T. Shimizu et al., Comparison of eye-movement patterns in schizophrenic and normal adults during examination of facial affect displays, PERC MOT SK, 91(3), 2000, pp. 1045-1056
Patients with schizophrenia are known to have deficits in facial affect rec
ognition. Subjects were 25 schizophrenic patients and 25 normal subjects wh
o were shown pairs of slides of laughing faces and asked to compare the int
ensity of laughter in the two slides. Eye movements were recorded using an
infrared scleral reflection technique. Normal subjects efficiently compared
the same facial features in the two slides, examining the eyes and mouth,
important areas for recognizing laughter, for a longer time than other regi
ons of the face. Schizophrenic patients spent less time examining the eyes
and mouth and often examined other regions of the face or areas other than
the face. Similar results were obtained for the number of fixation points.
That schizophrenic patients may have employed an inefficient strategy with
few effective movements in facial comparison and recognition may help to ex
plain the deficits in facial recognition observed in schizophrenic patients
.