A hierarchy of visual processing deficits in body dysmorphic disorder: a conceptual review and empirical investigation
Loading...
Citations
Scopus:
Altmetric:
Altmetric::
Download
Associated Records
Authors
File Licence
Editors
Date
2024-01-01
Source Title
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Melbourne Authors
Affiliation
Psychiatry
Document Type
Journal Article
Subject Code
Citation
Pikoos, T. D., Malcolm, A., Castle, D. J. & Rossell, S. L. (2024). A hierarchy of visual processing deficits in body dysmorphic disorder: a conceptual review and empirical investigation. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 29 (2), pp.116-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546805.2024.2326243.
Access Status
Open Access
Access URL
Open Access URL
published version
Open Access at PMC
Linked Resource URL
NHMRC Grant Code
ARC Grant Code
Description
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Abnormal visual processing has been proposed as a mechanism underlying excessive focus on minor appearance flaws in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Existing BDD research has not differentiated the various stages of face processing (featural, first-order configural, holistic and second-order configural) that are required for higher-order processes such as emotion recognition. This study investigated a hierarchical visual processing model to examine the nature of abnormalities in face processing in BDD. METHOD: Thirty BDD participants and 27 healthy controls completed the Navon task, a featural and configural face processing task and a facial emotion labelling task. RESULTS: BDD participants performed similarly to controls when processing global and local non-face stimuli on the Navon task, when detecting subtle changes in the features and spacing of a target face, and when labelling emotional faces. However, BDD participants displayed poorer performance when viewing inverted faces, indicating difficulties in configural processing. CONCLUSIONS: The findings only partially support prior work. However, synthesis of results with previous findings indicates that heterogenous task methodologies may contribute to inconsistent findings. Recommendations are provided regarding the task parameters that appear most sensitive to abnormalities in BDD.