THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSES OF BLINKING

Abstract

An analysis of the rate and character of blinking in normal human beings, in persons with encephalitis, in blind persons and in animals under a variety of environmental conditions (emotional stimuli, reading aloud, in conversation) was made and correlations with other ocular reflexes, notably the fixation reflexes, were established. As a result, the following 4 main groups of blinking were established: A) voluntary blinking; B) reflex-blinking for the local protection and efficient action of the eyes ("corneal- or tactile-reflex" and "dazzle-reflex"); C) reflex-blinking which has its evolutionary basis either in "self-preservation" from immediate danger or[long dash]notably in man[long dash]in emotional equivalents of this; or[long dash]as a second subgroup of C, and embodied also in the first subgroup of C, in order to change the direction of vision (in connection with the extra-macular reflex); D) reflex-blinking in this group are "blinks of technique", e.g., in order to make pauses in the act of reading aloud at suitable places (periodmarks).