Modifying emotion recognition deficits in body dysmorphic disorder: an experimental investigation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) involves excessive appearance concerns, often focused on facial features.
• BDD is associated with impaired emotion recognition, particularly misinterpreting neutral expressions negatively.
• The potential for emotion recognition training to ameliorate these deficits in BDD is largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether emotion recognition deficits in individuals with BDD can be improved through targeted training.
• To compare the effects of emotion recognition training on BDD participants, those with dermatological conditions, and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A single-session emotion recognition training program was administered.
• Emotion recognition was assessed before and after training in three groups: BDD (n=34), dermatology (n=34), and healthy controls (n=34).

Main Results:

• BDD participants demonstrated significant deficits in recognizing neutral expressions compared to controls.
• BDD participants showed greater improvement in recognizing neutral and scared expressions after training than without training.
• No significant differences in emotion recognition were found between dermatology and control groups.

Conclusions:

• Initial findings suggest that emotion recognition deficits for neutral and scared expressions in BDD may be normalized post-training.
• Further research is needed to determine the long-term efficacy of such training and its impact on BDD symptom reduction.
• Investigating the link between improved emotion recognition and decreased social avoidance in BDD is a key future direction.