Reasons we smile

why do we smile?
The primary one bred in us (i.e. we're born with this one ...)

"..... as one headline said: "Baby's smile lights up mom's brain." Well, of course.

Researchers used MRI scans to confirm that certain parts of a mother's brain are activated by her baby's smile. Also not surprisingly, the study concluded that a crying baby did not produce the same response.

That natural stimulus is just one of the bountiful rewards a mother gets for enduring near-death pain and, er, fear. The study targeted first-time mothers, but I'm sure this second time around will prove the same effect.

... Published in the July (2008?) issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the study confirms an intuitive, common-sense certainty: "When first-time mothers see their own infant's face, an extensive brain network seems to be activated ... " "

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/07/11/a10a_cramercol_0711.html

Let's put it this way -
I challenge anyone to watch this video and not to smile.
next question - why are we born with this skill?
final question - as we grow up, why are smiles so contagious, so much of a circuitbreaker, allegedly so good for our health, for fighting sagging facial muscles, etc etc...?

The Laughing Quadruplets

Not just people 20 ...

spooly
yep - or even this one , where a smile from men encourages a lion to rub its jowls against theirs

I always thought that puppies etc brushed against their mother's jowls when they wanted food :eek3:

Christian the Lion - the full story (in HQ)