A three-dimensional study of facial mimicry in healthy young adults

Summary To assess sex-related characteristics in facial movements, and to define a set of reference normal values, 20 healthy young adults (10 men, 10 women) performed six standardized facial movements (maximum smile; free smile; “surprise” with closed mouth; “surprise” with open mouth; right- and l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cranio-maxillo-facial surgery 2010-09, Vol.38 (6), p.409-415
Main Authors: Sforza, Chiarella, MD, PhD, Galante, Domenico, PED, PhD, Shirai, Yuri F., PED, PhD, Ferrario, Virgilio F., MD, PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
asymmetry
Cephalometry - methods
Dentistry
face
Face - anatomy & histology
Facial Asymmetry - diagnosis
Facial Expression
Female
human
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Male
mimics
motion analysis
Reference Values
Reproducibility of Results
Sex Characteristics
Surgery
Young Adult
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Summary:Summary To assess sex-related characteristics in facial movements, and to define a set of reference normal values, 20 healthy young adults (10 men, 10 women) performed six standardized facial movements (maximum smile; free smile; “surprise” with closed mouth; “surprise” with open mouth; right- and left-side eye closures). The three-dimensional coordinates of 21 soft-tissue facial landmarks were recorded by an optoelectronic motion analyzer, their movements computed, and standardized for facial dimensions. Asymmetry indices were calculated. The mouth area had the largest movements. Sex-related differences were found only for the superciliare landmark (men had larger movements than women, p < 0.001). Asymmetries in the eyes, mouth and nose were similar in both sexes ( p > 0.01), with a significant effect of movement ( p < 0.001): eye and mouth asymmetry was larger during the asymmetric eye closures than during the symmetric movements. The right-side asymmetric movements were somewhat larger than the left-side ones. The total facial movement did not differ between sexes; the “surprise with mouth open” movement had the largest landmark displacements ( p < 0.001). In conclusion, normal young adult men and women had similar standardized facial movements, except in the forehead. Some individual asymmetry was found in symmetric facial animations; some synkinesis was found even in normal adults.
ISSN:1010-5182
1878-4119
DOI:10.1016/j.jcms.2009.10.018