Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.

Problems with social-emotional processing are known to be an important contributor to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Diminished facial communication of emotion has been frequently reported in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). Less is known about facial expressivity...

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Main Authors: Jenni Leppanen, Marcela Marin Dapelo, Helen Davies, Katie Lang, Janet Treasure, Kate Tchanturia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5456367?pdf=render
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author Jenni Leppanen
Marcela Marin Dapelo
Helen Davies
Katie Lang
Janet Treasure
Kate Tchanturia
author_facet Jenni Leppanen
Marcela Marin Dapelo
Helen Davies
Katie Lang
Janet Treasure
Kate Tchanturia
author_sort Jenni Leppanen
collection DOAJ
description Problems with social-emotional processing are known to be an important contributor to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Diminished facial communication of emotion has been frequently reported in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). Less is known about facial expressivity in bulimia nervosa (BN) and in people who have recovered from AN (RecAN). This study aimed to pilot the use of computerised facial expression analysis software to investigate emotion expression across the ED spectrum and recovery in a large sample of participants.297 participants with AN, BN, RecAN, and healthy controls were recruited. Participants watched film clips designed to elicit happy or sad emotions, and facial expressions were then analysed using FaceReader.The finding mirrored those from previous work showing that healthy control and RecAN participants expressed significantly more positive emotions during the positive clip compared to the AN group. There were no differences in emotion expression during the sad film clip.These findings support the use of computerised methods to analyse emotion expression in EDs. The findings also demonstrate that reduced positive emotion expression is likely to be associated with the acute stage of AN illness, with individuals with BN showing an intermediate profile.
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spelling doaj.art-b15749bd53054b57a4d8926e3e4192482022-12-22T02:43:01ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01126e017897210.1371/journal.pone.0178972Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.Jenni LeppanenMarcela Marin DapeloHelen DaviesKatie LangJanet TreasureKate TchanturiaProblems with social-emotional processing are known to be an important contributor to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Diminished facial communication of emotion has been frequently reported in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). Less is known about facial expressivity in bulimia nervosa (BN) and in people who have recovered from AN (RecAN). This study aimed to pilot the use of computerised facial expression analysis software to investigate emotion expression across the ED spectrum and recovery in a large sample of participants.297 participants with AN, BN, RecAN, and healthy controls were recruited. Participants watched film clips designed to elicit happy or sad emotions, and facial expressions were then analysed using FaceReader.The finding mirrored those from previous work showing that healthy control and RecAN participants expressed significantly more positive emotions during the positive clip compared to the AN group. There were no differences in emotion expression during the sad film clip.These findings support the use of computerised methods to analyse emotion expression in EDs. The findings also demonstrate that reduced positive emotion expression is likely to be associated with the acute stage of AN illness, with individuals with BN showing an intermediate profile.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5456367?pdf=render
spellingShingle Jenni Leppanen
Marcela Marin Dapelo
Helen Davies
Katie Lang
Janet Treasure
Kate Tchanturia
Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
PLoS ONE
title Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
title_full Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
title_fullStr Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
title_full_unstemmed Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
title_short Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.
title_sort computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5456367?pdf=render
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