a laboratory study. Lying may affect the rate of blinking. Central nervous system's control Though one may think that the stimulus triggering blinking is dry or irritated eyes, it is most likely that it is controlled by a "blinking center" of the globus pallidus of the lenticular nucleus—a body of nerve cells between the base and outer surface of the brain. Nevertheless, external stimuli can contribute. The orbicularis oculi is a facial muscle; therefore its actions are translated by the facial nerve root. The levator palpebrae superioris' action is sent through the oculomotor nerve. The duration of a blink is on average 100–150 milliseconds according to UCL researcher and between 100 and 400 ms according to the Harvard Database of Useful Biological Numbers. Closures in excess of 1000 ms were defined as microsleeps. Greater activation of dopaminergic pathways dopamine production in the striatum is associated with a higher rate of spontaneous eye blinking. Conditions in which there is reduced dopamine availability such as Parkinson's disease have reduced eye blink rate, while conditions in which it is raised such as schizophrenia have an increased rate. Blink rate is associated with dopamine-related executive function and creativity. Types of blinking There are three types of blinking. Spontaneous blink Spontaneous blinking is done without external stimuli and internal effort. This type of blinking is conducted in the pre-motor brain stem and happens without conscious effort, like breathing and digestion. Reflex blink A reflex blink occurs in response to an external stimulus, such as contact with the cornea or objects that appear rapidly in front of the eye. A reflex blink is not necessarily a conscious blink either; however it does happen faster than a spontaneous blink. Reflex blink may occur in response to tactile stimuli (e.g., corneal, eyelash, skin of eyelid, contact with eyebrow), optical stimuli (e.g. dazzle reflex, or menace reflex) or auditory stimuli (e.g., menace reflex). Voluntary blink A voluntary blink is a conscious blink, with the use of all 3 divisions of the orbicularis oculi muscle. Blinking in everyday life Children Infants do not blink at the same rate of adults; in fact, infants only blink at an average rate of one or two times in a minute. The reason for this difference is unknown, but it is suggested that infants do not require the same amount of eye lubrication that adults do because their eyelid opening is smaller in relation