0549 Misperception of Neutral Faces in Insomnia

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Emotional faces have been widely used amongst populations with mental health conditions to examine alterations in attention and perception relative to controls. Insomnia is associated with reduced emotion intensity ratings for facial expressions of fear, sadness and happiness. However, research is yet to examine whether neutral faces are accurately perceived amongst individuals with insomnia. This study compared normal-sleepers and individuals experiencing insomnia symptoms in their expression intensity rating of neutral faces. Methods Fifty-six normal-sleepers (NS: 19.69±4.07yrs, 73% female) scoring <5 on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI; 2.70±1.69) and 58 individuals experiencing clinically significant insomnia symptoms (INS:20.32±4.08yrs, 85% female) scoring ≥15 on the ISI (19.24±3.53), observed 12 neutral facial photographs. Between 0-100, participants were required to rate the extent to which each face appeared as: attractive; sad; happy; trustworthy; approachable; healthy; and sociable. 0 indicated not at all, 100 indicated very much so. The facial stimuli were taken from Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces database, and were presented in random order. Results The results revelated a main effect of group (F(1,117)=4.04,p=.047) and expression (F(7, 819)=39.08,p=.001) on intensity ratings. Whilst no significant group x expression interaction was confirmed (F(7,819)=1.03,p=.41), simple effects analysis determined that those experiencing insomnia symptoms rated neutral faces as significantly more attractive (34.30±14.82; t(117)=-2.73, p=.007; Cohens’ d=.50) and happy (34.83±13.87; t(117)=-2.23, p=.028; Cohens’ d=.41) when compared to normal-sleepers (Attractive: 26.89±14.76; Happy: 28.90±12.48). No significant differences were observed for all other ratings. Conclusion The present outcomes tentatively suggest that individuals experiencing clinically significant insomnia symptoms differentially perceive neutral faces when comparted with normal-sleepers. Specifically, neutral faces of other people were rated in a more positively valanced manner (i.e. more attractive and happier). Considering an individual’s capacity to correctly gauge facial expressions remains fundamental for effective social interaction, and in influencing social judgments, these outcomes present negative psychosocial implications for those with insomnia. Support n/a