TY - JOUR
T1 - Faces of emotion in Parkinsons disease
T2 - Micro-expressivity and bradykinesia during voluntary facial expressions
AU - Bowers, Dawn
AU - Miller, Kimberly
AU - Bosch, Wendelyn
AU - Gokcay, Didem
AU - Pedraza, Otto
AU - Springer, Utaka
AU - Okun, Michael
PY - 2006/11
Y1 - 2006/11
N2 - In humans, the neural circuitry underlying facial expressions differs, depending on whether facial expressions are spontaneously (i.e., limbic, subcortical) or voluntarily initiated (i.e., frontal cortex). Previous investigators have suggested that the "masked face" of Parkinson's disease involves spontaneous, but not intentional, facial expressions. In contrast, we hypothesized that intentional facial expressions may be slowed (bradykinetic) and involve less movement, in much the same way that other intentional movements are affected by Parkinson's disease. To test this hypothesis, we used sophisticated computer imaging techniques to quantify dynamic facial movement. Relative to controls, Parkinson patients had reduced facial movement (entropy) and were significantly slowed in reaching a peak expression (i.e., bradykinesia). These findings are consistent with the view that the basal ganglia play a role in affecting intentional facial movements. This possibly occurs because of diminished efficiency and/or activation of face representation areas in the frontal cortical regions (i.e., motor, premotor, and supplementary motor area) or because of movement-based suppression secondary to dopaminergic reduction in frontostriatal pathways. Taken together, the characterization of Parkinson's disease as a model system for the neuroanatomic dissociation between voluntary and spontaneous expressions may be unjustified.
AB - In humans, the neural circuitry underlying facial expressions differs, depending on whether facial expressions are spontaneously (i.e., limbic, subcortical) or voluntarily initiated (i.e., frontal cortex). Previous investigators have suggested that the "masked face" of Parkinson's disease involves spontaneous, but not intentional, facial expressions. In contrast, we hypothesized that intentional facial expressions may be slowed (bradykinetic) and involve less movement, in much the same way that other intentional movements are affected by Parkinson's disease. To test this hypothesis, we used sophisticated computer imaging techniques to quantify dynamic facial movement. Relative to controls, Parkinson patients had reduced facial movement (entropy) and were significantly slowed in reaching a peak expression (i.e., bradykinesia). These findings are consistent with the view that the basal ganglia play a role in affecting intentional facial movements. This possibly occurs because of diminished efficiency and/or activation of face representation areas in the frontal cortical regions (i.e., motor, premotor, and supplementary motor area) or because of movement-based suppression secondary to dopaminergic reduction in frontostriatal pathways. Taken together, the characterization of Parkinson's disease as a model system for the neuroanatomic dissociation between voluntary and spontaneous expressions may be unjustified.
KW - Affect
KW - Basal ganglia
KW - Digitizing
KW - Entropy
KW - Movement
KW - Spontaneous
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33845308533&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33845308533&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S135561770606111X
DO - 10.1017/S135561770606111X
M3 - Article
C2 - 17064440
AN - SCOPUS:33845308533
SN - 1355-6177
VL - 12
SP - 765
EP - 773
JO - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
JF - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
IS - 6
ER -