The mechanism of pupil constriction and dilation is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which is also responsible for other uncontrollable reactions like goose bumps and heart rates. Inside the eye, the dilator and the sphincter muscles play the iris tissue like an accordion to the tune of light. Then again, the sun isn't the only thing orchestrating when the pupils open and shut. Humans' inborn fight or flight response, triggered by the parasympathetic nervous system -- a subset of the autonomic nervous system -- also manifests in our irises. When fear strikes, the pupils expand to heightened attention and focus.
Pupils will also pop when we experience emotions on the sunnier end of the spectrum like love or happiness. It has been shown that men even translate that response into viewing larger pupils as more attractive or beautiful.
Italian women in the Middle Ages recognized the beauty endowed by wide-open pupils, they would dilate their own eyes with belladonna. Unfortunately, the plant secreted not only the chemical atropine, which draws back the irises, but also a toxin that would deteriorate these women's eyesight and possibly poison them. Since atropine has long been identified as a toxin, optometrists use a synthetic derivative to dilate patients before examining their eyes.
Pupils will also pop when we experience emotions on the sunnier end of the spectrum like love or happiness. It has been shown that men even translate that response into viewing larger pupils as more attractive or beautiful.
Italian women in the Middle Ages recognized the beauty endowed by wide-open pupils, they would dilate their own eyes with belladonna. Unfortunately, the plant secreted not only the chemical atropine, which draws back the irises, but also a toxin that would deteriorate these women's eyesight and possibly poison them. Since atropine has long been identified as a toxin, optometrists use a synthetic derivative to dilate patients before examining their eyes.
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