A new Science study shows macaque facial movements are driven by cortical motor circuits in patterns like voluntary actions, not just reflexive emotional leaks. This implies primate facial expressions are produced intentionally to communicate, changing how researchers infer internal states from expressions in animals and humans.
— If facial expressions are intentional signals, that shifts legal, ethical and technological debates (animal welfare, courtroom evidence, affective AI, and robot social design) because expression is not a transparent readout of inner state but a communicative act.
Devin Reese
2026.01.15
72% relevant
Both items empirically push the frontier on nonhuman social cognition and communication: the primate study argues facial expressions are produced intentionally by cortical circuits, and this horse study shows another modality (olfaction) by which animals interpret human affect and respond—together they strengthen a pattern that animal signals and cross‑species perception are richer and more intentional than often assumed.
Devin Reese
2026.01.09
100% relevant
Science paper (University of Pennsylvania, Jerusalem, Nottingham Trent) using fMRI and single‑neuron recordings in macaques showing cortical motor control and sequenced neural activation before expressions.
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