நோக்கினாள் நோக்கி - Eye-to-eye contact ! Oculesics !!!

Good Morning – welcome to my Photo story – heard of Oculesics, a subcategory of kinesics and something about the  limbic mirror network  !!!

 

Meeting people, seeing them eye to eye is very important.  Eye contact is a universal language that transcends cultural barriers. It serves as a non-verbal form of communication that can convey emotions, intentions, and even establish dominance or submission. When it comes to attraction, the power of sustained eye contact is undeniable. It creates a sense of intimacy, signaling genuine interest and openness.  Here is a Thirukkural of Thiruvalluvar. 

நோக்கினாள் நோக்கி இறைஞ்சினாள் அஃதவள்

யாப்பினுள் அட்டிய நீர் 

முற்பட நோக்கினாள், நோக்கினபின்பு நாணினாள். அஃது அவள் நட்புப்பயிர் வளர அதன்கண் வார்த்த நீர்.  பார்த்தாள்; நானும் பார்க்க நாணத்தில் தலையைக் கவிழ்ந்து கொண்டாள் அப்பார்வையும் நாணமும் காதல் பயிரை வளர்க்கும் நீராக அமைகிறது.  அஃது என்னும் சுட்டுப் பெயர், அச்செய்கைக்கு ஏதுவாய குறிப்பின்மேல் நின்றது. யாப்பினான் ஆயதனை, 'யாப்பு' என்றார். (ஏகதேச உருவகம்.)  

Some researches have reveaed that eye contact activates the limbic mirror system. The limbic mirror network hypothesizes that there is a common motor mechanism for understanding (some) emotions in others and feeling the same emotion in ourselves. This means that the same neurons that are firing in someone’s brain will also fire in yours when you share eye contact with them. So, if their eyes are communicating joy, neurons on your end will also fire to feel joy !!  

Eye contact occurs when two people or animals look at each other's eyes at the same time. In people, eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication and can have a large influence on social behavior. Coined in the early to mid-1960s, the term came from the West to often define the act as a meaningful and important sign of confidence and respect. The customs, meaning, and significance of eye contact can vary greatly between societies, neurotypes, and religions.  

The study of eye contact is sometimes known as Oculesics.  Oculesics, a subcategory of kinesics, is the study of eye movement, behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication. The term's specific designation slightly varies apropos of the field of study (e.g., medicine or social science). Communication scholars use the term "oculesics" to refer to the investigation of culturally-fluctuating propensities and appreciations of visual attention, gaze and other implicitly effusive elements of the eyes.  

The limbic mirror network hypothesizes that there is a common motor mechanism for understanding (some) emotions in others and feeling the same emotion in ourselves.  In order to better understand the nature of the sensorimotor representations of speech, the literature on the human mirror neuron system (MNS) becomes relevant. Mirror neurons are neurons that fire both when an individual executes an action and when she observes the same action being performed by another individual. Mirror neurons were discovered in the premotor area F5 of monkeys while they were performing or observing a hand grasping action (Rizzolatti et al., 1996). Comparative neuroanatomical studies have demonstrated that area F5 in macaques, where mirror neurons are located, is homologous to the ventral premotor area 6v in humans ! 

Interesting !
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
8.8.2024