This proposal addresses the important issue of the impact of bodily reactions on the experience of emotion. The theory developed by the PI, the "Vascular Theory of Emotional Efference," proposes that cognitively unmediated facial feedback can have a considerable impact on felt or experienced emotions. The theory is based on the finding that facial muscle contractions can affect the temperature of the hypothalamic region by affecting venus blood flow. Numerous studies involving both animal and human respondents will be attempted in this research, which promises to provide some important evidence about the nature of human emotional responding. The PI is one of psychology's most outstanding scientists, having contributed widely, to diverse areas in the discipline.
