Her research focuses on the psychosocial implications of facial movement disorders such as facial paralysis and Parkinson's disease. Photo Credit Oregon State University For example, understanding the need to pay attention to other modes of communication could help a doctor develop a better relationship with a patient and more accurately detect when the patient is upset or in pain. It also could help educators avoid the assumption that an unresponsive face means the student is not attentive, and to understand when a child is actually engaged in a task, she said.