Facial Pain Expression

Abstract

SUMMARY People in pain communicate their experience via facial expressions. There has been considerable research into the properties of pain expressions. This article reviews basic findings on the encoding and decoding of pain expression. The facial expression of pain is characterized and recent findings on its assessment and psychometric properties are described. Studies on decoding of pain expression are also reviewed, focusing on observers‘ sensitivity to and bias in evaluation of pain expression. Priority areas for future research are identified.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author‘s research reported in this article has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The author‘s research reported in this article has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.