When a young child is learning to write letters or a baby is attempting to imitate their parents, the protruded tongue is frequently our proof of the child’s intense focus. However, it’s not only children; during really challenging jobs, even adults will stick out or press their tongues to the roofs of their mouths. So why does intense thought make us tense up, clamp down, and even stick out our tongues?
When you’re focused, it may appear like you’re putting out your tongue, but it’s actually a result of what you’re doing. Gillian Forrester is a professor of comparative cognition and the acting head of Birkbeck University of London’s School of Science. “What we’ve discovered is that when people are doing anything delicate that involves fine motor activation of their hands, they [put out their tongue],”
The motor overflow hypothesis is one explanation for why this occurs. According to a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, neuroimaging shows that the area of the brain responsible for language (placed in the inferior frontal gyrus) is substantially overlapping with neural networks responsible for dexterity and tool usage (opens in new tab). According to motor overflow theory, the dexterity region’s neurons are so hyperactive that they spill over into nearby brain tissue (which happens to direct the mouth). So when you’re really concentrating on a fine-motor job, the influence “spills over” into the language region, leading you to utilize your lips and tongue.
According to Forrester, this theory probably has a role in what’s happening. Forrester told Live Science that the tongue and hands are the “only fine articulators on our body and are controlled by overlapping portions of our brain” in the left hemisphere. The above-mentioned 2019 study(opens in new tab) discovered that motor competence predicts language creation, particularly when employing sophisticated instruments. The authors draw the conclusion that this indicates that language and tool usage (fine motor abilities) share a cognitive process.
However, the science around the tongue-concentration habit is far from conclusive. According to Forrester, there is probably more to the narrative and it could even include evolution.
Mtoto mdogo anapojaribu kuandika barua au mtoto mdogo anajaribu kuiga wazazi wake, ulimi unaojitokeza mara nyingi ni uthibitisho wa umakini mkubwa wa mtoto. Hata hivyo, si watoto tu; wakati wa kazi zenye changamoto sana, hata watu wazima huinua au kushinikiza ndimi zao kwenye paa la vinywa vyao. Kwa hiyo, kwa nini mawazo makali hutufanya tuwe na wasiwasi, tuseme mambo kwa uthabiti, na hata tutoke kinywani? Unapokuwa umezingatia, inaweza kuonekana kama wewe ni kuweka nje ulimi wako, lakini ni kweli matokeo ya nini wewe ni kufanya. Gillian Forrester ni profesa wa utambuzi wa kulinganisha na mkuu wa kazi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Birkbeck cha Chuo Kikuu cha London cha Shule ya Sayansi. "Kile tumegundua ni kwamba wakati watu wanafanya kitu chochote cha hali ya chini ambacho kinahusisha uanzishaji mzuri wa injini ya mikono yao, wao [huweka ulimi wao]," Nadharia ya kufurika kwa injini ni ufafanuzi mmoja kwa nini hii hutokea. Kulingana na utafiti uliochapishwa katika Frontiers in Psychology, neural imaging inaonyesha kwamba eneo la ubongo linalohusika na lugha (iliyowekwa katika gyrus ya chini ya mbele) ni kubwa sana na mitandao ya neva inayohusika na ustadi na matumizi ya zana. Kulingana na nadharia ya kuzidisha magari, neuroni za eneo la ustadi ni zenye shughuli nyingi sana hivi kwamba zinaenea kwenye tishu ya ubongo iliyo karibu (ambayo hutokea kuelekeza mdomo). Kwa hiyo unapokuwa ukikazia fikira kazi ya utendaji mzuri wa mwili, uvutano huo "huenea" katika eneo la lugha, ukikuongoza kutumia midomo na ulimi wako. Kulingana na Forrester, nadharia hii pengine ina jukumu katika kile kinachofanyika. Forrester aliiambia Live Science kwamba ulimi na mikono ni "waandishi tu wazuri kwenye mwili wetu na wanadhibitiwa na sehemu zinazozidi za ubongo wetu" katika hemisphere ya kushoto. Utafiti wa 2019 uliotajwa hapo juu uligundua kuwa uwezo wa magari unakadiria uundaji wa lugha, haswa wakati wa kutumia vifaa vya hali ya juu. Waandishi wanakubali kwamba hii inaonyesha kwamba lugha na matumizi ya zana (uwezo wa magari mazuri) kushiriki mchakato wa utambuzi. Hata hivyo, sayansi inayohusu zoea la kukaza fikira ulimi haijathibitishwa. Kulingana na Forrester, yaelekea kuna mengi zaidi katika hadithi hiyo na huenda ikatia ndani hata mageuzi.