RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Limited data are available regarding observers' visual attention to faces with congenital difference. We implemented eye tracking technology to examine this issue, as it pertains particularly to faces with cleft deformity. METHOD: Four hundred three observers assessed 273 clinical images, while their eye movements were unobtrusively tracked using an infrared sensor. Forty-one facial images of the repaired cleft lip, 137 images of other facial conditions, and 95 images of matched controls were assessed. Twenty facial regions of interest ("lookzones") were considered for all images observed. A separate cohort of 720 raters evaluated the images for attractiveness. Observer and image demographic information was collected. Visual fixation counts and durations were computed across all 20 lookzones for all images. The effect of a variety of variables on lookzone fixation was analyzed using factorial ANOVA testing. RESULTS: Cleft-repaired faces were rated as less attractive and drew observers' attention preferentially to the affected upper lip lookzone (p<.001). Images rated as less attractive garnered greater visual attention in the cleft-affected lookzones (p<.001). The eye tracking methodology demonstrated exquisite sensitivity to laterality of cleft deformity (p<.001). Individuals reporting a personal or a family history of facial deformity fixated more on the perioral region of cleft-repaired faces than did naïve observers (p<.001). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the utility of eye tracking measures for understanding critical variables that influence the visual processing of faces with cleft deformity. The data may provide analytical tools for assessing surgical outcome and direct priority setting during surgeons' conversations with patients.
Asunto(s)
Fisura del Paladar/cirugía , Asimetría Facial , Procedimientos de Cirugía Plástica/efectos adversos , Complicaciones Posoperatorias , Adolescente , Niño , Diseño Asistido por Computadora , Medidas del Movimiento Ocular/psicología , Medidas del Movimiento Ocular/estadística & datos numéricos , Asimetría Facial/diagnóstico , Asimetría Facial/etiología , Asimetría Facial/psicología , Reconocimiento Facial , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud , Estimulación Luminosa/métodos , Complicaciones Posoperatorias/diagnóstico , Complicaciones Posoperatorias/psicología , Procedimientos de Cirugía Plástica/métodosRESUMEN
The decision to shoot a gun engages executive control processes that can be biased by cultural stereotypes and perceived threat. The neural locus of the decision to shoot is likely to be found in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), where cognition and affect converge. Male military cadets at Norwich University (N=37) performed a weapon identification task in which they made rapid decisions to shoot when images of guns appeared briefly on a computer screen. Reaction times, error rates, and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity were recorded. Cadets reacted more quickly and accurately when guns were primed by images of Middle-Eastern males wearing traditional clothing. However, cadets also made more false positive errors when tools were primed by these images. Error-related negativity (ERN) was measured for each response. Deeper ERNs were found in the medial-frontal cortex following false positive responses. Cadets who made fewer errors also produced deeper ERNs, indicating stronger executive control. Pupil size was used to measure autonomic arousal related to perceived threat. Images of Middle-Eastern males in traditional clothing produced larger pupil sizes. An image of Osama bin Laden induced the largest pupil size, as would be predicted for the exemplar of Middle East terrorism. Cadets who showed greater increases in pupil size also made more false positive errors. Regression analyses were performed to evaluate predictions based on current models of perceived threat, stereotype activation, and cognitive control. Measures of pupil size (perceived threat) and ERN (cognitive control) explained significant proportions of the variance in false positive errors to Middle-Eastern males in traditional clothing, while measures of reaction time, signal detection response bias, and stimulus discriminability explained most of the remaining variance.