Facial Emotion Recognition Ability Research Articles

Masked emotions: does children's affective state influence emotion recognition?

Facial emotion recognition abilities of children have been the focus of attention across various fields, with implications for communication, social interaction, and human behavior. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a face mask in public became mandatory in many countries, hindering social information perception and emotion recognition. Given the importance of visual communication for children's social-emotional development, concerns have been raised on whether face masks could impair their ability to recognize emotions and thereby possibly impact their social-emotional development. To this extent, a quasiexperimental study was designed with a two-fold objective: firstly, to identify children's accuracy in recognizing basic emotions (anger, happiness, fear, disgust, sadness) and emotional neutrality when presented with faces under two conditions: one with no-masks and another with faces partially covered by various types of masks (medical, nonmedical, surgical, or cloth); secondly, to explore any correlation between children's emotion recognition accuracy and their affective state. Sixty-nine (69) elementary school students aged 6-7 years old from Greece were recruited for this purpose. Following specific requirements of the second phase of the experiment students were assigned to one of three (3) distinct affective condition groups: Group A-Happiness, Group B-Sadness, and Group C-Emotional Neutrality. Image stimuli were drawn from the FACES Dataset, and students' affective state was registered using the self-reporting emotions-registration tool, AffectLecture app. The study's findings indicate that children can accurately recognize emotions even with masks, although recognizing disgust is more challenging. Additionally, following both positive and negative affective state priming promoted systematic inaccuracies in emotion recognition. Most significantly, results showed a negative bias for children in negative affective state and a positive bias for those in positive affective state. Children's affective state significantly influenced their emotion recognition abilities; sad affective states led to lower recognition overall and a bias toward recognizing sad expressions, while happy affective states resulted in a positive bias, improving recognition of happiness, and affecting how emotional neutrality and sadness were actually perceived. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intriguing dynamics of how face masks affect children's emotion recognition, but also underlines the profound influence of their affective state.

Implications of depressive mood in OSAHS patients: insights from event-related potential

BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a chronic breathing disorder characterized by recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep. Although previous studies have shown a link between OSAHS and depressive mood, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying mood disorders in OSAHS patients remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the emotion processing mechanism in OSAHS patients with depressive mood using event-related potentials (ERPs).MethodsSeventy-four OSAHS patients were divided into the depressive mood and non-depressive mood groups according to their Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores. Patients underwent overnight polysomnography and completed various cognitive and emotional questionnaires. The patients were shown facial images displaying positive, neutral, and negative emotions and tasked to identify the emotion category, while their visual evoked potential was simultaneously recorded.ResultsThe two groups did not differ significantly in age, BMI, and years of education, but showed significant differences in their slow wave sleep ratio (P = 0.039), ESS (P = 0.006), MMSE (P < 0.001), and MOCA scores (P = 0.043). No significant difference was found in accuracy and response time on emotional face recognition between the two groups. N170 latency in the depressive group was significantly longer than the non-depressive group (P = 0.014 and 0.007) at the bilateral parieto-occipital lobe, while no significant difference in N170 amplitude was found. No significant difference in P300 amplitude or latency between the two groups. Furthermore, N170 amplitude at PO7 was positively correlated with the arousal index and negatively with MOCA scores (both P < 0.01).ConclusionOSAHS patients with depressive mood exhibit increased N170 latency and impaired facial emotion recognition ability. Special attention towards the depressive mood among OSAHS patients is warranted for its implications for patient care.

Facial emotion recognition is associated with executive functions and depression scores, but not staging of dementia, in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Although deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER) significantly affect interpersonal communication and social functioning, there is no consensus on how FER affects Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and neuropsychological factors affecting the possible deficits in the FER abilities of patients with AD. This cross-sectional study included 37 patients with mild [clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale score=1] or moderate (CDR=2) AD, in whom vascular dementia and depression were excluded, and 24 cognitively normal (CDR=0) subjects. FER ability was determined using the facial emotion identification test (FEIT) and facial emotion discrimination test (FEDT). All participants underwent mini-mental state examination (MMSE), frontal assessment battery (FAB), and geriatric depression scale (GDS). The neuropsychiatric inventory-clinician rating scale (NPI-C), Katz index of independence in activities of daily living, and Lawton instrumental activities of daily living were also administered to patients with AD. The FEIT and FEDT total scores showed that patients with mild and moderate AD had significant FER deficits compared to healthy controls. However, no significant difference was observed between patients with mild and moderate AD in the FEIT and FEDT total scores. FEIT and FEDT scores were not correlated with the MMSE and NPI-C total and subscales scores in patients with AD. Linear regression indicated that FEIT and FEDT total scores were significantly related to age and FAB scores. The GDS score negatively moderated the relationship between FAB and FEDT. This study demonstrated a decreased FER ability in patients with AD. The critical point in FER deficits is the presence of dementia, not the dementia stage, in AD. It has been determined that executive functions and depression (even at a subsyndromal level), which have limited knowledge, are associated with FER abilities.

Can the Ability to Recognize Facial Emotions in Individuals With Neurodegenerative Disease be Improved? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is commonly impaired in individuals with neurodegenerative disease (NDD). This impairment has been linked to an increase in behavioral disorders and caregiver burden. To identify interventions targeting the improvement of FER ability in individuals with NDD and investigate the magnitude of the efficacy of the interventions. We also wanted to explore the duration of the effects of the intervention and their possible impacts on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and caregiver burden. We included 15 studies with 604 individuals who had been diagnosed with NDD. The identified interventions were categorized into three types of approach (cognitive, neurostimulation, and pharmacological) as well as a combined approach (neurostimulation with pharmacological). The three types of approaches pooled together had a significant large effect size for FER ability improvement (standard mean difference: 1.21, 95% CI = 0.11, 2.31, z = 2.15, P = 0.03). The improvement lasted post intervention, in tandem with a decrease in behavioral disorders and caregiver burden. A combination of different approaches for FER ability improvement may be beneficial for individuals with NDD and their caregivers.

“I feel your fear”: superior fear recognition in organised crime members

ABSTRACT Individuals who deviate from social norms by committing crimes may have reduced facial emotion recognition abilities. Nevertheless, a specific category of offenders – i.e. organised crime (OC) members – is characterised by hierarchically organised social networks and a tendency to manipulate others to reach their illicit goals. Since recognising emotions is crucial to building social networks, OC members may be more skilled in recognising the facial emotion expressions of others to use this information for their criminal purposes. Evidence of a difference between OC and non-organised crime (NOC) offenders in terms of facial emotion recognition is still lacking. To fill this gap in the literature, we tested 50 OC, 50 NOC offenders, and 50 non-offender controls for their ability to identify six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise). All participants underwent a cognitive and psychological evaluation to avoid alternative explanations. Results show that OC members were more able to detect the expression of fear in others as compared to NOC. We interpreted this finding in light of the social context and the behavioural criminal attitude of OC members.

Association between fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and facial emotion recognition ability in first-episode schizophrenia patients: a fMRI study

It was still unclear that the correlation between the resting-state intrinsic activity in brain regions and facial emotion recognition (FER) ability in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FSZ). Our aim was to analyse the correlation between the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and FER ability in FSZ patients. A total of 28 patients with FSZ and 33 healthy controls (HCs) completed visual search tasks for FER ability. Regions of interest (ROIs) related to facial emotion were obtained from a previous meta-analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to understand the correlation between fALFF and FER ability. Our results indicated that the patients performed worse than the HCs in the accuracy performances of happy FER and fearful FER. The previous meta-analysis results showed that the brain regions related to FER included the bilateral amygdala (AMY)/hippocampus (HIP), right fusiform gyrus (FFG), and right supplementary motor area (SMA). Partial correlation analysis showed that the fALFF of the right FFG was associated with high-load fearful FER accuracy (r = − 0.60, p = 0.004). Our study indicated that FER ability is correlated with resting-state intrinsic activity in brain regions related to facial emotion, which may provide a reference for the study of FER deficiency in schizophrenia.

Generalized tendency to make extreme trait judgements from faces.

People differ in their tendency to infer others' personalities and abilities from their faces. An extreme form of such face-based trait inference (FBTI) is problematic because of its unwarranted impact on real-world decision making. Evolutionary perspectives on FBTI suggest that its inter-individual variation would be trait-specific: e.g. those who make extreme face-based inferences about trustworthiness may not necessarily do so about dominance. However, there are several psychological variables that can increase the FBTI extremity across traits. Here, we show that there is a generalized individual tendency to make extreme FBTI across traits, in support of the latter view. We found that the degrees of extremity of face-based inferences about seven traits had high cross-trait correlations, constituting a general factor. This generalized FBTI extremity had good test-retest reliability and was neither an artefact of extreme nor socially desirable response biases. Moreover, it was positively associated with facial emotion recognition ability and tendencies to believe physiognomy and endorse stereotypes. Our results demonstrate that there are individuals who have a temporally stable disposition to draw extreme conclusions about various traits of others from facial appearance as well as their psychological characteristics.

Is There a Difference in Facial Emotion Recognition after Stroke with vs. without Central Facial Paresis?

The Facial Feedback Hypothesis (FFH) states that facial emotion recognition is based on the imitation of facial emotional expressions and the processing of physiological feedback. In the light of limited and contradictory evidence, this hypothesis is still being debated. Therefore, in the present study, emotion recognition was tested in patients with central facial paresis after stroke. Performance in facial vs. auditory emotion recognition was assessed in patients with vs. without facial paresis. The accuracy of objective facial emotion recognition was significantly lower in patients with vs. without facial paresis and also in comparison to healthy controls. Moreover, for patients with facial paresis, the accuracy measure for facial emotion recognition was significantly worse than that for auditory emotion recognition. Finally, in patients with facial paresis, the subjective judgements of their own facial emotion recognition abilities differed strongly from their objective performances. This pattern of results demonstrates a specific deficit in facial emotion recognition in central facial paresis and thus provides support for the FFH and points out certain effects of stroke.

Prediction of Facial Emotion Recognition Ability in Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia Using Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation-Based Support Vector Regression Model.

ObjectiveThere were few studies that had attempted to predict facial emotion recognition (FER) ability at the individual level in schizophrenia patients. In this study, we developed a model for the prediction of FER ability in Chinese Han patients with the first-episode schizophrenia (FSZ).Materials and MethodsA total of 28 patients with FSZ and 33 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. All subjects underwent resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI). The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method was selected to analyze voxel-level spontaneous neuronal activity. The visual search experiments were selected to evaluate the FER, while the support vector regression (SVR) model was selected to develop a model based on individual rs-fMRI brain scan.ResultsGroup difference in FER ability showed statistical significance (P < 0.05). In FSZ patients, increased mALFF value were observed in the limbic lobe and frontal lobe, while decreased mALFF value were observed in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and occipital lobe (P < 0.05, AlphaSim correction). SVR analysis showed that abnormal spontaneous activity in multiple brain regions, especially in the right posterior cingulate, right precuneus, and left calcarine could effectively predict fearful FER accuracy (r = 0.64, P = 0.011) in patients.ConclusionOur study provides an evidence that abnormal spontaneous activity in specific brain regions may serve as a predictive biomarker for fearful FER ability in schizophrenia.

Effects of the mu-opioid receptor agonist morphine on facial mimicry and emotion recognition

Facial mimicry and emotion recognition are two socio-cognitive abilities involved in adaptive socio-emotional behavior, promoting affiliation and the establishment of social bonds. The mu-opioid receptor (MOR) system plays a key role in affiliation and social bonding. However, it remains unclear whether MORs are involved in the categorization and spontaneous mimicry of emotional facial expressions. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, between-subjects design, we investigated in 82 healthy female volunteers the effects of the specific MOR agonist morphine on the recognition accuracy of emotional faces (happiness, anger, fear), and on their facial mimicry (measured with electromyography). Frequentist statistics did not reveal any significant effects of drug administration on facial mimicry or emotion recognition abilities. However, post hoc Bayesian analyses provided support for an effect of morphine on facial mimicry of fearful facial expressions. Specifically, compared to placebo, morphine reduced mimicry of fear, as shown by lower activity of the frontalis muscle. Bayesian analyses also provided support for the absence of a drug effect on mimicry of happy and angry facial expressions, which were assessed with the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles, as well as on emotion recognition accuracy. These findings suggest that MOR activity is involved in automatic facial responses to fearful stimuli, but not in their identification. Overall, the current results, together with the previously reported small effects of opioid compounds, suggest a relatively marginal role of the MOR system in emotion simulation and perception.

Endogenous oxytocin levels are associated with facial emotion recognition accuracy but not gaze behavior in individuals with schizophrenia.

Difficulties in social cognition are common in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and are not ameliorated by antipsychotic treatment. Intranasal oxytocin (OT) administration has been explored as a potential intervention to improve social cognition; however, results are inconsistent, suggesting potential individual difference variables that may influence treatment response. Less is known about the relationship between endogenous OT and social cognition in SZ, knowledge of which may improve the development of OT-focused therapies. We examined plasma OT in relationship to facial emotion recognition and visual attention to salient facial features in SZ and controls. Forty-two individuals with SZ and 23 healthy controls viewed photographs of facial expressions of varying emotional intensity and identified the emotional expression displayed. Participants' gaze behavior during the task was recorded via eye tracking. Plasma oxytocin concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. SZ were less accurate than controls at identifying high-intensity fearful facial expressions and low-intensity sad expressions. Lower overall and high-intensity facial emotion recognition accuracy was associated with lower plasma OT levels in SZ but not controls. OT was not associated with visual attention to salient facial features; however, SZ had reduced visual attention to the nose region compared to controls. Individual differences in endogenous OT predict facial emotion recognition ability in SZ but are not associated with visual attention to salient facial features. Increased understanding of the association between endogenous OT and social cognitive abilities in SZ may help improve the design and interpretation of OT-focused clinical trials in SZ.

Hypomimia May Influence the Facial Emotion Recognition Ability in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Hypomimia is a clinical feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Based on the embodied simulation theory, the impairment of facial mimicry may worsen facial emotion recognition; however, the empirical results are inconclusive. We aimed to explore the worsening of emotion recognition by hypomimia. We further explored the relationship between the hypomimia, emotion recognition, and social functioning. A total of 114 participants were recruited. The patients with PD and normal controls (NCs) were matched for demographic characteristics. All the participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Chinese Multi-modalities Emotion Recognition Test. In addition to the above tests, the patients were assessed with the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and Parkinson's Disease Social Functioning Scale (PDSFS). Patients with PD with hypomimia had worse recognition of disgust than NCs (p = 0.018). The severity of hypomimia was predictive of the recognition of disgust (β= -0.275, p = 0.028). Facial emotion recognition was predictive of the PDSFS score of PD patients (β= 0.433, p = 0.001). We also found that recognizing disgust could mediate the relationship between hypomimia and the PDSFS score (β= 0.264, p = 0.045). Patients with hypomimia had the worst disgust facial recognition. Hypomimia may affect the social function of PD patients, which is related to recognizing the expression of disgust. Emotion recognition training may improve the social function of patients with PD.

Sleep quality and emotion recognition in individuals with and without internalizing psychopathologies

Background and objectivesSeparate lines of research indicate sleep quality may impact recognition of facial expressions in anxious or depressed individuals. This study examined facial emotion recognition ability in the context of self-perceived sleep quality and anxiety and depression symptom levels in individuals with and without internalizing psychopathologies. MethodsSeventy anxious and/or depressed patients and 24 demographically matched healthy controls completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), standard measures of anxiety and depression, and an Emotion Recognition Task comprising negative and positive facial expressions. ResultsAnalyses of variance results revealed patients reported worse sleep quality than controls. Linear mixed-effects models indicated that all participants demonstrated better emotion recognition abilities in identifying positive versus negative emotions. For reaction time, but not accuracy, regression results revealed significant individual differences, with worse sleep quality predicting slower reaction times for positive faces, specifically for happiness. LimitationsThe use of a subjective measure of sleep quality and a specific behavioral paradigm for emotion recognition may impact the generalizability of the findings. ConclusionsAssociations between task performance and emotional valence of facial expression implies that poor sleep quality, beyond internalizing symptom severity, may disrupt emotion processing.

Facial Emotion Recognition Ability in Patients with Fibromyalgia.

Observing others facial expressions to pain effects person's own facial expression empathetically. Fibromyalgia (FM) patients can be more sensitive to negative moods. We hypothesize that fibromyalgia patient recognize negative emotions more than positive emotions. . Thirty one patients who met the classification criteria of FM according to American College of Rheumatology 1990 were included to the study. Age and sex matched 24 healthy woman included as a control group. All of the participants full filled the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). All of them evaluated with Facial Emotion Recognition Test. The mean age was not significantly different between fibromyalgia and healthy controls (46.04±10.78 vs 41.43±11.64, re-spectively and p=0.137). There were no significant differences among occupational status (p=0.347) and education (p=0.946) between groups. The mean scores according to Beck Depression Scale (16.56±9.81 vs 14.89±8.22) and Beck Anxiety Scale (21.32±13.94 vs 18.36±16.18) were significantly higher in patients with FM than healthy controls (p>0.05, for both). Patients with FM had significantly lesser rate of recognizing sad facial emotions (p=0.012). The patients with FM needed more time while recognizing happy (p=0.017), surprised (p= 0.043), neutral (p<0.001) and angry facial emotions (p=0.003). This study provides evidence of impairment in sad facial emotions and more response time for happy, angry, neutral and surprised facial emotions. These may cause poor interpersonal relationship and insuf-ficient social functioning and leading to chronicity of the disease.

Machine learning classification of conduct disorder with high versus low levels of callous-unemotional traits based on facial emotion recognition abilities

Conduct disorder (CD) with high levels of callous-unemotional traits (CD/HCU) has been theoretically linked to specific difficulties with fear and sadness recognition, in contrast to CD with low levels of callous-unemotional traits (CD/LCU). However, experimental evidence for this distinction is mixed, and it is unclear whether these difficulties are a reliable marker of CD/HCU compared to CD/LCU. In a large sample (N = 1263, 9–18 years), we combined univariate analyses and machine learning classifiers to investigate whether CD/HCU is associated with disproportionate difficulties with fear and sadness recognition over other emotions, and whether such difficulties are a reliable individual-level marker of CD/HCU. We observed similar emotion recognition abilities in CD/HCU and CD/LCU. The CD/HCU group underperformed relative to typically developing (TD) youths, but difficulties were not specific to fear or sadness. Classifiers did not distinguish between youths with CD/HCU versus CD/LCU (52% accuracy), although youths with CD/HCU and CD/LCU were reliably distinguished from TD youths (64% and 60%, respectively). In the subset of classifiers that performed well for youths with CD/HCU, fear and sadness were the most relevant emotions for distinguishing them from youths with CD/LCU and TD youths, respectively. We conclude that non-specific emotion recognition difficulties are common in CD/HCU, but are not reliable individual-level markers of CD/HCU versus CD/LCU. These findings highlight that a reduced ability to recognise facial expressions of distress should not be assumed to be a core feature of CD/HCU.

In the mood to be social: Affective state influences facial emotion recognition in healthy adults.

The ability to accurately recognize facial expressions is a key element of social interaction. Facial emotion recognition (FER) assessments show promise as a clinical screening and therapeutic tool, but realizing this potential requires better understanding of the stability of this skill. Transient mood states are known to bias emotion recognition in some contexts and may represent a critical factor impacting FER ability. In particular, it is unclear how natural fluctuations in individuals' mood state over time contribute to specific changes in the ability to recognize facial expressions. The current study tested 55 neurotypical participants across multiple visits using the Emotion Recognition test and found that fluctuations in positive and negative mood state altered recognition of specific emotions. Surprisingly, effects of mood state on emotion recognition were noncongruent; increased positive mood was associated with improved recognition of scared expressions but worsened recognition of happy expressions. Our results suggest that minor fluctuations in mood state in a neurotypical population affect emotion recognition. Therefore, mood should be taken into account by researchers and clinicians assessing FER skills. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Facial Expression Processing of Children Orphaned by Parental HIV/AIDS: A Cross-Sectional ERP Study with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation.

Existing behavioral studies have suggested that individuals with early life stress usually show abnormal emotional processing. However, limited event-related brain potentials (ERPs) evidence was available to explore the emotional processes in children orphaned by parental HIV/AIDS (“AIDS orphans”). The current study aims to investigate whether there are behavioral and neurological obstacles in the recognition of emotional faces in AIDS orphans and also to further explore the processing stage at which the difference in facial emotion recognition exists. A total of 81 AIDS orphans and 60 non-orphan children were recruited through the local communities and school systems in Henan, China. Participants completed a computer version of the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task while recording ERPs. Behavioral results showed that orphans displayed higher response accuracy and shorter reaction time than the control (ps < 0.05). As for the ERPs analysis, the attenuated amplitude of N170 (i.e., an early component sensitive to facial configuration) was observed in AIDS orphans compared to the non-orphan control with happy and neutral faces; P300 (i.e., an endogenous component for affective valence evaluation in emotional processing) also showed significant differences in parietal lobe between groups, the non-orphan control group produced larger P300 amplitudes than orphans (p < 0.05). The results suggested that compared to the control group, AIDS orphans showed impaired facial emotion recognition ability with reduced brain activation.

Facial emotion training as an intervention in autism spectrum disorder: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

AbstractA large number of computer‐based training programs have been developed as an intervention to help individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) improve their facial emotion recognition ability, as well as social skills. However, it is unclear to what extent these facial emotion training programs can produce beneficial, long‐lasting, and generalizable results. Using standard meta‐analytic techniques, we investigated the effects of facial emotion training including generalization and maintenance restricted to randomized control trial studies comprising a total of 595 individuals with ASD. Our findings revealed that the intervention resulted in a robust improvement in emotion recognition for individuals receiving training compared with controls. However, while there was also some evidence for generalization of training effects, the small number of studies which conducted follow‐ups and assessed social skills reported that improvements were not maintained and there was no evidence for general improvement in social skills. Overall, the analysis revealed a medium effect size in training improvement indicating that facial emotion training may be an effective method for enhancing emotion recognition skills in ASD although more studies are required to assess maintenance of effects and possible general improvements in social skills.Lay summaryFacial emotion training as an intervention may be a potential way to help improve emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however robust empirical support for its efficacy has not been sufficiently established. Here, we conducted a meta‐analysis of previous studies to summarize the effects of facial emotion training on ASD. Our results show that the training produces a robust improvement in subsequent emotion recognition, while maintenance and generalization effects still need further investigation. To date, no experimentally verified improvements in social skills have been reported.

Comparing the Facial Emotion Recognition in Opioid Antecedent Subjects and Mixed Opioid-methamphetamine Antecedent Subjects under Methadone Maintenance Therapy with Control Group-A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Facial emotion recognition (FER) is an important social skill. Some studies have determined the capability of FER in substance abusers, but their results are contradictory. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate FER ability in opioid antecedent subjects and mixed opioid-methamphetamine antecedent subjects under methadone maintenance therapy compared to a control group. Methods: Following a retrospective cohort design, 71 methadone-maintained subjects (MMS) (40 individuals with a history of only opioid use disorder and 31 patients with a history of both opioid and methamphetamine use disorder) and 40 healthy participants filled the Persian version of Ackman and Friesen facial emotion experiment, which were matched based on age, education, and gender. Demographic and substance use characteristics were evaluated. Both groups were similar concerning the duration of the opioid use disorder, methadone maintenance treatment, and currently prescribed methadone dose. Data were analyzed using the chi-square, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Welch test. Statistical significance was considered when P-value &lt; 0.05. Results: Total FER scores were significantly lower in MMS compared to the control group. Concerning the subgroups, recognition of sadness was impaired in patients with a history of opioid use disorder (with and without a history of methamphetamine use disorder), while in recognition of anger and wonder, patients with both opioid and methamphetamine use disorder history had a significantly lower performance. There was no other significant difference between the groups. Conclusions: The findings suggest that social cognition deficit should be considered in strategies related to the addiction (both treatment and rehabilitation).

Do peer relationships mediate the association between children’s facial emotion recognition ability and their academic attainment? Findings from the ALSPAC study

We examined whether children’s facial emotion recognition ability predicted their academic attainment over time, and whether peer relationships mediated that association. A secondary aim was to test whether the putative causal pathways would be significantly different for boys and girls. The model was tested using data from The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective longitudinal cohort population. Facial emotion recognition ability was assessed using the Diagnostic Assessment of Non-Verbal Accuracy (DANVA) at age 8.5 years while academic attainment was measured using data on UK Key Stage 4 (General Certificate of Secondary Education) at 16 years (outcome). The teacher’s version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to measure children’s peer relationship problems at 10–11 years (mediator). We adjusted for area-level socio-economic status and child’s early academic attainment, and examined whether mediation was moderated by sex. The results showed that low facial emotion recognition ability in childhood was associated with low academic attainment at age 16 years. There was evidence of mediation via peer problems, with an estimated 19% of the total effect mediated by errors in emotion recognition. Further analyses showed that there was no difference in mediation for boys versus girls. The findings suggest that children’s facial emotion recognition ability and peer relationships should be potential targets for programmes that aim to improve children’s educational attainment and their social and emotional competence.