Background: Humans spontaneously mimic the facial expressions of others, facilitating social interaction. This mimicking behavior may be impaired in individuals with Parkinson's disease, for whom the loss of facial movements is a clinical feature.Objective: To assess the presence of facial mimicry in patients with Parkinson's disease.Method: Twenty-seven non-depressed patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 28 age-matched controls had their facial muscles recorded with electromyography while they observed presentations of calm, happy, sad, angry, and fearful emotions.Results: Patients exhibited reduced amplitude and delayed onset in the zygomaticus major muscle region (smiling response) following happy presentations (patients M = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.15 to 0.18, controls M = 0.26, CI 0.14 to 0.37, ANOVA, effect size [ES] = 0.18, p < 0.001). Although patients exhibited activation of the corrugator supercilii and medial frontalis (frowning response) following sad and fearful presentations, the frontalis response to sad presentations was attenuated relative to controls (patients M = 0.05, CI −0.08 to 0.18, controls M = 0.21, CI 0.09 to 0.34, ANOVA, ES = 0.07, p = 0.017). The amplitude of patients' zygomaticus activity in response to positive emotions was found to be negatively correlated with response times for ratings of emotional identification, suggesting a motor-behavioral link (r = –0.45, p = 0.02, two-tailed).Conclusions: Patients showed decreased mimicry overall, mimicking other peoples' frowns to some extent, but presenting with profoundly weakened and delayed smiles. These findings open a new avenue of inquiry into the “masked face” syndrome of PD.

An important part of clinical supervision is the manner in which supervisors obtain information about what happens in trainees' treatment sessions. Research has shown that direct observation of sessions is more effective than relying on subjective report alone, and that live observation with concurrent feedback is most effective. However, feedback can also be disruptive. Bug-in-the-eye (BITE) technology was developed to enable supervisors to provide live feedback to trainees in a minimally disruptive manner by observing treatment sessions via live video feed or one-way mirror and discreetly transmitting brief messages via a computer monitor that is visible only to the trainee. In addition to being less disruptive, this format may have positive effects on trainees, clients, and the treatment process. The purpose of this article is to review all relevant studies that have investigated BITE in the context of supervision of psychotherapy. Seven studies were identified, all of which showed BITE to be acceptable, useful, undisruptive, and undamaging to the therapeutic alliance. Some of the studies found that BITE was associated with a stronger alliance, greater trainee adherence, and greater clinical competence than other formats of supervision. These findings suggest that BITE may be a valuable tool in clinical supervision, but more rigorous research is needed to understand its precise effects and how it may best be used. Public Significance StatementThis article reviews a method in which trainee psychotherapists are observed and given feedback by supervisors during psychotherapy. Results show that this method may improve the competence of trainees, as well as the working relationship between trainees and clients. Results also highlight the need for further research into the most optimal forms of supervision of psychotherapists to ensure the highest quality training.

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A large part of successful interpersonal communication relies on both the production and interpretation of vocal and facial expressions. Both of these abilities appear to be impaired in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disease affecting the muscles of the body. Based on positive effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation on overall motor functioning and the effects of intentional simulation of expression on facial mimicry, the present study investigated the impact of a choir program involving singing of happy and sad songs on a group of 12 PD patients. Participants were tested before and after program completion on measures of: (1) facial mimicry of a range of emotional expressions; (2) emotion perception, and; (3) vocal quality. It was found that choir participation improved some measures of vocal quality, while effects on facial mimicry and emotion perception were marginal.

A large part of successful interpersonal communication relies on both the production and interpretation of vocal and facial expressions. Both of these abilities appear to be impaired in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disease affecting the muscles of the body. Based on positive effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation on overall motor functioning and the effects of intentional simulation of expression on facial mimicry, the present study investigated the impact of a choir program involving singing of happy and sad songs on a group of 12 PD patients. Participants were tested before and after program completion on measures of: (1) facial mimicry of a range of emotional expressions; (2) emotion perception, and; (3) vocal quality. It was found that choir participation improved some measures of vocal quality, while effects on facial mimicry and emotion perception were marginal.