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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Single-stage Dynamic Reanimation of the Smile in Irreversible Facial Paralysis by Free Functional Muscle Transfer
Published on: March 1, 2015
Robustness of the aging effect of smiling against vertical facial orientation
Naoto Yoshimura1,2, Fumiya Yonemitsu2,3, Kyoshiro Sasaki4
1Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
Abstract:
Background: Previous studies have shown that the association between smiling and youth is a misconception; smiling faces have been estimated to be older than neutral faces. Previous studies have indicated that this aging effect of smiling (AES) is due to eye wrinkles caused by the facial action of smiling. However, whether holistic processing for facial expressions is involved in AES has not been investigated. The present study aimed to clarify these issues. Methods: Participants were recruited to participate in an online experiment that had a 3 (facial expression: smiling/neutral/surprised) × 2 (facial orientation: upright/inverted) mixed design. Participants were presented with an upright or inverted face for each expression (neutral, smiling, and surprised) and were asked to estimate the individual's age. Results: In total, 104 participants were included in the analysis. The results show that smiling faces were estimated to be older than neutral faces, whereas there was no significant difference between upright and inverted faces. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that AES is not dependent on holistic processing.
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