The old adage that 'the eyes are the windows to the soul' may be correct. A neurology resident reported that when listening to or looking at others, most people do not focus on the eyes, brows and forehead-the area that displays true emotions. Instead, most people focus on the lower part of the face-the lips, nose and cheeks-when dealing with others. However, if the person's true feelings are "leaked'' to the observer, they are more likely to appear on the upper face and could easily be missed.

Previous studies have also shown that the lower portion of the face is more active than the upper face when individuals engage in deceitful social interactions. Humans learn in early childhood to manipulate facial emotions to make them appropriate to a given social situation, which, in time, allows them to engage in deceitful behavior.

People may naturally focus on the lower face to aid in speech comprehension during conversation, especially in noisy environments. Social conventions may also play a role as many cultures consider it unacceptable to look someone directly in the eye, because this may be interpreted as aggressive or threatening behavior.

American Academy of Neurology's 52nd annual meeting in San Diego, California May 3, 2000

COMMENT We certainly can train ourselves to pay more attention to upper facial displays, which can help us read a person's true emotional state. However, this needs to be balanced as it can have significant downside potential because of social conventions.