Impaired recognition of facial emotional expressions in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

This study investigated the ability of patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) to recognize emotional facial expressions. Cognitive deterioration, depression, alexithymia and facial expression recognition ability were assessed in fiftyfive patients and twenty-one controls. Facial expression recognition ability was measured by a forced-choice labeling procedure of five emotional facial expressions (anger, fear, sadness, happiness, none). RRMS patients exhibited a global impairment in the recognition of facial emotion (p = .00049), specifically for anger (p = .01), sadness (p = .0001), and fear, (p = .011). Deficit in emotion recognition was independent from disability (assessed by EDSS score). This deficit was correlated with depression and partially with cognitive deterioration. These results should be discussed in term of global cortico-cortical disconnections.