Decoding emotional facial expressions in depressed and anorexic patients

Abstract

Background Several studies suggest the existence of impairments in the decoding of emotional facial expressions in various psychopathological conditions. This study investigates the recognition of emotional facial expressions (EFE) in young depressed patients and compares it to patients with eating disorders and control subjects. Methods 21 hospitalized female adolescents with major depression, 36 hospitalized female adolescents with eating disorders and 32 female control subjects were investigated with a set of emotional facial stimuli [Hess, U., Blairy, S., 1995. Set of Emotional Facial Stimuli, Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montréal, Montréal, Canada]. Results No significant differences were found between anorexic patients and controls in EFE decoding. Significant results were observed for depressed patients: they were less accurate in EFE decoding compared to anorexic patients and controls for the emotion of anger. Limitations Previous studies on EFE decoding in depression and eating disorders used different facial stimuli or methodology. Furthermore, our study concerns only female subjects. These limitations could explain some discrepant result. Conclusions The present results support the existence of impairments in the decoding of facial expressions in young female patients suffering from major depression.