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12 years ago, my 2nd book, The Science of Kissing (Hachette, 2011) came out. It’s about the neuroscience, biology, evolution, history, real chemistry & potential future of connection.

With #ValentinesDay around the corner, would fellow #science & #culture nerds on #Mastodon be interested in a few facts & stories from the book?

Different covers of The Science of Kissing.
#mastodon #science #valentinesday #culture
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Lien Rag
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Lien Rag
• •
Yep.
How much experimentation did it require ?
in reply to Lien Rag

Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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@lienrag I was fortunate to work with neuroscientist David Poeppel & his group at NYU on an MEG experiment.

We published this paper on the research ⬇️

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/262874…


A kiss is not a kiss: visually evoked neuromagnetic fields reveal differential sensitivities to brief presentations of kissing couples - PubMed

With a few exceptions, the literature on face recognition and its neural basis derives from the presentation of single faces. However, in many ecologically typical situations, we see more than one face, in different communicative contexts.
PubMed
@Lien Rag
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Mary-Frances O'Connor
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Mary-Frances O'Connor
• •

Fascinating MEG study of #Kissing! As a grief researcher, I use images of the participant's one-and-only in fMRI, and we see stronger activity than to a stranger. I wonder #WhatWouldHappen with images of kissing your partner?

maryfrancesoconnor.org/researc…

@Sheril @lienrag

Research — Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD

Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD
#kissing #whatwouldhappen @Lien Rag @Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Nora Chan
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Nora Chan
• •
The name of the Chinese version is odd, which literally means women choose men by kissing (女人用吻選擇男人). The meaning is changed from the original “the science of kissing”. I haven’t seen the contents yet, but if I have to choose which version to read, I will definitely choose the English one.
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Nora Chan
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Nora Chan
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I don’t know why the translator didn’t just translate the name directly, such as “接吻的科學”. In addition, the covers of other translations are more attractive and more in keeping with the style of the original. In fact, this style of cover is not uncommon in China, which often gives the reader the impression that there is a lack of rigor and is just for entertainment and leisure. I believe this is already against your intention of writing this book.
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •
@norachan Not my intention, but I’m appreciative that being part of the Mastodon community led me to learn this from you. Thank you
@Nora Chan
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Mountain Viewer
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Mountain Viewer
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Oh, definitely. Timely and seems like a good way to improve one's mood all around! Adding the book to my list...
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Dave Muth
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Dave Muth
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Yes, please! Facts and stories from the book "The Science of Kissing" is the kind of cutting edge knowledge propagation we should all be paying close attention to.

#PropagationStation #YouMustRememberThis #KissingIsGoodForEverything #AKissIsJustASigh

#akissisjustasigh #kissingisgoodforeverything #youmustrememberthis #propagationstation
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •

A Science of Kissing thread it is! I’ll add to this 🧵 until Valentines Day:

1) Lips are the body’s most exposed erogenous zone. Unlike in other animals, human lips are uniquely everted, meaning they purse outwardly.

Kissing is about more than romance or bacterial exchange. Our 1st experiences with love, security & closeness often involve lip pressure & stimulation through nursing or bottle feeding. This lays down neural pathways in a baby’s brain that associate kissing with positive emotions.

Credit: Humberto Chavez via Unsplash

Sheril Kirshenbaum reshared this.

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Sudhir
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Sudhir
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@Sheril. Yes, Sheril! The most beautiful, pure, and satisfying experience is first conveyed to us by our mom! Even before a child is aware of any other language, word, or emotion. A kiss 💋 is a beautifully soothing and secure emotion known universally.👍🏼😊❤️🤗💋💋💋
@Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •

2) The first literary evidence for kissing dates back thousands of years to India’s Vedic Sanskrit texts in moments such as lovers “setting mouth to mouth” & a man “drinking the moisture of the lips” of a woman.

Even Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary biology, was fascinated by kissing across cultures. He discussed what he observed in his 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man & Animals, concluding that the drive for humans to “kiss” in some form appears to be innate.

A couple at Parque Nacional Cajas, Cuenca, Ecuador Credit: Victoria Roman via Unsplash
This entry was edited (2 years ago)
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •
3) Meet the sensory homunculus. It's like a brain's-eye view of the body where each part is sized according to how much neural real estate goes toward processing sensory information related to touch there. As you can see, the lips & tongue are packed with sensitive nerve endings, helping us interpret our world.
The sensory homunculus - a representation of the a brain's-eye view of the body where each part is sized according to how much space the brain gives to processing sensory information about it. The lips, tongue, hands are especially oversized. Credit Natural History Museum
This entry was edited (2 years ago)
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •

4) Do other animals kiss?

We see many kissing-like behaviors in all sorts of species, but we don't call it “kissing” because scientists don't want to anthropomorphize & don’t know what motivates an animal. That said, these behaviors are always about a socially significant connection.

youtu.be/7ykfQANwS_w


Animal Kisses

Chapter 2 of The Science of Kissing goes into detail describing how "kissing-like behaviors" can serve a variety of purposes from affection to feeding to con...
YouTube
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Winjay
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Winjay
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Once our formerly terrified adopted cat grew comfortable with us, she started booping our noses with hers. It's sweet and clearly analogous to a kiss.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

nadin brzezinski
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nadin brzezinski
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yes, Dexter does, so did my parrots. As research evolves, we know animals have feelings
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼
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🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼
• •
@Sheril, I am often not happy when people say we should not anthropomorphise because it often boils down to 'animals are different and can' 't have the same emotions'. And I think 'why the heck not and what makes us so high and mighty to think that?'. So, go ahead and anthropomorphise if you like ☺️
@Sheril Kirshenbaum
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Jabsonik
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Jabsonik
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I've often been wondering, how cats & dogs take their human companions' kissing. What kind of message are we exacty communicating?

Probably the affection comes through, but what else?

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Lasha
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Lasha
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well of course they do,how is that even a question, probably more then we do,lol ,💐
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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5) During a passionate kiss, our blood vessels dilate & we receive more oxygen to the brain. Our breathing can deepen & become irregular. Our cheeks flush & our pulse quickens.

And our pupils dilate, which may be one reason so many of us close our eyes.
Artist: Wim Delvoye.

X-ray of two people kissing by artist Wim Delvoye.
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •

6)A kiss on the lips can be an exercise of human rights.

From Vox’s “Why We Kiss, Explainer” by Xulin Wang. (Also from my book, see references) vox.com/platform/amp/the-highl…

“Kissing can be a powerful & subversive statement against discrimination toward who should be allowed to love. A kiss on the lips can be an exercise of human rights.” A panel from Vox’s “Why We Kiss, Explainer” by Xulin Wang (Also from my book, see comic references)

Kissing, explained

A comic about the cultural and scientific reasons we love making out.
Xulin Wang (Vox)
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Maestro
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Maestro
• •
Considering how oversexually active the world is today I'm kinda surprised that another area want blown up but definitely sum good facts to kno.I dont think I ever put that much thought into it like that
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achrisvet
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achrisvet
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Is the lower lip that much more sensitive than the upper lip? I’ve never thought about it before and now I’m sitting here poking my lips trying to feel a difference.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Ms. Understood
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Ms. Understood
• •
your posts help set the record straight where seemingly an overwhelming amount of people relate Darwin to natural selection exclusively
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼
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🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼
• •

Has there been research on possible differences in which people enjoy kissing, having been either breast-fed or bottle-fed?

@Sheril

@Sheril Kirshenbaum
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Barry Goldman
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Barry Goldman
• •
once i spent a few hours walking around the woods with my eyes closed. was fascinating. my fingers weren't sensitive enough and i evenutally ended up putting everything to my lips.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Ciggy Bringer of Smoke
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Ciggy Bringer of Smoke
• •
I pass all this along to my cat who doesn't know why I do it, but accepts that I do. That little cat head, so perfect for kisses.
Unknown parent

Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •
@jayarava Interesting, I will have to explore that. The historian I interviewed as part of that chapter on the history of kissing passed away a few years ago. I’ll edit that toot.
Unknown parent

Digori
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Digori
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@ChrisPearce @ixodis
Of course 😂. Indeed it would be quite interesting to have the female version (never seen it)
@Daniel Lemor @ChrisMP 😷💉💉💉
Unknown parent

ChrisMP 😷💉💉💉
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ChrisMP 😷💉💉💉
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@Digori @ixodis
And it’s male (of course…)
@Daniel Lemor @Digori
Unknown parent

Digori
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Digori
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@ixodis
This representation concerns the cortex specifically dedicated to touch. It does not include other senses such as vision, taste or smell… 😉
@Daniel Lemor
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •

@Digori @ixodis @ChrisPearce I guess that toot is more ambiguous than intended. Will edit to be clearer.

I’ve seen a female version by an artist. Will see if I can find it.

@Daniel Lemor @Digori @ChrisMP 😷💉💉💉
Unknown parent

Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
• •
@deightonrobbie We interpret the world through our mouths in so many more ways than most of us are aware of. Just think about the way infants put nearly everything they encounter into their mouths.
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