How individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) process their own face: a quantitative and qualitative investigation based on an eye-tracking paradigm

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterised by repetitive behaviours and/or mental acts occurring in response to preoccupations with perceived flaws in physical appearance. Based on an eye-tracking paradigm, this study aimed to examine how individuals with BDD processed their own face. METHODS: Participants were 21 BDD patients, 19 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and 21 healthy controls (HC), who were age-, sex-, and IQ-matched. Stimuli were photographs of participants' own faces as well as those from the Pictures of Facial Affect battery. Outcome measures were affect recognition accuracy as well as spatial and temporal scanpath parameters. RESULTS: The BDD group exh..