Furrowing of the brow

Furrowing of the brow is a facial expression that occurs when the muscles surrounding the eyes and forehead contract, drawing the eyebrows downward. The result is one or two visible lines across the middle of the forehead, with the eyebrows lowering and drawing together.

Furrowing of the brow is commonly associated with emotional states such as anger, doubt, sadness, worry, or intense concentration. It can also result from non-emotional causes, such as bright light striking the eyes or physical pain.

Muscular mechanism

The muscles most involved are those of the forehead: those that draw the eyebrows together and those that lower them. These muscles are controlled by facial nerves. When these muscles contract simultaneously, the skin of the middle forehead gathers and the area between the eyebrows tightens.

Social meaning

In direct communication, furrowing of the brow functions as a non-verbal signal. The person being spoken to can infer that the speaker does not understand, disagrees, or is looking at something intently. For this reason, it often leads to a question or brief clarification.

Comparison with frowning

Furrowing of the brow is often compared with frowning, since both are recognizable facial expressions. Research on emotion sometimes uses both as examples for measuring how people recognize the emotions of others.