Facial Emotion Identification Research Articles

Recognition of children's emotional facial expressions among mothers reporting a history of childhood maltreatment.

Several studies have shown that child maltreatment is associated with both positive and negative effects on the recognition of facial emotions. Research has provided little evidence of a relation between maltreatment during childhood and young adults' ability to recognize facial displays of emotion in children, an essential skill for a sensitive parental response. In this study, we examined the consequences of different forms of maltreatment experienced in childhood on emotion recognition during parenthood. Participants included sixty-three mothers of children aged 2 to 5 years. Retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment were assessed using the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Emotion recognition was measured using a morphed facial emotion identification task of all six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). A Path Analysis via Structural Equation Model revealed that a history of physical abuse is related to a decreased ability to recognize both fear and sadness in children, whereas emotional abuse and sexual abuse are related to a decreased ability to recognize anger in children. In addition, emotional neglect is associated with an increased ability to recognize anger, whereas physical neglect is associated with less accuracy in recognizing happiness in children's facial emotional expressions. These findings have important clinical implications and expand current understanding of the consequences of childhood maltreatment on parents' ability to detect children's needs.

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia, assessed by the brief negative symptom scale, self-evaluation of negative symptom scale, and social cognition: a gender effect

Objective Negative symptoms of schizophrenia can be related to social cognition. The aim was to measure a relationship between the results on the new scales for the assessment of negative symptoms such as the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and Self-evaluation of Negative Symptoms (SNS), and the measures of social cognition. Methods The study included 80 patients (40 men, 40 women) with schizophrenia, aged 19–63 (mean 38 years), during the improvement period. They were assessed using the BNSS, SNS, Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scales, and the tests for social cognition such as the Facial Emotion Identification Test, Reading the Mind in Eyes Test, Strange Stories and Faux Pas Test. Results Male patients obtained higher scores than females when assessed by the BNSS. No gender differences were observed for the SNS scale. Female patients scored better in the PSP and both parts of the Faux Pas test and obtained a significant correlation between the results of the SNS scale, BNSS, PSP, and the affective part of the Faux-Pas test what was not the case in males. Conclusions Gender differences were found in the assessment of negative symptoms by a clinical scale and the relationship between negative symptoms and social cognition. KEY POINTS Female patients scored better in the BNSS, PSP and both parts of the Faux-Pas test Gender differences were present in the assessment of negative symptoms by clinical (BNSS) but not the self-assessment (SNS) scale. Female patients obtained a significant correlation between the results of the SNS scale, BNSS, PSP, and the affective part of the Faux-Pas test what was not the case in male subjects.

Emotion knowledge in neurotypical children and in those with down syndrome

This research aimed to assess two components of emotion knowledge (EK): receptive EK with face emotion identification and matching tasks, and emotion situation knowledge with the emotion attribution task (EAT). Study 1 assessed the development of EK in 265 neurotypical (NT) children (4–11 years), divided into four age groups. Overall, results showed a significant improvement of EK with age in the NT population for the three tasks, especially between the ages of 4/5 and 6/7. Children were less successful at the EAT in comparison to the other two tasks, indicating that receptive EK develops earlier than emotion situation knowledge. The presence of visual context (EAT) does not help to improve our children’s overall facial emotion recognition, especially for anger and sadness, while these emotions are well recognized in isolated facial expressions (emotion identification). Study 2 compared EK between 32 children with Down syndrome (CA: M = 13 years, SD = 2.13) and 32 NT children (CA: M = 5.3 years, SD = 1.36): matched on a vocabulary task. Children with DS had more difficulties in EK than NT children. They had lower performances on the identification and the EAT tasks, while exhibited similar performances to their NT controls on the emotion matching task. Moreover, good abilities to identify emotion expressions seem to be a prerequisite for successful face-context recognition in NT children, but not in children with DS. Difficulties encountered by children with DS could result from executive dysfunction when dealing with complex visual information in addition to emotion processing difficulties.

Cognitive Performance During Confinement and Sleep Restriction in NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA).

Maintaining optimal cognitive performance in astronauts during spaceflight is critical to crewmember safety and mission success. To investigate the combined effects of confinement, isolation, and sleep deprivation on cognitive performance during spaceflight, we administered the computerized neurobehavioral test battery “Cognition” to crew members of simulated spaceflight missions as part of NASA’s ground-based Human Exploration Research Analog project. Cognition was administered to N = 32 astronaut-like subjects in four 1-week missions (campaign 1) and four 2 weeks missions (campaign 2), with four crewmembers per mission. In both campaigns, subjects performed significantly faster on Cognition tasks across time in mission without sacrificing accuracy, which is indicative of a learning effect. On an alertness and affect survey, subjects self-reported significant improvement in several affective domains with time in mission. During the sleep restriction challenge, subjects in campaign 1 were significantly less accurate on a facial emotion identification task during a night of partial sleep restriction. Subjects in campaign 2 were significantly slower and less accurate on psychomotor vigilance, and slower on cognitive throughput and motor praxis tasks during a night of total sleep deprivation. On the survey, subjects reported significantly worsening mood during the sleep loss challenge on several affective domains. These findings suggest that confinement and relative isolation of up to 2 weeks in this environment do not induce a significant negative impact on cognitive performance in any of the domains examined by Cognition, although the concurrent practice effect may have masked some of the mission’s effects. Conversely, a night of total sleep deprivation significantly decreased psychomotor vigilance and cognitive throughput performance in astronaut-like subjects. This underscores the importance of using cognitive tests designed specifically for the astronaut population, and that survey a range of cognitive domains to detect the differential effects of the wide range of stressors common to the spaceflight environment.

Facial emotion recognition deficits in patients with bipolar disorder and their healthy parents

BackgroundThere is evidence on deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), and these deficits may be present in individuals with genetic risk for BD. This study investigated facial emotion identification and discrimination abilities in patients with BD, their parents, and healthy controls. Materials and methodsThis study included 38 patients with bipolar I disorder and 30 healthy controls for patients as well as 30 healthy mothers and 30 healthy fathers of these patients and 30 healthy controls who matched the mothers and fathers for age, gender, and education (total 188 participants). Facial Emotion Identification and Discrimination Tests were applied to all participants; the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Young Mania Rating Scale were applied to patients and their control group. ResultsFacial Emotion Identification and Discrimination Test scores of patients and their parents were reasonably lower than their matching control groups. Moreover, we found that difficulty in FER affected more emotions in mothers than in fathers and mothers performed significantly worse than patients in the identification of angry and embarrassed faces. ConclusionThese findings indicate that parents of patients with BD have impairment with recognizing facial emotions and suggest that there may be an association between FER of patients with BD and that of their mothers.

Relationship between aberrant salience and positive emotion misrecognition in acute relapse of schizophrenia.

Aberrant salience is the incorrect assignment of salience or significance to innocuous stimuli, and been hypothesized to be a central mechanism in the development of psychosis. In addition to aberrant salience, social-cognitive models of psychosis suggest that the way people process information about the self is important in all stages of psychosis. The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between aberrant salience and emotion processing in schizophrenia patients with psychotic relapse. A sample of 42 patients with relapse was recruited. Aberrant salience was measured with the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI). Assessment of social cognition was carried out using the Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT). Partial correlations were controlled for possible confounding variables. The ASI factors "increase in meaning" and "heightened cognition" positively correlated with impaired recognition of positive emotions, and ASI total score inversely correlated to time to response to task. Most of incorrect answers corresponded to misclassification of positive emotions. Our findings show that there is evidence for a relationship between aberrant salience and emotion processing during a psychotic episode; we propose that aberrant salience and alterations in emotion processing trigger the loss of modulating feedback from the external world to produce a self-referential mental state.

An evaluation of a psychoeducation programme for emotion identification and expression in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The inability of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia to recognize facial expressions is an important issue that has an impact on social functioning. This study was conducted to determine the effects of a psychoeducation programme for emotion identification and expression in those diagnosed with schizophrenia on their ability to identify and discriminate between emotions and social functionality. This quasi-experimental study (pretest-post-test, with control group) comprised an intervention (21) and a control (21) group conducted with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. A 10-week psychoeducation programme was offered to the intervention group. Measuring instruments were administered to the groups before the intervention, after the intervention, and 3months after that. The measuring instruments consisted of a personal information form, the Facial Emotion Identification Test, Facial Emotion Discrimination Test, and Personal and Social Performance Scale. The data were analysed using the 'two-way repeated measures analysis of variance'. The TREND method was used for reporting. In the first measurements taken after the psychoeducation programme, a significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of their 'Facial Emotion Identification Test' and 'Personal and Social Performance Scale' mean scores. In the measurements taken 3months after the psychoeducation programme, this difference had disappeared. The psychoeducation programme is an effective programme that makes recognition of facially expressed emotions possible and increases the social functioning of patients.

Testing the magnocellular-pathway advantage in facial expressions processing for consistency over time

The ability to identify facial expressions rapidly and accurately is central to human evolution. Previous studies have demonstrated that this ability relies to a large extent on the magnocellular, rather than parvocellular, visual pathway, which is biased toward processing low spatial frequencies. Despite the generally consistent finding, no study to date has investigated the reliability of this effect over time. In the present study, 40 participants completed a facial emotion identification task (fearful, happy, or neutral faces) using facial images presented at three different spatial frequencies (low, high, or broad spatial frequency), at two time points separated by one year. Bayesian statistics revealed an advantage for the magnocellular pathway in processing facial expressions; however, no effect for time was found. Furthermore, participants’ RT patterns of results were highly stable over time. Our replication, together with the consistency of our measurements within subjects, underscores the robustness of this effect. This capacity, therefore, may be considered in a trait-like manner, suggesting that individuals may possess various ability levels for processing facial expressions that can be captured in behavioral measurements.

Comparing Multiple Domains of Social Cognition in Schizophrenic Patients with vs. without Paranoid Symptoms

BackgroundVarious investigations demonstrated social cognitive impairments in schizophrenic patients. The impairments in schizophrenia patients are also associated with an increase in paranoid symptoms. However, comparing multiple domains of social cognition in subtypes of schizophrenia has received less attention.ObjectivesThe current study aimed at comparing multiple domains of social cognition in schizophrenic patients and the normal population as well as schizophrenic patients with and without paranoid symptom.MethodsIn this causal-comparative study, 44 schizophrenic patients with paranoid symptoms and 18 patients without paranoid symptom admitted to three schizophrenia care centers in Shiraz, from June 1st, 2017 to July 2nd, 2017 were evaluated. The control group included 38 staff of the studied centers. The research tools were the face emotion identification task, hinting task, and ambiguous intentions hostility questionnaire (AIHQ).ResultsWe used the multivariate analysis of variance to compare the functioning of the sample groups. Based on the results, schizophrenic patients with/without paranoid symptoms exhibited worse performance than normal individuals in emotion perception (P = 0.01, P = 0.01) and theory of mind (P = 0.01, P = 0.01) tasks; however, patients with and without paranoid symptoms did not differ in these tasks. With respect to AIHQ, schizophrenia patients with/without paranoid symptoms inclined to use hostile (P = 0.01, P = 0.02, respectively) and blaming (P = 0.01, P = 0.02, respectively) attributions compared with normal subjects. Moreover, patients with paranoid symptoms inclined to use more hostile and blaming attributions compared to patients without paranoid symptoms.ConclusionsThree variables of emotion perception, theory of mind, and hostile and blaming attributions were able to distinguish schizophrenia patients from healthy individuals, while only hostile and blaming attributions were able to distinguish patients with paranoid symptoms and those without paranoid symptoms.

Early Signs of Emotional Recognition Deficits in Adolescent High-Binge Drinkers

Background: Emotional dysregulation, measured with face recognition tasks, is prevalent in alcohol use disorders (AUD), constituting a risk factor for alcohol use and relapse. It is not clear however whether emotional dysregulation is a by-product of alcohol consumption, or if it can act as a predisposing factor for AUD. Objective: Our aim was to examine early signs of emotional dysregulation in adolescent drinkers. Method: Twenty-four high-school students and 24 university students completed two tasks. On the first one, participants had to gradually increment the emotional content of different faces until they could perceive an emotional expression (emotion perception threshold task). We also examined the propensity to perceive fearful expressions in an emotion identification task. Participants were semantically primed with emotion words (i.e., “fear”), and they then had to indicate whether a neutral-fearful facial composite matched the prime. Results: Using repeated-measures ANOVAS, in the emotion perception threshold task, “happy” faces were the easiest to detect and “sad” ones the hardest. For high school students there was a differential response pattern depending on binge scores, such that High-binge drinkers found it easier to detect a sad face but harder to detect a happy one compared to Low-binge drinkers. In the facial emotion identification task, Low-binge drinkers observed more fearful expressions compared to High-binge drinkers. Conclusions: Differences in emotional processing in young adolescents depending on drinking habits point towards the relevance of emotional dysregulation as an early sign of AUD. These findings could help develop novel diagnostic and treatment tools for young populations.

The Longitudinal Association Between Preadolescent Facial Emotion Identification and Family Factors, and Psychotic Experiences in Adolescence (The TRAILS Study)

The current study examines whether facial emotion identification and family factors at preadolescence (age 11) predict psychotic experiences 5 years later during adolescence (age 16) and whether family factors may mediate the association between facial emotion identification and psychotic experiences. Data was obtained from the epidemiological cohort TRAILS (N = 2059). At preadolescence, a facial emotion identification test and three questionnaires to assess family functioning, perceived parenting styles and parenting stress, were administered. At adolescence, a questionnaire on psychotic experiences was administered. Facial emotion identification at preadolescence was not associated with psychotic experiences at adolescence, and the mediational role of family functioning was not further explored. However, increased overprotective parenting at preadolescence was associated with a higher frequency of psychotic experiences and delusions at adolescence. Future research may examine the mechanism behind the role of overprotective parenting on psychotic experiences during adolescence.

Identification of Primary Facial Emotions in Relation to Level of Self-Criticism

The study analyzes the relationship between level of self-criticism and success in recognizing six primary emotions and neutral emotion in photographs from the Umeå University Database of Facial Expressions. The 134 participants were recruited from the general community using availability criteria. They completed the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale and a facial-emotion recognition task, writing down their identified emotion in open format. Bayesian multilevel model was used to model the probability of success on the facial-emotion recognition task. The results showed that a higher Inadequate Self score is a good positive predictor of success on the facial-emotion recognition task, while a higher Hated Self score is a good but negative predictor of success. Our results indicate that it is meaningful to distinguish between Hated Self and Inadequate Self on the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale. Moreover, this difference could be, if supported in future studies, used for diagnosing pathologically self-critical people or for planning treatment and interventions for highly self-critical people.

Different neural substrates at first impressions of same-sex and opposite-sex faces in women

First impressions follow a complex process that is greatly influenced by the facial attributes and the sex of the displayer. This study aimed to evaluate whether the initial impression formed in friendship decisions is processed differently between the same-sex and opposite-sex targets in women. Twenty-four healthy female volunteers participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, in which they appraised a given face and decided whether they wanted to befriend the target. Then, a post-scan subjective rating was performed for facial components such as cheerfulness, good-looks, and uniqueness. The data were used to perform univariate whole-brain analysis to identify the neural substrates of sex bias in impression formation, and exploratory parametric modulation analysis to examine the parametric effects of facial components. Results showed that a composite of diverse areas including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior superior temporal sulcus were more engaged when viewing male faces than female faces. Parametric analysis revealed that bilateral lingual gyrus activities showed a negative parametric effect with cheerfulness for male faces, whereas left inferior parietal lobule activity showed a positive parametric effect with good-looks for female faces. During the formation of first impressions, diffuse areas related to emotion processing and conflict-monitoring were utilized when a person of the opposite sex was encountered compared to encounters with a person of the same sex. The perceived cheerfulness of a male face also showed a negative relationship with the identification of facial emotion in the male face; the more a female face was considered good-looking, a greater feeling of uneasiness appeared to be elicited. The findings from this study provide further evidence of sex bias in women during friendship encounters.

The functional neuroanatomy of emotion processing in frontotemporal dementias.

Impaired processing of emotional signals is a core feature of frontotemporal dementia syndromes, but the underlying neural mechanisms have proved challenging to characterize and measure. Progress in this field may depend on detecting functional changes in the working brain, and disentangling components of emotion processing that include sensory decoding, emotion categorization and emotional contagion. We addressed this using functional MRI of naturalistic, dynamic facial emotion processing with concurrent indices of autonomic arousal, in a cohort of patients representing all major frontotemporal dementia syndromes relative to healthy age-matched individuals. Seventeen patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia [four female; mean (standard deviation) age 64.8 (6.8) years], 12 with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia [four female; 66.9 (7.0) years], nine with non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia [five female; 67.4 (8.1) years] and 22 healthy controls [12 female; 68.6 (6.8) years] passively viewed videos of universal facial expressions during functional MRI acquisition, with simultaneous heart rate and pupillometric recordings; emotion identification accuracy was assessed in a post-scan behavioural task. Relative to healthy controls, patient groups showed significant impairments (analysis of variance models, all P < 0.05) of facial emotion identification (all syndromes) and cardiac (all syndromes) and pupillary (non-fluent variant only) reactivity. Group-level functional neuroanatomical changes were assessed using statistical parametric mapping, thresholded at P < 0.05 after correction for multiple comparisons over the whole brain or within pre-specified regions of interest. In response to viewing facial expressions, all participant groups showed comparable activation of primary visual cortex while patient groups showed differential hypo-activation of fusiform and posterior temporo-occipital junctional cortices. Bi-hemispheric, syndrome-specific activations predicting facial emotion identification performance were identified (behavioural variant, anterior insula and caudate; semantic variant, anterior temporal cortex; non-fluent variant, frontal operculum). The semantic and non-fluent variant groups additionally showed complex profiles of central parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic involvement that overlapped signatures of emotional visual and categorization processing and extended (in the non-fluent group) to brainstem effector pathways. These findings open a window on the functional cerebral mechanisms underpinning complex socio-emotional phenotypes of frontotemporal dementia, with implications for novel physiological biomarker development.

Facial Emotion Identification Based on Local Binary Pattern Feature Detector

Objectives: The emotion detection is one of the important fields in computer human interaction and this study plays significant a role for identification facial expression from the images. To identify the single emotion, need a various variability of human shapes such as pose, color, texture, expression, posture and orientation. In this study, we implement Local Binary Pattern (LBP) based filters for identifying the dynamic face textures. And moreover, this approach also provides extension and simplification. Methods/Statistical Analysis: We used built-in FER2013 datasets, the database consisting seven classes (Surprise, Fear, Angry, Neutral, Sad, Disgust, Happy). The dataset is divided into three parts testing, validation and training (15% and 70%). The Convolution neural network is trained with feature Descriptor Local Binary Pattern. Findings: The experimental results have demonstrated that local LBP representations are effective in spatial dynamic feature extraction, as they encode the information of image texture configuration while providing local structure patterns. The advantages of our approach include local processing, robustness to monotonic grayscale changes and simple computation. The results show that, the performance LBP based Convolution Neural Network (CNN) model is better than conventional CNN. This research study further helps in image classification and image processing fields. Application/Improvements: It is recommended that LBP should be used for finding the local regions or pattern from the image. The LBP computation and local processing is quite better with robustness and monotonic changes. Keywords: Convolution Neural Network (CNN), Facial Emotion, Facial Expression, Face detection, Expressions, Local Binary Pattern (LBP)

Randomized Controlled Trial of Adjunctive Social Cognition and Interaction Training, Adjunctive Therapeutic Alliance Focused Therapy, and Treatment As Usual Among Persons With Serious Mental Illness.

As one of the areas of greatest concern for people with serious mental illness (SMI) are unmet social needs, psychosocial interventions have been developed to address them. The current study utilized a randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of social cognition and interaction training (SCIT) versus a therapeutic alliance focused theraphy (TAFT) versus a treatment-as-usual (TAU) control group on social functioning and quality of life as primary outcomes and social cognition variables as secondary outcomes. Sixty-three persons between the ages of 24 and 69 years with SMI (41 men and 22 women), completers of the trial (23 in SCIT, 20 in TAFT, and 20 in TAU), were assessed at baseline, completion, and at a 3-month follow-up with measurements assessing social cognition (The Facial Emotion Identification Task, The Faux pas test, The Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire) social functioning, (The Social Skills Performance Assessment, The Wisconsin Social Quality of Life Scale), and therapeutic alliance (adapted version for group of system for observing family therapy alliance). Results reveal that the two interventions were more effective than the control condition (TAU) in reducing attribution bias anger scores, SCIT was also effective in improving theory of mind (as can be seen in Faux pas test scores), and the TAFT in improving emotion recognition and reducing intentionality attribution bias scores. Improvement was related to therapeutic alliance which did not differ between the two intervention groups. Considering the role of alliance, it is recommended to consider the integration of the two studied interventions with other approaches that emphasize alliance and reflection. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02380885.

Estudio de una nueva técnica psicoterapéutica grupal en esquizofrenia basada en el cine de ficción: efectos sobre síntomas positivos y negativos

IntroductionSchizophrenia is one of the mental disorders that generate the greatest human disability in the world. The treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia is still far from being resolved satisfactorily. The unique ability of cinema to activate attention, imagination and memory, as well as to activate complex mental processes in viewers leads one to think that it can be an effective therapeutic tool for the treatment of certain mental disorders. ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of a new psychotherapeutic technique (designed ad hoc) based on the analysis of film sequences and double viewed using fiction films in patients diagnosed with spectrum disorders of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. MethodsA multicentre, randomised and parallel group clinical trial was conducted on 48 patients with a diagnosis of psychotic disorders of the schizophrenia spectrum. The effects of the application of a psychotherapeutic group therapy technique, based on the use of fiction films, were compared to a control group that also worked with fiction films, but using a non-specific technique. Three film analysis techniques with potential therapeutic properties were selected for the development of the new group psychotherapy technique: 1) the segmentation of the cinematic material into sequences, 2) the analysis by sequences of the contents of the film, 3) the double viewing of the cinematographic material. The intervention consisted of 26 sessions, which involved the double viewing of the 13 episodes of the first season of the television series Los Soprano. The primary outcome measures were the changes obtained in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) subscales, according to Wallwork's five-factor model, between the baseline and final situation after treatment. Cognitive outcome measurements included changes in the cognition scales included in the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and in social cognition scales, like MSCEIT, FEIT, and FBS (Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, Facial Emotion Identification Test, and Frankfurt self-assessment scale for persons with schizophrenia, respectively), before and after treatment. ResultsThe results showed a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group versus the control group in the positive [P=.01; d=0.82 (95% CI; 0.2-1.43)], negative [P=.005; d=0.89 (95% CI; 0.26-1.51)] and disorganised symptoms [P=.013; d=0.49 (95% CI; 0.11-1.09)]. In the “post-hoc” analysis of the negative factor, statistically significant improvements were found in the following variables: blunted effect (P=.041, d=0.64 (95% CI; 0.03-1.24)], emotional withdrawal (P=.012, d=0.80 (95% CI; 0.18-1.41)], poor contact (P=.000, d=1.18 (95% CI; 0.52-1.82)], and motor retardation (P=.003, d=0.96 (95% CI; 0.33-1.58).] In the “post-hoc” analysis of the positive factor there was a significant improvement in the delusions subdomain [P=.01; d=0.82 (95% CI; 0.2-1.4).] No significant differences were found between groups in affective symptoms or in any of the cognitive domains. ConclusionsThe proposed new psychotherapy technique is applicable and well accepted by patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. The use of this new psychotherapy technique inspired in film analysis is effective in leading to improvements in the positive, negative, and disorganised symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

On defining irritability and its relationship to affective traits and social interpretations

Irritability has gained recognition as a clinically significant trait in youth and adults that when persistent and severe, predicts poor outcomes throughout life. However, its definition, measurement, and relationship to similar constructs remain poorly understood. In a community sample of adults (N = 458; 19–74 years; M = 40.5), we sought to identify a unitary irritability factor from independently constructed self-reported measures of irritability distinct from the related constructs of aggression, depression, and anxiety, and whether it was associated with face emotion identification deficits and hostile interpretation biases previously established in clinical pediatric samples. The three measures of irritability generated a common factor characterized by a rapid, angry response to provocation. This irritability factor had unique associations with tendencies to judge ambiguous stimuli as reflecting hostility, but not with face emotion identification performance. These findings clarify the nature of irritability and its associations with neurocognitive phenomenon.

Can Social Anxiety Impact Facial Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia?

Social anxiety is highly prevalent in individuals with schizophrenia, with studies suggesting rates of 30%. This study aimed at determining if social anxiety is linked to specific emotion recognition deficits and to specific social functioning deficits. A total of 47 participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and receiving outpatient services answered measures of facial recognition (Ekman; Facial Emotion Identification Test), facial discrimination (Facial Emotion Discrimination Test), role-play, social anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Brief Social Phobia Scale), psychiatric symptoms (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), self-esteem (Self-Esteem Rating Scale-Short Form), and social functioning (Social Functioning Scale). A total of 22 (47%) participants were rated as socially anxious. Those with social anxiety had worse social functioning in the domains of interpersonal communication (t[45] = 2.28, p = 0.025) and engagement (in conversations) (t[45] = 2.89, p = 0.000) and had lower self-esteem (t[45] = 4.05, p = 0.001). Participants with social anxiety also had more difficulties in recognizing neutral emotional faces (t[31] = 2.19, p = 0.036). More studies are warranted to better understand the link between neutral expression recognition and social anxiety in schizophrenia.

Cognitive Impairments in Abstinent Male Residents of a Therapeutic Community for Substance-Use Disorders: A Five-Year Retrospective Study

Background and Objectives: Prior studies of residual cognitive deficits in abstinent substance-use disorder (SUD) patients, exhibited conflicting reports and a substantial patient selection bias. The aim of this study was to test the cognitive function of a sample of chronic abstinent SUD patients in a therapeutic-community. Methods: The IntegNeuroTM cognitive test battery was used for a retrospective cross-sectional study of cognitive functioning of an unselected sample (n = 105) of abstinent male residents of a therapeutic-community. The results were compared to a large age-, gender-, and education-matched normative cohort. Results: A significant negative deviance from the normal cohorts' mean was present in most of the cognitive test results and in all the cognitive domains that were tested. The most substantial deficit was found in the executive function domain (d = 1.02, 95%CI (±0.11)). Correct identification of facial emotions was significantly lower selectively in expressions of disgust and sadness. Substance-use starting at an early age (12.4 ± 0.8 years) was associated with lower performance in tests of sustained attention and impulsivity as well as with varied ability to identify correctly “negative” emotions in the emotion identification domain. Conclusions: This 5-year retrospective study demonstrates substantial cognitive impairments in an unselected sample of abstinent SUD patients. Impairment in multiple cognitive domains may lower the probability for remission and successful social integration. Early-age substance initiation may be associated with larger impairments in cognitive performance.