Impaired Emotion Recognition Research Articles

Imaging diagnosis and emotion recognition relationship in mild cognitive impairment

AbstractBackgroundRecent research has focused attention on social cognition impairment in Alzheimer Disease (AD). Specifically, emotion recognition can be evaluated with Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Some neuroanatomical changes could be related with social and cognitive deficits in patients. Therefore, future research combining cognitive indicators (RMET) with brain structure and function parameters (volumes, glucose metabolism, blood flow, amyloid deposits…) is required.MethodParticipants are patients from the Neurology Unit (Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe). They were neuropsychologically evaluated, and CSF samples were obtained to determine some biomarkers (β‐amyloid‐42, β‐amyloid‐40, p‐Tau…). Also, brain imaging techniques (magnetic resonance (MR) and Positron Emission Tomography with [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG‐PET/CT)) were applied to obtain brain structural and functional information, and to evaluate the relationship between them and emotion recognition evaluation (RMET). Imaging data were processed following SPM and CAT12 pipelines, a brain parcellation based on the Hammers atlas was used. Finally, 166 patients (with MR and/or FDG‐PET/CT) diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were included in the study.ResultThe correlation analysis between FDG‐PET/CT and RMET results showed significant correlations. Specifically, with prefrontal medial L and R (r = 0.36), posterior cingulate L and R (r = 0.34), parietal inferior L and R (r = 0.31), anterior cingulate L and R (r = 0.32), prefrontal lateral L and R (r = 0.32), insula R (r = 0.31) and basal ganglia R (r = 0.3). So, they are considered potential brain function biomarkers in MCI. Regarding the correlation analysis between MR (GM volumes (TIV‐corrected)) and RMET results, some significant correlations were observed. Specifically, with the straight gyrus L (r = 0.40), superior frontal gyrus L (r = 0.37), insula anterior inferior cortex R (r = 0.36), fusiform gyrus R (r = 0.36), anterior cingulate gyrus R (r = 0.36), insula anterior short gyrus L (r = 0.36), posterior and anterior cingulate gyrus L (r = 0.36, 0.35), and anterior orbital gyrus L (r = 0.35). So, they are considered potential brain structure biomarkers in MCI.ConclusionThe relationship between brain imaging parameters and emotion recognition impairment variables could provide important information for further biomarkers identification, as well as to identify potential physiopathological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative development since early steps.

Supraphysiological testosterone levels from anabolic steroid use and reduced sensitivity to negative facial expressions in men

RationaleAnabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are used to improve physical performance and appearance, but have been associated with deficits in social cognitive functioning. Approximately 30% of people who use AAS develop a dependence, increasing the risk for undesired effects.ObjectivesTo assess the relationship between AAS use (current/previous), AAS dependence, and the ability to recognize emotional facial expressions, and investigate the potential mediating role of hormone levels.MethodsIn total 156 male weightlifters, including those with current (n = 45) or previous (n = 34) AAS use and never-using controls (n = 77), completed a facial Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). Participants were presented with faces expressing one out of six emotions (sadness, happiness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise) and were instructed to indicate which of the six emotions each face displayed. ERT accuracy and response time were recorded and evaluated for association with AAS use status, AAS dependence, and serum reproductive hormone levels. Mediation models were used to evaluate the mediating role of androgens in the relationship between AAS use and ERT performance.ResultsCompared to never-using controls, men currently using AAS exhibited lower recognition accuracy for facial emotional expressions, particularly anger (Cohen’s d = −0.57, pFDR = 0.03) and disgust (d = −0.51, pFDR = 0.05). Those with AAS dependence (n = 47) demonstrated worse recognition of fear relative to men without dependence (d = 0.58, p = 0.03). Recognition of disgust was negatively correlated with serum free testosterone index (FTI); however, FTI did not significantly mediate the association between AAS use and recognition of disgust.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate impaired facial emotion recognition among men currently using AAS compared to controls. While further studies are needed to investigate potential mechanisms, our analysis did not support a simple mediation effect of serum FTI.

QOL-16. GLIOBLASTOMAS LOCATED IN THE RIGHT INFERIOR PARIETAL LOBE CAUSE A POOR POSTOPERATIVE PERFORMANCE LEVEL

Abstract OBJECTIVE Managing quality of life has become more important for patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Maintaining independence levels should be given attention while treating GBM. Postoperatively, non-dominant hemispheric GBMs often decrease the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score. This study aimed to investigate the factors that lead to poor KPS scores after tumor resection in non-dominant hemispheric GBM. METHODS Forty-one patients newly diagnosed GBM in the right cerebral hemisphere who underwent resection were included. Brain functions were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively. First, the KPS scores before and after surgery were compared. Second, univariate and multiple regression analyses and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) were performed to analyze the functions and brain regions related to KPS, respectively. Third, factors associated with prognosis were analyzed using the log-rank test. RESULTS Compared with the preoperative status, KPS significantly decreased after the surgery (81.0% vs. 73.6%, p = 0.020). Brain functions affecting KPS include general cognitive function, processing speed, attention, memory, visuospatial cognition, emotion recognition, and executive function. Among these, multiple regression analysis revealed visuospatial cognition and emotion recognition to be significantly influenced KPS in the chronic postoperative phase (p = 0.030 and 0.048, respectively). VLSM demonstrated that resection of the inferior parietal lobe caused a significant decline in KPS. Visuospatial cognition and emotion recognition were impaired with a higher probability (p = 0.035 and 0.048, respectively) in patients with tumors located in the inferior parietal lobe. In addition, lesions in the inferior parietal lobe were associated with shorter overall survival (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS GBMs in the right inferior parietal lobe are more likely to result in poor postoperative KPS due to impairment of visuospatial cognition and emotion recognition, which relate to a poor prognosis.

3 The Aesthetics of Empathy in Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum

Objective:Previous research suggests that individuals with isolated Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (AgCC) have cognitive and psychosocial deficiencies that include impaired recognition of the emotions of others (Symington et al., 2010) and a diminished ability to infer and describe the emotions of others (Paul et al., 2021; Turk et al., 2010). In addition, galvanic skin responses effectively discriminated between emotional images despite atypical emotion ratings (Paul et al, 2006), supporting a dissociation between cognitive and affective empathy in AgCC. Likewise, atypical patterns of visual attention to faces corresponded with impaired emotion recognition in AgCC (Bridgman et al, 2014), suggesting that atypical visual attention in AgCC negatively impacts the ability to identify others’ emotions. This study used the Multifaceted Empathy Test [MET] (Foell et al., 2018) to examine the impact of visual aesthetics (photo composition) on empathetic feelings (affective empathy) and situational emotion recognition (cognitive empathy) in persons with AgCC. Both cognitive and affective empathy scores are typically higher on MET stimuli composed according to the “Golden Spiral” (Callaway, 2022).Participants and Methods:Results from 50 control participants recruited from Cloud Research were compared to responses from 19 participants with AgCC and normal-range FSIQ (>80). Data was gathered through an online version of the MET, which uses a series of photographs of individuals displaying an emotion, half of which adhere to the compositional technique known as “The Golden Spiral.” To measure cognitive empathy, the participants are asked to pick the correct emotion being displayed with three distractors for each item. To measure affective empathy, they are then asked on a sliding scale, “how much do you empathize with the person shown” (1 = Not at all, 7 = Very much).Results:Repeated measures mixed ANOVAs revealed no difference between AgCC and control groups on affective empathy, and as expected on the MET, both groups had significantly higher ratings for photos composed according to the Golden Spiral (AgCC, np2 = .071; control, np2 = .136). In contrast, the AgCC group scored significantly lower than controls overall on cognitive empathy, np2 =.065. Exploratory post-hoc found a significant group difference in cognitive empathy only on photos composed according to the Golden Spiral, np2 = .090, with the scores in the AgCC group unimpacted by composition type while the control group exhibiting significantly higher scores Golden Spiral images, np2 = .254.Conclusions:Empathic deficits in AgCC were restricted to the cognitive component, while affective empathy was not impaired. Visual aesthetics of photo composition influenced affective empathy ratings in both AgCC and control groups. However, adults with AgCC had diminished ability to give cognitive labels to the emotional states of others, which was not enhanced by the formal aesthetics of stimuli. Thus the corpus callosum seems to facilitate the ability to cognitively label emotions by facilitating visual attention. It also suggests that the corpus callosum does not facilitate affective empathy, in part because it does not appear to determine whether formal aesthetics influences the processing of visual stimuli in AgCC or neurotypical controls.

Neural Correlates of Facial Emotion Recognition Impairment in Blepharospasm: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Selective impairment in recognizing facial expressions of disgust was reported in patients with focal dystonia several years ago, but the basic neural mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated whether dysfunction of the brain network involved in disgust recognition processing was related to this selective impairment in blepharospasm. Facial emotion recognition evaluations and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed in 33 blepharospasm patients and 33 healthy controls (HCs). The disgust processing network was constructed, and modularity analyses were performed to identify sub-networks. Regional functional indexes and intra- and inter-functional connections were calculated and compared between the groups. Compared to HCs, blepharospasm patients demonstrated a worse performance in disgust recognition. In addition, functional connections within the sub-network involved in perception processing rather than recognition processing of disgust were significantly decreased in blepharospasm patients compared to HCs. Specifically, decreased functional connections were noted between the left fusiform gyrus (FG) and right middle occipital gyrus (MOG), the left FG and right FG, and the right FG and left MOG. We identified decreased functional activity in these regions, as indicated by a lower amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the left MOG, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the right FG, and regional homogeneity in the right FG and left MOG in blepharospasm patients versus HCs. Our results suggest that dysfunctions of the disgust processing network exist in blepharospasm. A deficit in disgust emotion recognition may be attributed to disturbances in the early perception of visual disgust stimuli in blepharospasm patients.

Increasing our understanding of emotion recognition impairment among frontotemporal dementias.

Increasing our understanding of emotion recognition impairment among frontotemporal dementias.

Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Social Inference Ability in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Eye-Tracking Comparison Study.

Emotion recognition and social inference impairments are well-documented features of post-traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet the mechanisms underpinning these are not fully understood. We examined dynamic emotion recognition, social inference abilities, and eye fixation patterns between adults with and without TBI. Eighteen individuals with TBI and 18 matched non-TBI participants were recruited and underwent all three components of The Assessment of Social Inference Test (TASIT). The TBI group were less accurate in identifying emotions compared to the non-TBI group. Individuals with TBI also scored lower when distinguishing sincere and sarcastic conversations, but scored similarly to those without TBI during lie vignettes. Finally, those with TBI also had difficulty understanding the actor's intentions, feelings, and beliefs compared to participants without TBI. No group differences were found for eye fixation patterns, and there were no associations between fixations and behavioural accuracy scores. This conflicts with previous studies, and might be related to an important distinction between static and dynamic stimuli. Visual strategies appeared goal- and stimulus-driven, with attention being distributed to the most diagnostic area of the face for each emotion. These findings suggest that low-level visual deficits may not be modulating emotion recognition and social inference disturbances post-TBI.

3.42 Impairment of Facial Emotion Recognition in Children With High Levels of Irritability

3.42 Impairment of Facial Emotion Recognition in Children With High Levels of Irritability

Glioblastomas at the white matter of temporo-parietal junction cause a poor postoperative independence level.

Right cerebral hemispheric glioblastomas (GBMs) often decrease the Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score postoperatively, despite the patient having sufficient patient function while performing daily living. This study aimed to evaluate the factors that could cause poor KPS scores during the postoperative chronic phase in patients with right cerebral hemispheric GBMs. Data of 47 patients with newly diagnosed right cerebral hemispheric GBMs were analyzed. All patients were assessed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively to determine KPS and brain function. To determine tumor location related to the postoperative KPS scores, we used voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM). The patients were divided into two groups (involvement and non-involvement groups) based on whether their lesion involved a significant region identified by VLSM. We then compared functional factors and prognosis between the groups using the chi-squared and log-rank tests, respectively. The KPS score significantly decreased after surgery compared to that preoperatively measured (p = 0.023). VLSM revealed that tumors in the white matter of temporo-parietal junction (WM-TPJ) caused a significant decline in the KPS score at three months postoperatively. The patients in the involvement group had a higher probability of impaired attention, visuospatial cognition, emotion recognition, and visual field than did those in the non-involvement group. In addition, tumor in the WM-TPJ were associated with shorter progression-free survival and overall survival (p = 0.039 and 0.023, respectively). GBMs involving the right WM-TPJ are more likely to result in poor postoperative KPS scores and prognoses. Impairments of several kinds of brain functions caused by tumor invasion to the WM-TPJ may be associated with lower KPS scores.

Emotionally focused therapy and psychological distance research on consumers with social anxiety disorder

BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder is characterized by avoidance of interpersonal relationships and a generalized impairment of emotion recognition and regulation. Protecting the individual’s consumer rights can be difficult when this emotion is expressed in consumer relationships. Compared with other therapies, Emotionally Focused Therapy focuses more on the individual’s emotional processing. Therefore, the study proposes to use emotion-focused therapy and psychological distance theory to intervene in patients with social anxiety disorder and help them better control their emotional management.Subjects and Methods Consumers with social anxiety disorder were selected as research subjects and randomly divided into an experimental group (conventional psychological intervention) and a control group (emotion-focused therapy combined with psychological distance-related theory), respectively, to provide reasonable guidance for individual emotions. Before and after the experiment, the results were analyzed with the help of the Social Anxiety Subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale and SPSS23.0.ResultsAfter the experimental intervention, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the social anxiety scale scores of the two groups of patients (P<0.05), and the total scale scores of the experimental group and the control group were (12.34 ± 4.28) and (18.17 ± 2.13), respectively.Conclusions Emotional aggregation therapy can better enable social anxiety disorder patients to focus more on their own emotions, and psychological distance theory research can invariably draw closer to the degree of closeness between the intervener and the interviewees so that the efficacy of the treatment has a high degree of applicability and effectiveness.

P01.10.B EMOTION RECOGNITION IN PATIENTS WITH LOW-GRADE GLIOMA: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH TUMOR LOCATION AND TUMOR VOLUME

Abstract BACKGROUND Patients with low-grade gliomas (LGG), generally function well at the time of diagnosis and have a favourable prognosis. However, LGG can have impact on cognitive functioning of patients. To date, little is known about social cognition (SC) in patients with LGG. Social cognitive functions allow the processing of complex social information, with as important element the ability to recognize other people’s emotional expressions. Inaccurate recognition or misinterpretation of emotional facial expressions can lead to impairments in social functioning, which can have adverse effects on quality of life. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate emotion recognition in patients with LGG and the relationship with tumor location and tumor volume. MATERIAL AND METHODS 125 patients with IDH mutated astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma grade 2 and 3, were matched with 169 healthy controls (HC). Tumor location and volume were evaluated pre-radiotherapy based on MRI scans. As a parameter for LGG volume the clinical radiotherapy target volume was used. SC was measured with a test for emotion recognition, i.e. the Facial Expressions of Emotion Stimuli and Tests (FEEST), after surgery. Descriptive statistics and between-group comparisons were performed. RESULTS On a group level, patients with LGG performed significantly lower on the FEEST total score compared to HC. Also, compared to norm data used in clinical practice, 32.8% of the patients showed an impaired performance. Larger LGG volume was significantly associated (p < 0.001) with poorer performance on emotion recognition. However, no direct association between LGG location (frontal, temporal, parietal) and emotion recognition was found. CONCLUSION In patients with LGG, impaired emotion recognition is often present before start of radiotherapy, and is related to larger LGG volume but not to location. Because of the relatively favourable prognosis of patients with LGG, maintaining quality of life is of high importance. Therefore, a thorough neuropsychological examination, including measurements for SC, is necessary to inform patients with LGG about possible changes in SC, and offer appropriate psychoeducation and care.

An another perspective of face masks in emotion recognition: Comment on Shepherd and Rippon (2022).

In a recent article, Shepherd and Rippon (2022) investigated the impact of widespread face mask use on emotion recognition. They found that mask-wearing led to reduced accuracy in identifying emotions such as fear, sadness, and disgust when participants were exposed to brief facial stimuli. Their study highlights the significance of masks in concealing facial areas crucial for non-verbal communication, potentially affecting emotional well-being. Here in this comment, we have argued that despite concerns about impaired emotional recognition and social interactions, balancing COVID-19 protection and effective communication is essential. We stress the importance of adhering to mask guidelines while enhancing alternative cues and communication strategies. In public health emergencies like COVID-19, such research should acknowledge the whole complexity and prioritize safety aspects in a manner that prevents controversial issues.

Facial affect recognition in context in adults with and without TBI.

Several studies have reported impaired emotion recognition in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but studies have two major design features that limit application of results to real-world contexts: (1) participants choose from among lists of basic emotions, rather than generating emotion labels, and (2) images are typically presented in isolation rather than in context. To address these limitations, we created an open-labeling task with faces shown alone or in real-life scenes, to more closely approximate how adults with TBI label facial emotions beyond the lab. Participants were 55 adults (29 female) with moderate to severe TBI and 55 uninjured comparison peers, individually matched for race, sex, and age. Participants viewed 60 photographs of faces, either alone or in the pictured person's real-life context, and were asked what that person was feeling. We calculated the percent of responses that were standard forced-choice-task options, and also used sentiment intensity analysis to compare verbal responses between the two groups. We tracked eye movements for a subset of participants, to explore whether gaze duration or number of fixations helped explain any group differences in labels. Over 50% of responses in both groups were words other than basic emotions on standard affect tasks, highlighting the importance of eliciting open-ended responses. Valence of labels by participants with TBI was attenuated relative to valence of Comparison group labels, i.e., TBI group responses were less positive to positive images and the same was true for negative images, although the TBI group responses had higher lexical diversity. There were no significant differences in gaze duration or number of fixations between groups. Results revealed qualitative differences in affect labels between adults with and without TBI that would not have emerged on standard forced-choice tasks. Verbal differences did not appear to be attributable to differences in gaze patterns, leaving open the question of mechanisms of atypical affect processing in adults with TBI.

Correlation of event-related potentials N170 with dysfunctional attitudes in patients with major depressive disorder

BackgroundCognitive impairment frequently accompanies first-episode major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients. Early detection and intervention for cognitive impairment can enhance the quality of life for individuals with depressive disorders. Impaired emotion recognition may serve as an initial manifestation of cognitive impairment in these patients. This study examines the characteristics of event-related potentials N170 and dysfunctional attitudinal questionnaire total scores, as well as each factor and their correlation, revealing characteristic electroencephalogram (EEG) changes associated with cognitive impairment in first-episode MDD patients. MethodA total of 88 patients experiencing first-episode MDD and 29 healthy volunteers from the same period participated in the study. They underwent event-related potential N170 measures to assess mood recognition function, the 17-item Hamilton depression scale (HAMD-17) to evaluate the severity of depressive disorder, and the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scales(DAS) to appraise cognitive function. ResultThe dysfunctional attitude questionnaire's total score and each factor score were higher in the MDD group compared to the healthy control (HC) group. The MDD group exhibited lower amplitudes than the HC group at CZ, PZ, POZ, P7, PO7, P8, and PO8 electrode points. A correlation was identified between the P7 and PO7 electrode points of the event-related potential N170 and cognitive function. LimitationThis study solely considered neutral face emotional stimuli and did not account for depressive disorder subtypes. ConclusionDifferences were observed between the MDD and HC groups in cognitive function and N170 amplitude in the central brain region (CZ, PZ, POZ), left posterior temporal region (P7), left occipitotemporal region (PO7), right posterior temporal region (P8), and right occipitotemporal region (PO8). Additionally, a correlation was found between N170 latency in the left posterior temporal region of the brain (P7) and the left occipitotemporal region (PO7) with cognitive function.

Impaired facial emotion recognition in relation to social behaviours in de novo Parkinson's disease.

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is a crucial component of social cognition and is essential in social-interpersonal behaviour regulation. Although FER impairment is well-established in advanced PD, data about FER at the time of diagnosis and its relationship with social behavioural problems in daily life are lacking. The aim was to examine FER at the time of PD diagnosis compared to a matched healthy control (HC) group and to associate FER with indices of social behavioural problems. In total, 142 de novo, treatment-naïve PD patients and 142 HC were included. FER was assessed by the Ekman 60 faces test (EFT). Behavioural problems in PD patients were assessed using the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX-self and DEX-proxy) and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-self). PD patients had significantly lower EFT-total scores (p = .001) compared to HC, with worse recognition of Disgust (p = .001) and Sadness (p = .016). Correlational analyses yielded significant correlations between AES-self and both EFT-total (rs = .28) and Fear (rs = .22). Significant negative correlations were found between DEX-proxy and both EFT-total (rs = -.28) and Anger (rs = -.26). Analyses of DEX-subscales showed that proxy ratings were significantly higher than patient-ratings for the Social Conventions subscale (p = .047). This DEX-proxy subscale had the strongest correlation with EFT-total (rs = -.29). Results show that de novo PD patients already show impaired FER compared to HC. In addition, lower FER is linked to self-reported apathy and proxy-reported social-behavioural problems, especially concerning social conventions. These findings validate the importance of the inclusion of social cognition measures in the neuropsychological assessment even in early PD.

Social cognitive deficit is associated with visuomotor coordination impairment and dopamine transporter availability in euthymic bipolar disorder

BackgroundExtensive evidence has suggested functional connections between co-occurring visuomotor and social cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders; however, such association has not been studied in bipolar disorder (BD). We aimed to investigate the relationship between visuomotor coordination and social cognition in the euthymic stage of BD (euBD). Given the shared neurobiological underpinnings involving the dopaminergic system and corticostriatal circuitry, we hypothesized a positive correlation between social cognition and visuomotor coordination in euBD patients. Methods40 euBD patients and 59 healthy control (HC) participants underwent evaluation of social (Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2-Taiwan version (DANVA-2-TW)), non-social cognitive function and visuomotor coordination. A subgroup of participants completed single-photon emission computed tomography for striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability assessment. ResultsEuBD patients showed impaired nonverbal emotion recognition (ps ≤ 0.033) and poorer visuomotor coordination (ps < 0.003) compared to HC, with a positive correlation between these two abilities (r = 0.55, p < 0.01). However, after considering potential confounding factors, instead of visuomotor coordination, striatal DAT availability was a unique predictor of emotion recognition accuracy in euBD (beta = 0.33, p = 0.001). ConclusionOur study result supported a functional association between social cognition and visuomotor coordination in euBD, with striatal dopaminergic dysfunction emerged as a crucial contributing factor in their interrelation.

Impaired Emotion Recognition: A Potential Marker for Social Behavioral Problems in Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer Disease?

Emotion recognition, an important aspect of social cognition, can be impaired already in early Alzheimer disease dementia and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and may underly social behavioral changes, which can increase caregiver burden. However, social behavior is difficult to assess in outpatient settings. We evaluated whether impaired emotion recognition is related to proxy-rated social behavioral problems and thus can serve as a marker of these changes. Emotion recognition was assessed with Ekman 60 Faces Test (EFT-total, 6 separate emotions) in patients (n = 31 AD; n = 37 aMCI) and healthy controls (n = 60 HCs). Social behavioral problems were rated by proxies with the neuropsychiatric inventory (agitation, apathy, irritability, disinhibition, and a sum score). It tested whether EFT scores differed between patients with and without behavioral problems. AD had worse EFT-total ( P <0.001), disgust ( P = 0.02), and fear ( P = 0.001) than HC, but not than aMCI, who did not differ from HC. AD displayed more disinhibition ( P < 0.05). EFT and neuropsychiatric inventory sum scores were not significantly correlated. Patients with apathy had lower EFT-total ( P = 0.02). Measuring emotion recognition adds value: it is impaired in early neurodegeneration and associated with apathy but not necessarily related to overall changes in social behavior in this population.

Impairment in reading negative social cues extends beyond the face in autism

Nonverbal expressions are essential to regulating social communication and interaction. Impaired emotion recognition from facial expressions has been linked to various psychiatric conditions characterized by severe social deficits such as autism. As body expressions as an additional source of social-emotional information have attracted little research attention, little is known about whether emotion recognition impairments are specific to faces, or extend to body expressions. This study explored and compared emotion recognition from face versus body expressions in autism spectrum disorder. We compared 30 men with autism spectrum disorder to 30 male age- and IQ-matched control participants in their ability to recognize angry, happy, and neutral expressions from dynamic face and body expressions. Participants with autism spectrum disorder showed impaired recognition of angry expressions from both faces and bodies, while there were no group differences in recognizing happy and neutral expressions. In autism spectrum disorder, recognizing angry face expressions was inversely predicted by gaze avoidance, while recognizing angry body expressions was inversely predicted by impairments in social interaction and autistic traits. These findings suggest that distinct mechanisms may underlie the impaired emotion recognition from face and body expressions in autism spectrum disorder, respectively. Overall, our study demonstrates that emotion-specific recognition difficulties in autism spectrum disorder are not limited to face expressions but extend to emotional body expressions.

Cognition, prior aggression, and psychopathic traits in relation to impaired multimodal emotion recognition in psychotic spectrum disorders.

Psychopathic traits have been associated with impaired emotion recognition in criminal, clinical and community samples. A recent study however, suggested that cognitive impairment reduced the relationship between psychopathy and emotion recognition. We therefore investigated if reasoning ability and psychomotor speed were impacting emotion recognition in individuals with psychotic spectrum disorders (PSD) with and without a history of aggression, as well as in healthy individuals, more than self-rated psychopathy ratings on the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM). Eighty individuals with PSD (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, other psychoses, psychotic bipolar disorder) and documented history of aggression (PSD+Agg) were compared with 54 individuals with PSD without prior aggression (PSD-Agg) and with 86 healthy individuals on the Emotion Recognition Assessment in Multiple Modalities (ERAM test). Individuals were psychiatrically stable and in remission from possible substance use disorders. Scaled scores on matrix reasoning, averages of dominant hand psychomotor speed and self-rated TriPM scores were obtained. Associations existed between low reasoning ability, low psychomotor speed, patient status and prior aggression with total accuracy on the ERAM test. PSD groups performed worse than the healthy group. Whole group correlations between total and subscale scores of TriPM to ERAM were found, but no associations with TriPM scores within each group or in general linear models when accounting for reasoning ability, psychomotor speed, understanding of emotion words and prior aggression. Self-rated psychopathy was not independently linked to emotion recognition in PSD groups when considering prior aggression, patient status, reasoning ability, psychomotor speed and emotion word understanding.

Hemispheric contributions toward interoception and emotion recognition in left-vs right-semantic dementia

BackgroundThe hemispheric contributions toward interoception, the perception of internal bodily cues, and emotion recognition remains unclear. Semantic dementia cases with either left-dominant (i.e., left-SD) or right-dominant (i.e., right-SD) anterior temporal lobe atrophy experience emotion recognition difficulties, however, little is known about interoception in these syndromes. Here, we hypothesised that right-SD would show worse interoception and emotion recognition due to right-dominant atrophy. MethodsThirty-five participants (8 left-SD; 6 right-SD; 21 controls) completed a monitoring task. Participants pressed a button when they: (1) felt their heartbeat, without pulse measurement (Interoception); or (2) heard a recorded heartbeat (Exteroception-control). Simultaneous ECG was recorded. Accuracy was calculated by comparing the event frequency (i.e., heartbeat or sound) to response frequency. Emotion recognition was assessed via the Facial Affect Selection Task. Voxel-based morphometry analyses identified neural correlates of interoception and emotion recognition. ResultsRight-SD showed worse interoception than controls and left-SD (both p's < 0.001). Both patient groups showed worse emotion recognition than controls (right-SD: p < .001; left-SD: p = .018), and right-SD showed worse emotion recognition than left-SD (p = .003). Regression analyses revealed that worse emotion recognition was predicted by right-SD (p = .002), left-SD (p = .005), and impaired interoception (p = .004). Interoception and emotion were associated with the integrity of right-lateralised structures including the insula, temporal pole, thalamus, superior temporal gyrus, and hippocampus. ConclusionOur study provides the first evidence for impaired interoception in right-SD, suggesting that impaired emotion recognition in this syndrome is driven by inaccurate internal monitoring. Further we identified a common neurobiological basis for interoception and emotion in the right hemisphere.