Why do we stick out our tongue when concentrating on something?
According to scientists, the origin of this behavior may go back to ancient times.
It is common for children to concentrate by sticking their tongue out and squeezing it between their lips while doing their homework. However, it can be seen that adults do the same movement, especially during difficult tasks.
This is “What is the reason for sticking out our tongue when thinking deeply about a subject?” raises the question.
According to Gillian Forrester, Associate Dean at the Birkbeck School of Science at the University of London, tongue-out behavior is actually the product of an independent process:
We have found that we unconsciously stick out our tongue while doing something delicate that requires fine motor activation of our hands.
Hands and tongue too close together
There are two theories about this complex relationship between hands and tongue. The first theory is called motor overflowing. This concept means that the production of voluntary movements is accompanied by involuntary movements.
For example, a study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Psychology noted that the region of the brain devoted to linguistic skills is highly correlated with neural networks specific to manual dexterity and tool use.
This means that in the dexterity-related region, neurons (nerve cells) that are activated for any task can flood into the neighboring neural tissue that guides the mouth.
The theory is that when a person focuses on a task related to motor skills, the resulting effect in their brain “transfers” to the tongue area, causing involuntary movements in the mouth area.
“It has a much deeper history”
On the other hand, there is very little research on the relationship between language and concentration. That’s why Dr. Forrester believes that much more can be discovered. According to the scientist, this behavior may have an evolutionary history.
Dr. In a study published in the scientific journal Cognition, Forrester and his colleagues suggested that people communicated with their hands before they developed linguistic skills, and that the behavior in question has this origin.
Researchers examining how monkeys use body movements to communicate, hypothesize that human hands became busy with other tasks over time and language became the dominant tool for communication.
Dr. “This is probably why we make so many gestures when we talk,” Forrester said.
Is this feature a relic of evolution or is it related to close location in the brain? It is difficult to answer this question.
