Visual face perception of adults with unilateral cleft lip and palate in comparison to controls--an eye-tracking study.
OBJECTIVE
To assess how faces with a cleft lip and palate are perceived and to study how faces with and without a unilateral cleft lip and palate are viewed by individuals with a unilateral cleft lip and/or palate in comparison to nonaffected controls.


METHODS
Prospective clinical study.


METHODS
Department of Orthodontics and Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg.


METHODS
Thirty-three participants (20 men and 13 women; mean age, 25.4 ± 6.6 years) with a unilateral cleft lip and/or palate and a control group of 30 participants (15 men and 15 women; mean age, 26.8 ± 3.4 years) were enrolled in this study.


METHODS
Eye movements were analyzed via an eye-tracking camera while all participants looked at pictures of faces with and without a unilateral cleft lip and palate.


RESULTS
The nose and the mouth area of pictures of faces with a unilateral cleft lip and palate were looked at significantly longer by both groups. Additionally, the participants with a unilateral cleft lip and/or palate looked at faces with and without a unilateral cleft lip and palate differently, taking more time to view the nose and less time to view the eyes compared with the participants without a cleft lip and palate.


CONCLUSIONS
When perceiving a face with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, the observer's gaze is distracted to the nose and mouth area. Moreover, participants with a unilateral cleft lip and/or palate themselves focused greater attention on those features that are anomalous on their own faces in comparison to participants without a cleft lip and palate. Specifically, this different scanpath is reflected in the cumulative duration of the eye movements as well as in the initial facial scan pattern.
Philipp
P
Meyer-Marcotty
Antje B M
AB
Gerdes
Angelika
A
Stellzig-Eisenhauer
Georg W
GW
Alpers
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000523:psychology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000523:psychology*; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005146:Facial Asymmetry / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014796:Visual Perception