Scientists at Ohio State University have identified 21 common facial expressions, expanding greatly on the previously established range of 6.

Scientists at Ohio State University have identified 21 common facial expressions, expanding greatly on the previously established range of 6.

They’ve now added new, more complex ones to the mix including ‘sadly angry’, happily disgusted’, and ‘happily surprised’.

It’s believed that additional 15 emotional cues will be highly beneficial to the study and practice of the behavioral sciences.

Overall, it will give professionals much more to work with when assessing how people react to various social cues.

In the field of working with mental disorders, the researchers believe it will provide opportunities for more specific diagnoses and treatments.

By being able to identify more emotions, there is a greater chance that the chemicals and neural pathways to the specific parts of the brain involved with them can be isolated.

Said one of the researchers, "We can make more hypotheses now, and test them. Then eventually we can begin to understand these disorders much better, and develop therapies or medicine to alleviate them."

PTSD and autism are two conditions that can reportedly greatly benefit from such advancements.