How individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) process their own face: a quantitative and qualitative investigation based on an eye-tracking paradigm.
BACKGROUND
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterised by repetitive behaviours and/or mental acts occurring in response to preoccupations with perceived flaws in physical appearance. Based on an eye-tracking paradigm, this study aimed to examine how individuals with BDD processed their own face.


METHODS
Participants were 21 BDD patients, 19 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and 21 healthy controls (HC), who were age-, sex-, and IQ-matched. Stimuli were photographs of participants' own faces as well as those from the Pictures of Facial Affect battery. Outcome measures were affect recognition accuracy as well as spatial and temporal scanpath parameters.


RESULTS
The BDD group exhibited significantly decreased recognition accuracy for their own face relative to the HC group, and this was most pronounced for those who had a key concern centred on their face. Individual qualitative scanpath analysis revealed restricted and extensive scanning behaviours in BDD participants with a facial preoccupation. Persons with severe BDD also exhibited more marked scanpath deficits.


CONCLUSIONS
Future research should be directed at extending the current work by incorporating neuroimaging techniques, and investigations of eye-tracking focused on affected body parts in BDD. These could yield fruitful therapeutic applications via incorporation with existing treatment approaches.
a Departments of Psychological Sciences and Psychiatry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Australia.|b Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre, Swinburne University , Hawthorn , VIC , Australia.|c Cognitive Neuropsychiatry , Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre , Melbourne , Australia.
Wei Lin
WL
Toh
a Departments of Psychological Sciences and Psychiatry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Australia.|d Department of Psychiatry , St. Vincent's Mental Health , Fitzroy , Australia.
David J
DJ
Castle
a Departments of Psychological Sciences and Psychiatry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Australia.|b Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre, Swinburne University , Hawthorn , VIC , Australia.|c Cognitive Neuropsychiatry , Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre , Melbourne , Australia.|d Department of Psychiatry , St. Vincent's Mental Health , Fitzroy , Australia.
Susan L
SL
Rossell
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005133:Eye Movements; D000066499:Facial Recognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
Body dysmorphic disorder; eye-tracking; face processing; obsessive–compulsive disorder; visual scanpath