# Neurocorrelates of alterations in facial expressivity in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis

> **NIH NIH F31** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $41,971

## Abstract

Project Summary
It is established that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia report experiencing emotions (e.g., joy,
sadness), however, facial expressivity is blunted meaning the facial expressions that correspond with what we
would expect to see with emotions such as joy are not facially expressed). To date, it is unknown what the
nature of facial expressivity is prior to the onset of psychosis and if we see this discrepancy with the
experience of emotion. One study found after hand-coding home-videos (during childhood/adolescents) of
patients that later developed schizophrenia, these individuals showed decreased positive facial expressions
and increased negative facial expressions (7). This study, however, is the first to unravel the nature of facial
expressivity among adolescents at clinical high-risk (CHR) for developing psychosis, which can have critical
translational implications given the detrimental impacts alterations in facial expressivity can have in social
relationships, resulting in social withdrawal, isolation, and other mental health issues (e.g., anxiety and
depression). Furthermore, understanding facial expressivity may be informative for identifying factors
contributing to the pathogenesis of psychosis, decline in social functioning, and increased symptoms.
Additionally, the proposed study can allow for analysis of underlying neural circuitry (both independent of
behavior data and in terms of relationships with facial expressivity) which is needed within this area. In
the current study, a total of 100 participants will participate in clinical interviews, a cognitive battery, an
emotionally evocative film clip viewing task, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The project aims
to (1) determine if CHR youth exhibit alterations in facial expressions during emotionally evocative film clip
viewing task compared to controls (also assessing the experience of emotion) (2) determine relevant neural
circuitry underlying facial expressivity using structural and functional connectivity analyses, and (3) examine
relationships between facial expressivity and social functioning and symptoms at baseline and 12 months later.
The training plan proposed, in addition to training in theory and career development, relies on methodology in
(1) human and automated facial analysis and (2) structural/functional connectivity. Training environment: The
project will take place at Northwestern University which is an excellent training environment in which (1) there
are valuable and accessible resources (e.g., equipment, courses, workshops) and (2) both the Sponsor and
Co-Sponsor are located at this institution and have expertise in the areas of motor/neuroscience (connectivity
analyses), and emotion, respectively. Training plan: The training plan will consist of learning about theory, data
collection/processing/analysis and interpretation in Year 1 and Year 2. Furthermore, coursework and career
development will be topics of focus through the awar...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112108
- **Project number:** 5F31MH121018-02
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tina Gupta
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $41,971
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112108

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112108, Neurocorrelates of alterations in facial expressivity in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis (5F31MH121018-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112108. Licensed CC0.

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