cortices . </P> <P> More than anything though, what shapes a child's cognitive ability to detect facial expression is being exposed to it from the time of birth . The more an infant is exposed to different faces and expressions, the more able they are to recognize these emotions and then mimic them for themselves . Infants are exposed to an array of emotional expressions from birth, and evidence indicates that they imitate some facial expressions and gestures (e.g., tongue protrusion) as early as the first few days of life . In addition, gender affects the tendency to express, perceive, remember, and forget specific emotions . For instance, angry male faces and happy female faces are more recognizable, compared to happy male faces and angry female faces . </P> <P> A person's face, especially their eyes, creates the most obvious and immediate cues that lead to the formation of impressions . This article discusses eyes and facial expressions and the effect they have on interpersonal communication . </P> <P> A person's eyes reveal much about how they are feeling, or what they are thinking . Blink rate can reveal how nervous or at ease a person may be . Research by Boston College professor Joe Tecce suggests that stress levels are revealed by blink rates . He supports his data with statistics on the relation between the blink rates of presidential candidates and their success in their races . Tecce claims that the faster blinker in the presidential debates has lost every election since 1980 . Though Tecce's data is interesting, it is important to recognize that non-verbal communication is multi-channeled, and focusing on only one aspect is reckless . Nervousness can also be measured by examining each candidates' perspiration, eye contact and stiffness . </P>

The claim that reason controls the will is most characteristic of