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Compiled by: Gong Zixin

"The most unique and human expression"

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To answer this question, Milica Nikolic and Disa Sauter of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, in collaboration with Simone di Plinio of the University of Chieti, have used an MRI scanner to explore the neural basis of blushing. "Blushing is a very interesting phenomenon because we still don't know which cognitive skills are required for it to occur," explains developmental psychologist Nikolic.

To reveal the neural activity associated with blushing, the researchers studied blushing by observing activated brain regions in an MRI scanner while measuring cheek temperature (an indicator of blushing). The participants were female adolescents aged 16-20, a group that is particularly sensitive to social judgment. "It is well known that blushing increases during this life stage because adolescents are very sensitive to the opinions of others and are afraid of being rejected or leaving a wrong impression," said Nikolic. In order to evoke the blushing response in a controlled experimental environment, the participants came to the lab for two separate experiments. In the first stage, the participants were asked to sing some carefully selected difficult karaoke songs, and in the second stage, they watched videos of themselves singing. To make matters worse, the participants were also told that there would be an audience watching the videos with them. Finally, the researchers showed the participants videos of another participant with a similar singing level and a professional singer who was disguised as a third participant. At the same time, the participants' brain activity and physiological responses were measured.

The effect of the experimental conditions on brain activity and brain activity associated with changes in cheek temperature was surprising in that areas traditionally thought to be involved in understanding one's own or others' mental states were not activated. "Based on this, we conclude that

The researchers said the next step will be to study blushing under different conditions and explore this phenomenon even in young children before they develop the cognitive skills to think about other people's thoughts. The results of this study provide new avenues for future research on self-awareness in infants and non-human animals. Data map and reference source: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.0958