Patient-Clinician Eye Contact: Social Neuroscience and Art of Clinical Engagement

Abstract

Clinical encounters with patients are a form of social engagement. A critical and implicit component of meaningful engagement with patients is eye contact. Researchers in the rapidly growing, multidisciplinary field of social neuroscience have discovered a great deal about this “first-contact” aspect of human relating that is of direct and practical relevance to the practicing clinician. Findings reviewed in this article include aspects of the neurobiology of social attention, the role of certain neurochemicals (eg, serotonin, oxytocin) in eye contact, and the diagnostic importance of eye contact and gaze in various diagnostic entities. Clinically, these findings underscore the important role of eye contact in 1) establishing meaningful rapport; 2) supplying implicit information about a patient's emotional state; 3) providing diagnostic clues to common psychiatric disorders; 4) delivering impactful clinical messages; and 5) provisioning hope and embodied empathy. Current neuroscience research in this area highlights why mindful attention to this facet of social engagement is part of the repertoire of an effective, empathic clinician.

Keywords:

• eye contact
• social neuroscience
• empathy
• social anxiety disorder
• oxytocin
• amygdale