Now, a computer that tracks 21 distinct facial expressions

Researchers have found a way for a computer to maps 21 distinct facial expressions.

The researchers at The Ohio State University have revealed that they were able to more than triple the number of documented facial expressions that can now be used for cognitive analysis.

Aleix Martinez, a cognitive scientist and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State said that they have gone beyond facial expressions for simple emotions like 'happy' or 'sad' and they have found that these 21 emotions are expressed in the same way by nearly everyone.

According to the scientists, the computational model will help map emotion in the brain with greater precision than ever before, and perhaps even aid the diagnosis and treatment of mental conditions such as autism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The computer model also gives researchers a tool to understand seemingly contradictory emotions such as "happily disgusted" among many others.

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.