DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vh17k68
title: Data from: Functional decline in facial expression generation in older women: a cross-sectional study using three-dimensional morphometry

description: Elderly people show a decline in the ability to decode facial expressions,
 but also experience age-related facial structure changes that may render
 their facial expressions harder to decode. However, to date there is no
 empirical evidence to support the latter mechanism. The objective of this
 study was to assess the effects of age on facial morphology at rest and
 during smiling, in younger (n = 100; age range, 18–32 years) and older (n
 = 30; age range, 55–65 years) Japanese women. Three-dimensional images of
 each subject’s face at rest and during smiling were obtained and wire mesh
 fitting was performed on each image to quantify the facial surface
 morphology. The mean node coordinates in each facial posture were compared
 between the groups using t-tests. Further, the node coordinates of the
 fitted mesh were entered into a principal component analysis (PCA) and a
 multifactor analysis of variance (MANOVA) to examine the direct
 interactions of aging and facial postures on the 3D facial morphology. The
 results indicated that there were significant age-related 3D facial
 changes in facial expression generation and the transition from resting to
 smiling produced a smaller amount of soft tissue movement in the older
 group than in the younger group. Further, 185 surface configuration
 variables were extracted and the variables were used to create four
 discriminant functions: the age-group discrimination for each facial
 expression, and the facial expression discrimination for each age group.
 For facial expression discrimination, the older group showed 80% accuracy
 with 2 of 66 significant variables, whereas the younger group showed 99%
 accuracy with 15 of 144 significant variables. These results indicate that
 in both facial expressions, the facial morphology was distinctly different
 in the younger and older subjects, and that in the older group, the facial
 morphology during smiling could not be as easily discriminated from the
 morphology at rest as in the younger group. These results may help to
 explain one aspect of the communication dysfunction observed in older
 people.
description: AppendixS1 Appendix, sectional-line-and-landmark-based analysis; and S2 Appendix, results of the sectional-line-and-landmark-based analysis.S1-S3 TablesS1 Table, definitions of the soft tissue landmarks on the facial 3D images; S2 Table, five types of curving lines; S3 Table, result summary of facial characteristics unique to the older group when compared with the younger group at rest and on smilingS1-S3Tables.docxS1-S9 FigsS1 Fig, the coordinate system and landmarks used in the present study; S2 Fig, schematic diagram illustrating the measurements for the contours Ex-Ac//z, En-Ac//z, Ex-Ch//z, and Ac-Ch//z; S3 Fig, schematic diagram illustrating vector elements v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, and v8 of N//sagittal (i.e., the nasal profile); S4 Fig, measurements for the contour Prn//sagittal (i.e., naso-lip-chin profile); S5 Fig, schematic diagrams illustrating the measurements of the contours Gla//axial, N//axial, Sn//axial, Ls//axial, Li//axial, Sm//axial, Or//axial, and Prn//axial; S6 Fig, schematic diagram illustrating the linear and angular measurements of the facial outline; S7 Fig, the mean contours of sagittal sections (N//sagittal and Prn//sagittal); S8 Fig, the mean contours of Ex-Ac//z, En-Ac//z, Ex-Ch//z, and Ac-Ch//z on the right and left sides in the older group and the younger group; and S9 Fig, the mean contours of Gla//axial, N//axial, Or//axial, Prn//axial, Sn//axial, Ls//axial, Li//axial, and Sm//axial in the older group and the younger group.S4-S9Table