Nonverbal Neurology: How the Brain Encodes and Decodes Wordless Signs, Signals, and Cues

  • David B. Givens
Chapter

Abstract

The brain, spinal chord, and peripheral nerves are seldom mentioned in research on human nonverbal communication. Though they play key roles in body-motion expressivity, the neurons, neural pathways, and brain modules that control movements are often discounted, or entirely left out of the picture. In this chapter, the nervous system plays a leading role in explaining how our facial expressions, hand gestures, and bodily postures are produced and deciphered. We begin with an overview of the nonverbal brain’s evolution, from ca. 500 million years ago to the present day.

Keywords

Facial Expression Mirror Neuron Hand Gesture Biological Motion Mirror Neuron System 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© David B. Givens 2015

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  • David B. Givens

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