Perception of Anatomical Nasal Variants Among Lay Observers: Clinical Insights from an Eye-Tracking Study

Facial appearance influences social perception, with laypersons focusing on the central facial triangle; nasal differences may alter gaze patterns, but few studies have quantified this using eye-tracking.

To evaluate how layperson gaze patterns shift in response to different nasal variations as measured by eye-tracking.

In this prospective cohort study, facial images with 30 nasal differences were created using Photoshop to represent a range of phenotypes, such as dorsal hump, crooked nose, and pinched tip, alongside controls. Gaze data were captured via eye-tracking, and linear mixed-effects modeling assessed differences in time spent viewing defined areas of interest, adjusting for participant and image variables.

A total of 119 participants (53.8% female) were enrolled. The median age was 40 years, and 82% identified as Caucasian. Among the 30 nasal alterations, only the saddle nose resulted in significantly increased gaze time compared to controls (mean increase: 0.89 s; p < 0.001). Participant age, sex, and gender of the face in the image did not significantly influence gaze behavior.

In this study, only the saddle nose attracted greater visual attention from lay observers compared with other nasal variants.