Does TB stigma affect emotion recognition? A study with a Portuguese sample

Relationship between perception of facial emotions and anxiety in clinical depression: does anxiety-related perception predict persistence of depression?

IntroductionSoundscape in dental clinics has varying degrees of impact on the emotions of healthcare workers and young patients. Emotions such as restlessness, anxiety, anger, and nervousness are commonly found among dental healthcare workers. Pediatric dental clinics are an important part of dental clinics, but there is a lack of research on the soundscape within pediatric dental clinics.MethodsThis study focuses on a typical pediatric dental clinic, using a combination of field questionnaires and objective measurements. It aims to determine the impact of dominant sound sources on the emotional perception (nervousness, restlessness, anger, fear, pain) and hostile emotional responses of users in the pediatric dental clinic.ResultsIn the soundscape of pediatric dental clinics for young pediatric patients, users experience negative emotional perceptions (nervousness, restlessness, anxiety, anger, fear, and pain) and emotional responses of hostility. The dominant sound sources can be divided into two categories: dental (dental drill, air-water syringe, and saliva ejector) and nondental (children crying). Under the influence of dental dominant sound sources, there was a significant negative correlation between the emotional perceptions of healthcare workers and their negative emotional perceptions (p < 0.05). Conversely, for young pediatric patients aged 0–11 years, a significant positive correlation was observed between their emotional perceptions and negative emotional perceptions. The mean perceived degrees of nervousness and fear in young pediatric patients were 1.82 and 1.71 times stronger, respectively, than those observed in healthcare workers. Under the influence of non-dental dominant sound sources, the average degree of emotional perception among healthcare workers was 0.71 higher than that of young pediatric patients, and anxiety perception was significantly enhanced (p < 0.05). The mean degree of nervousness perception was 1 point higher in healthcare workers compared to young pediatric patients, restlessness perception was 1.1 stronger, and there was a presence of mild pain perception. In terms of demographic/social factors, age, occupation, and years of work significantly affected the perceptions of fear and restlessness among healthcare workers, while age had a significant impact on the emotional reaction of hostility in young pediatric patients.DiscussionThe results of this study indicate that the soundscape is an important factor in creating a comfortable treatment environment in pediatric dental clinics. Healthcare workers and young pediatric patients are significantly affected by the dominant sound sources in the clinic, and these effects are closely related to demographic and social factors such as age, profession, and years of experience. This finding can provide more targeted methods and strategies for the design and creation of soundscapes in dental clinics.

BackgroundFunctional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and heart rate variability (HRV) are commonly utilized biomarkers for assessing emotional states. This study hypothesizes that emotional perception—particularly the experience and variability of unpleasant emotions in adolescents—may be characterized by reduced HRV and increased or dysregulated frontal lobe activity, indicative of impaired emotional and autonomic regulation.Materials and MethodsA total of 55 adolescents were enrolled in this study. After completing clinical questionnaires, resting-state HRV and fNIRS data were collected from all participants over a 200-second period. Following a 10-second intermission, HRV and fNIRS were simultaneously recorded during a 192-second positive emotional perception task. After a subsequent 30-second rest, the same procedures were repeated during a negative emotional perception task.ResultsA higher correction rate of unpleasant facial emotional perception—defined as the proportion of emotional stimuli (positive, negative, and neutral expressions) interpreted as unpleasant—was significantly associated with reduced HRV, as evidenced by lower high-frequency (HF) power and decreased standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN). Moreover, this correction rate positively correlated with the differential accumulation of oxygenated hemoglobin (ΔaccHbO₂) in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), suggesting increased cortical engagement during the processing of negatively perceived stimuli. In contrast, the correction rate of pleasant facial emotional perception showed a negative correlation with ΔaccHbO₂ in the same region. Additionally, both unpleasant-SDNN and unpleasant-HF values were negatively correlated with ΔaccHbO₂ in the left DLPFC.ConclusionsIn adolescents, the perception of negative emotions is associated with individual differences in depression and anxiety levels. Furthermore, the perception of negative emotions demonstrates significant associations with alterations in HRV and neural activity within the left DLPFC. These findings also support a potential relationship between autonomic function and frontal lobe activation during the processing of unpleasant emotional stimuli.

The perception of negative emotions in close relatives may play an important role in explaining how external stressors can affect vulnerable individuals with schizophrenia. However, there is considerable debate about the ability of people with schizophrenia to perceive emotions in others. The present study aimed to examine the reliability of patients' perception of relatives' criticism. Secondly, it aimed to investigate whether patients' judgement about relatives' criticism agreed with an independent assessment of relatives' criticism towards patients. Forty-three patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia and their relatives were assessed soon after patients' admission to a psychiatric hospital and again 9 months after their discharge from hospital. Test-retest reliability of patients' answers to a question about patients' perception of relatives' criticism towards them was carried out. The association between patients' perception of relatives' criticism and the expressed emotion (EE) measure of relatives' criticism was examined at inclusion and follow-up. Patients' symptomatology was examined at both assessments. Reliability of the measurement of patients' perception of relatives' criticism was moderate to good. Patients' judgement of relatives' criticism towards them was associated with the number of critical comments and presence of hostility at inclusion. At follow-up, this association became weaker. The ability to judge and describe reliably negative emotions in close relationships may help to explain how perception of the external environment may act as a stressor in people who are vulnerable to schizophrenia.

Perception and recognition of emotions are fundamental prerequisites of human life. Patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) may have emotional and behavioral impairments that might influence socially desirable interactions. We aimed to investigate perception and recognition of emotions in patients with JME by means of neuropsychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sixty-five patients with JME (median age = 27 years, interquartile range [IQR] = 23-34) were prospectively recruited at the Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria. Patients were compared to 68 healthy controls (median age = 24 years, IQR = 21-31), matched for sex, age, and education. All study participants underwent the Networks of Emotion Processing test battery (NEmo), an fMRI paradigm of "dynamic fearful faces," a structured interview for psychiatric and personality disorders, and comprehensive neuropsychological testing. JME patients versus healthy controls demonstrated significant deficits in emotion recognition in facial and verbal tasks of all emotions, especially fear. fMRI revealed decreased amygdala activation in JME patients as compared to healthy controls. Patients were at a higher risk of experiencing psychiatric disorders as compared to healthy controls. Cognitive evaluation revealed impaired attentional and executive functioning, namely psychomotor speed, tonic alertness, divided attention, mental flexibility, and inhibition of automated reactions. Duration of epilepsy correlated negatively with parallel prosodic and facial emotion recognition in NEmo. Deficits in emotion recognition were not associated with psychiatric comorbidities, impaired attention and executive functions, types of seizures, and treatment. This prospective study demonstrated that as compared to healthy subjects, patients with JME had significant deficits in recognition and perception of emotions as shown by neuropsychological tests and fMRI. The results of this study may have importance for psychological/psychotherapeutic interventions in the management of patients with JME.

Gender-specific mechanisms associated with outcome of depression: perception of emotions, coping and interpersonal functioning

Do members of different cultures express (or "encode") emotions in the same fashion? How well can members of distinct cultures recognize (or "decode") each other's emotion expressions? The question of cultural universality versus specificity in emotional expression has been a hot topic of debate for more than half a century, but, despite a sizeable amount of empirical research produced to date, no convincing answers have emerged. We suggest that this unsatisfactory state of affairs is due largely to a lack of concern with the precise mechanisms involved in emotion expression and perception, and propose to use a modified Brunswikian lens model as an appropriate framework for research in this area. On this basis we provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature and point to research paradigms that are likely to provide the evidence required to resolve the debate on universality vs. cultural specificity of emotional expression. Applying this fresh perspective, our analysis reveals that, given the paucity of pertinent data, no firm conclusions can be drawn on actual expression (encoding) patterns across cultures (although there appear to be more similarities than differences), but that there is compelling evidence for intercultural continuity in decoding, or recognition, ability. We also note a growing body of research on the notion of ingroup advantage due to expression "dialects," above and beyond the general encoding or decoding patterns. We furthermore suggest that these empirical patterns could be explained by both universality in the underlying mechanisms and cultural specificity in the input to, and the regulation of, these expression and perception mechanisms. Overall, more evidence is needed, both to further elucidate these mechanisms and to inventory the patterns of cultural effects. We strongly recommend using more solid conceptual and theoretical perspectives, as well as more ecologically valid approaches, in designing future studies in emotion expression and perception research.

The neural mechanisms of the impact of emoji spatial metaphors on emotional perception

Emotion perception after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury: The valence effect and the role of working memory, processing speed, and nonverbal reasoning.

The study examined the correlation between autistic traits, perception of body emotion from dynamic point-light displays, and perception of dynamic facial expression in adults. A sample of 172 adults from Georgia completed an online survey. The results revealed a correlation between autistic traits and perception of facial anger emotion and in identifying anger and happiness of body emotions. The difficulty perceiving the emotion of anger is generalized in both modalities, facial and body movements. Our results indicate that the perception of emotions in faces and the perception of emotions in the movement are not the same factors concerning autistic traits and autistic traits are associated with difficulty perceiving negative emotions in healthy people.

The present study explores the relative absence of expressive cues and the effect of contextual cues on the perception of emotions and its effect on attitudes. The visibility of expressive cues was manipulated by showing films displaying female targets whose faces were either fully visible, covered by a niqab, or partially visible (control condition). Targets expressed anger, shame, and happiness in the three different face conditions. Results show that perception of emotions is mainly affected by an absence of expressive cues: Covering the lower part of the face results in the perception of less happiness in happy videos and of more intense negative emotions in both happy and shame videos. This bias toward the perception of more negative emotions in covered faces mediates a negative attitude toward niqabs.

The relationship of problems in social perception to the social dysfunction of schizophrenic patients has not been adequately addressed. The present study compared the responses of patients diagnosed as schizophrenic and affective disorder and nonpatient subjects on a measure of perception of emotional cues. A measure of general attention/perception was also administered. Schizophrenics exhibited selective deficits in perception of emotional stimuli in relationship to control groups. They differed in their perceptions of negative emotion, but not positive or neutral emotion, in comparison to affective disorder and control subjects. This selective distortion in social perception was apparent even though schizophrenics also performed poorly on the general attentional measure. A number of alternatives are discussed as possible explanations for the specific deviations which schizophrenics exhibited in perceiving negative emotion.

Perception of happy and sad facial expressions in chronic schizophrenia: Evidence for two evaluative systems

Sex differences during emotion processing are dependent on the menstrual cycle phase

It is commonly argued that older adults show difficulties in standardized tasks of emotional expression perception, yet most previous works relied on classic sets of static, decontextualized, and stereotypical facial expressions. In real life, facial expressions are dynamic and embedded in a rich context, 2 key factors that may aid emotion perception. Specifically, body language provides important affective cues that may disambiguate facial movements. We compared emotion perception of dynamic faces, bodies, and their combination in a sample of older (age 60-83, n = 126) and young (age 18-30, n = 124) adults. We used the Geneva Multimodal Emotion Portrayals set, which includes a full view of expressers' faces and bodies, displaying a diverse range of positive and negative emotions, portrayed dynamically and holistically in a nonstereotypical, unconstrained manner. Critically, we digitally manipulated the dynamic cue such that perceivers viewed isolated faces (without bodies), isolated bodies (without faces), or faces with bodies. Older adults showed better perception of positive and negative dynamic facial expressions, while young adults showed better perception of positive isolated dynamic bodily expressions. Importantly, emotion perception of faces with bodies was comparable across ages. Dynamic emotion perception in young and older adults may be more similar than previously assumed, especially when the task is more realistic and ecological. Our results emphasize the importance of contextualized and ecological tasks in emotion perception across ages.