Emotional recognition deficits in pregnancy-onset Bell’s Palsy

Abstract

Purpose: Bell's palsy during pregnancy or puerperium is understudied in terms of emotional processing. The objective is to describe motor recovery and investigate facial emotion recognition in women who developed facial palsy during pregnancy or puerperium. Methods: In this prospective observational monocentric study, 39 adult women who had unilateral idiopathic facial palsy during pregnancy or within six weeks postpartum completed facial motor assessments, self-report anxiety and affectivity questionnaires, and a validated computerized facial emotion recognition test Emotest-VA. Results: 79.5% of patients developed palsy in the third trimester of pregnancy. Sequelae was common, with 59% of patients requiring botulinum toxin injections. Emotion recognition accuracy was significantly reduced compared to normative data (Z=-2.35; p= 0.019), 6 patients had pathological scores. Greater smile asymmetry was associated with poorer emotion recognition (n = 39, r = -0.367, p = 0.021). No significant links were found between emotion recognition and anxiety or affectivity questionnaire scores. Conclusion: Facial palsy occurring during pregnancy or puerperium is associated with long-term facial dysfunction and reduced ability to recognize emotions on others' faces.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{picard2026emotional,
  title = {{Emotional recognition deficits in pregnancy-onset Bell’s Palsy}},
  author = {Diane Picard and Helene Quere and Diane Vigouroux and Elodie Lannadere and Elisabeth Iraola and Peggy Gatignol},
  journal = {European Journal of Obstetrics \& Gynecology and Reproductive Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1016/j.ejogrb.2026.115490},
  url = {https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-05803645v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Emotional recognition deficits in pregnancy-onset Bell’s Palsy
AU  - Diane Picard
AU  - Helene Quere
AU  - Diane Vigouroux
AU  - Elodie Lannadere
AU  - Elisabeth Iraola
AU  - Peggy Gatignol
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/16
JO  - European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
DO  - 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2026.115490
UR  - https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-05803645v1
AB  - Purpose: Bell's palsy during pregnancy or puerperium is understudied in terms of emotional processing. The objective is to describe motor recovery and investigate facial emotion recognition in women who developed facial palsy during pregnancy or puerperium. Methods: In this prospective observational monocentric study, 39 adult women who had unilateral idiopathic facial palsy during pregnancy or within six weeks postpartum completed facial motor assessments, self-report anxiety and affectivity questionnaires, and a validated computerized facial emotion recognition test Emotest-VA. Results: 79.5% of patients developed palsy in the third trimester of pregnancy. Sequelae was common, with 59% of patients requiring botulinum toxin injections. Emotion recognition accuracy was significantly reduced compared to normative data (Z=-2.35; p= 0.019), 6 patients had pathological scores. Greater smile asymmetry was associated with poorer emotion recognition (n = 39, r = -0.367, p = 0.021). No significant links were found between emotion recognition and anxiety or affectivity questionnaire scores. Conclusion: Facial palsy occurring during pregnancy or puerperium is associated with long-term facial dysfunction and reduced ability to recognize emotions on others' faces.
SN  - 0301-2115
SN  - 1872-7654
ER  -

Abstract

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