Lost In Translation: Adequate Facial Mimicry Yields Incorrect Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia

LOST IN TRANSLATION: ADEQUATE FACIAL MIMICRY YIELDS INCORRECT EMOTION RECOGNITION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

AUTHORS

Torregrossa Lenie , Bian Dayi , Wade Joshua , Adery Laura Hieber , Ichinose Megan , Nichols Heathman , Bekele Esube , Sarkar Nilanjan , Park Sohee . Schizophr Bull. . 2019 4 9; ().

PMCID: PMC6455371.

ABSTRACT

Emotional functioning deficits are a core symptom of schizophrenia contributing to interpersonal difficulties. Emotion perception and expression mediate social interactions by allowing a shared representation of emotional experiences between individuals. Emotion recognition has been consistently found impaired in individuals with schizophrenia. Spontaneous facial mimicry, a process by which individuals automatically imitate each other’s facial expressions during interactions, has previously been shown to facilitate emotion recognition. However, studies assessing automatic facial mimicry in schizophrenia have yielded mixed results. Moreover, to our knowledge, spontaneous facial mimicry and emotion recognition have not been assessed simultaneously in individuals with schizophrenia. The primary aim of this study was to test whether automatic facial mimicry deficits underlie emotion recognition impairments in schizophrenia.