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Having Difficulties Reading the Facial Expression of Older Individuals? Blame It on the Facial Muscles, Not the Wrinkles.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have found it is more difficult identifying an emotional expression displayed by an older than a younger face. It is unknown whether this is caused by age-related changes such as wrinkles and folds interfering with perception, or by the aging of facial muscles, potentially reducing the ability of older individuals to display an interpretable expression. To discriminate between these two possibilities, participants attempted to identify facial expressions under different conditions. To control for the variables (wrinkles/folds vs facial muscles), we used Generative Adversarial Networks to make faces look older or younger. Based upon behavior data collected from 28 individuals, our model predicts that the odds of correctly identifying the expressed emotion of a face reduced 16.2% when younger faces (condition 1) are artificially aged (condition 3). Replacing the younger faces with natural old-looking faces (Condition 2), however, results in an even stronger effect (odds of correct identification decreased by 50.9%). Counterintuitively, making old faces (Condition 2) look young (Condition 4) results in the largest negative effect (odds of correct identification decreased by 74.8% compared with natural young faces). Taken together, these results suggest that both age-related decline in the facial muscles' ability to express facial emotions and age-related physical changes in the face, explain why it is difficult to recognize facial expressions from older faces; the effect of the former, however, is much stronger than that of the latter. Facial muscle exercises, therefore, might improve the capacity to convey facial emotional expressions in the elderly.

SUBMITTER: Grondhuis SN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8211723 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundAlmonds have long been studied as a rich source of fatty acids, phytochemical polyphenols and antioxidants such as vitamin E. A recent study compared almond supplementations to a calorie-matched intervention for 16 weeks, yielding statistically significant improvement in wrinkle severity in postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II that received almonds. This study furthers that assessment with a larger population and duration of 24 weeks to assess the influence of almond consumption on wrinkle severity, skin pigmentation and other skin biophysical profiles.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of almond consumption on photoaging such as wrinkles and pigment intensity as well as facial biophysical parameters such as sebum production, skin hydration and water loss.Design and interventionsA prospective, randomized controlled study assessed postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I or II who consumed 20% of their daily energy consumption in either almonds or a calorie-matched snack for 24 weeks. A facial photograph and image analysis system was used to obtain standardized high-resolution photographs and information on wrinkle width and severity at 0, 8, 16 and 24 weeks. Measurements of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin pigmentation, skin hydration and sebum production were also completed at each visit.ResultsThe average wrinkle severity was significantly decreased in the almond intervention group at week 16 and week 24 compared to baseline by 15% and 16%, respectively. Facial pigment intensity was decreased 20% in the almond group at week 16 and this was maintained by week 24. There were no significant differences in skin hydration or TEWL in the almond group compared to the control, although sebum excretion was increased in the control group.ConclusionThe daily consumption of almonds may improve several aspects of photoaging such as facial wrinkles and pigment intensity in postmenopausal women. In conclusion, the daily consumption of almonds may contribute to the improvement of facial wrinkles and reduction of skin pigmentation among postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II.

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Having Difficulties Reading the Facial Expression of Older Individuals? Blame It on the Facial Muscles, Not the Wrinkles.

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