Facial asymmetry during emotional expression: Gender, valence, and measurement technique

Katzir

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2006

Although facial expressions of emotion are universal, individual differences create a facial expression ''signature'' for each person; but, is there a unique family facial expression signature? Only a few family studies on the heredity of facial expressions have been performed, none of which compared the gestalt of movements in various emotional states; they compared only a few movements in one or two emotional states. No studies, to our knowledge, have compared movements of congenitally blind subjects with their relatives to our knowledge. Using two types of analyses, we show a correlation between movements of congenitally blind subjects with those of their relatives in think-concentrate, sadness, anger, disgust, joy, and surprise and provide evidence for a unique family facial expression signature. In the analysis ''in-out family test,'' a particular movement was compared each time across subjects. Results show that the frequency of occurrence of a movement of a congenitally blind subject in his family is significantly higher than that outside of his family in think-concentrate, sadness, and anger. In the analysis ''the classification test,'' in which congenitally blind subjects were classified to their families according to the gestalt of movements, results show 80% correct classification over the entire interview and 75% in anger. Analysis of the movements' frequencies in anger revealed a correlation between the movements' frequencies of congenitally blind individuals and those of their relatives. This study anticipates discovering genes that influence facial expressions, understanding their evolutionary significance, and elucidating repair mechanisms for syndromes lacking facial expression, such as autism.facial movements ͉ genetics ͉ congenitally blind ͉ gestalt ͉ individual differences

Section: Individual Differences In Facial Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hereditary family signature of facial expression

Katzir

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2006

“…1,2 For example, facial expressions typically are more obvious on a person's left side due to right hemispheric dominance. 3 Clinically, left-right symmetry of the underlying skeletodental structures generally is a treatment goal, 4,5 and studies suggest that symmetric faces are deemed more attractive. 6,7 Some asymmetries are acquired, for example, because of chewing side preference 8 or trauma, 9,10 but most left-right differences have no specific, identifiable etiology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral Asymmetry in the Tooth Relationships of Orthodontic Patients

Harris

Bodford

2007

The Angle Orthodontist

Objective: To quantify the nature and extent of bilateral dentoalveolar asymmetries in routine adolescent orthodontic patients. Materials and Methods: Eight left-right pairs of occlusal dimensions were measured from dental casts (n ϭ 211 subjects) with proportionate samples of class I, II, and III malocclusions. Results: Directional asymmetry is a subtle, but pervasive feature of the dental arches, with systematically larger dimensions on the left side. Prior studies attribute this sidedness to compensations for hemispheric laterality. Patient's sex did not influence the magnitude of asymmetry, but patients with class II malocclusion exhibited significantly greater asymmetries, particularly in the anterior segment. Inspection suggests that this is attributable to the lack of coupling and guidance of the teeth between the jaws. There is a significant association between the severity of class II buccal-segment relationship and the extent of left-right asymmetries. Conclusion: Clinically, these lateralities need to be anticipated, particularly in class II malocclusions, and incorporated into the treatment plan.

“…The asymmetries in facial function (larger movements on the left than on the right side of the face) [10][11][12], as well as the most recent reports on the strict relationship between full and hemi-face attractiveness [36], are explained by asymmetries in human cerebral hemispheres, with resulting asymmetries in visual perception and interpretation of the surrounding world: The left side of the face receives a larger attention from the viewer [10,12,17,19,36,38]. Considering the importance of expressive features in the assessment of facial attractiveness [21], our asymmetric brain perception may explain the importance of mild facial asymmetries [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asymmetry is also found in the movement of facial mimic muscles: in healthy subjects, facial expressions, and in particular spontaneous smile, are larger on the left-than on the right-side of the face [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-Dimensional Facial Asymmetry in Attractive and Normal People from Childhood to Young Adulthood

et al. 2010

Abstract:We are currently investigating measurable esthetic characteristics in persons considered "attractive" by the media. Three-dimensional soft-tissue facial asymmetry was quantified in 380 attractive (148 males, 232 females) and 669 control (397 males, 272 females) healthy persons aged 4-30 years. The coordinates of 50 facial landmarks were collected by a computerized digitizer, and asymmetry computed. Soft-tissue facial asymmetries reduced as a function of age in all cases. Attractive children were more symmetric than control children, but the reverse was true for young adults. The effect of symmetry on attractiveness seems to change as a function of age.