Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders

Background 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. Method 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. Results 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. Discussion 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.背景 已知社交情绪加工障碍是进食障碍（EDs）发生与维持的重要促成因素。既往研究频繁报道神经性厌食症（AN）患者存在情绪面部表达减弱的现象。目前对于神经性贪食症（BN）患者以及神经性厌食症康复者（RecAN）的面部表情表达能力的了解仍较为有限。本研究旨在试点应用计算机化面部表情分析软件，针对大样本参与者群体，探究进食障碍谱系人群的情绪表达特征及康复后的情绪表达情况。 方法 本研究共招募297名参与者，涵盖神经性厌食症（AN）患者、神经性贪食症（BN）患者、神经性厌食症康复者（RecAN）及健康对照者。所有参与者观看旨在诱发快乐或悲伤情绪的电影片段，随后采用FaceReader软件分析其面部表情。 结果 本研究结果与既往研究发现一致：健康对照者与神经性厌食症康复者（RecAN）在观看阳性情绪片段时，表达的积极情绪显著多于神经性厌食症（AN）组；而在观看悲伤电影片段时，各组的情绪表达无显著差异。 讨论 本研究结果支持采用计算机化方法分析进食障碍患者的情绪表达。同时研究表明，积极情绪表达减弱可能与神经性厌食症的急性发病阶段相关，而神经性贪食症（BN）患者的情绪表达特征处于中间状态。