Emotional Processing Research Articles

Exploring Emotion Control and Alexithymia in Autistic Adults: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Difficulties in controlling emotions - a proxy for emotion dysregulation (ED)-and difficulties in expressing feelings in words-'absence of emotion labelling' or alexithymia-co-exist in autism and contribute to elevated levels of impulsive and suicidal behaviour. To date, studies linking the two phenomena have relied on retrospective self-reported measures, lacking support for generalizability to real-life situations. The present study investigated in vivo emotion labelling and its impact on emotion control in 29 autistic adults without intellectual disability (ASC) and 28 neurotypical (NT) individuals of similar age, sex, and educational level. Participants were trained in an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to label their emotions, the arousal dimension, and their emotion control via smartphone over a one-week period. Findings showed that the ASC group experienced more instances of 'having an emotion that I cannot name' and, when they were able to label their emotions, they reported higher rates of negative and conflicting (simultaneously positive and negative) emotions. In both groups, the absence of emotion labelling, and intense negative emotions were associated with impaired emotion control. However, the association between lack of emotional awareness-'I have no emotion'-and impaired emotion control was only evident in ASC individuals. Our study highlights a nuanced facet of emotional processing in the ASC population. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between ED and alexithymia in autism.

The Influence of Temperament, Theory of Mind, Inhibitory Control, and Prosocial Behavior on Child Anxiety Symptoms in the First Five Years of Life.

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent of all mental health disorders, often originating in early childhood and extending into later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Determining salient risk factors that precede their development is important for prevention and intervention efforts. Towards this end, we examined the role of temperament, theory of mind, inhibitory control, and prosocial behavior on child anxiety symptoms in the first 5years of life. A community sample of children and their parents (N = 399) enrolled in a longitudinal study of emotion processing were assessed when the children were infants and at ages 2years, 3years, and 5years. Linear mixed models and linear regression models revealed that greater anxiety at 5years was associated with greater negative affectivity and behavioral inhibition, lower effortful control, lower theory of mind scores on the "desires" domain, and higher scores on the "intentions" domain (assessed from infancy to 3years of age). These characteristics may be useful to assess in clinical settings to evaluate a patient's risk for developing anxiety. They may also be useful in developinginterventions targeting specific vulnerabilities.

Clima socioemocional en el centro penitenciario de A Lama (Pontevedra, España)

This study examines the socioemotional climate in A Lama prison (Pontevedra, Spain). The study involved 153 participants, male (82.9 %), with an average age of 42.33 (SD = 11.40) years. Correlation analyses showed significant relationships between various affective processes, such as hope, solidarity, trust, and hatred, as well as associations between fear and the feeling of loneliness. Mediation analysis confirmed that educational opportunities for inmatesnot only increase joy but also reduce anger, contributing to a positive socioemotional climate. These results highlight the complexity of socioemotional experiences in the prison context, emphasizing the importance of simultaneously considering multiple emotional processes to gain a deeper understanding of the penitentiary socioemotional climate.

Association between biological markers and somatic pain

Pain, as one of the major clinical and social problems, still lacks effective objective evaluation indicators. At present, nearly one in five adults suffer from different types and different parts of pain. An important feature of clinical pain is persistent pain, in addition to sensory discrimination processes, it involves a range of brain regions involved in top-down cognitive and emotional processing. However, clinical pain is often affected by multiple factors and is difficult to assess objectively. Recently, blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and biopsy tissue have been identified using novel, sensitive, and specific protein analysis methods in an attempt to detect changes in biological markers associated with different pain types. This paper will summarize the biological markers related to different parts of pain in the latest relevant studies at home and abroad and focus on the application prospect of such biological markers in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis evaluation of the pain.

Posttraumatic growth modulates the response to negative emotions related to COVID-19: An event-related potentials study.

There is increasing interest in identifying how posttraumatic growth (PTG) impacts emotional processing following traumatic events (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Previous research suggests that high PTG levels may lead to enduring changes in positive emotional processing. Despite this fact, little is known regarding brain activation and responses to stressful emotional stimuli. The present study utilised event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether individual differences in emotional responses toward neutral and negative emotional stimuli related to COVID-19 are related to self-reported PTG levels. A total of 77 participants were analysed: 21 in the high PTG group and 56 in the control group. The amplitude of the N2 was smaller in the high PTG group compared to the control group under both negative and neutral conditions. When viewing the negative emotion pictures (vs. neutral pictures), the N2 amplitude significantly decreased for the high PTG group in the right occipital and frontal-parietal areas, whereas no significant change was observed among the control group. In the time window Late Positive Potential (LPP) 600-1000ms, emotional stimuli and the group interaction were significant. Viewing negative pictures (vs. neutral pictures) decreased the LPP 600-1000ms amplitudes for the control group, mainly originating from the brain's frontal regions. However, there were no such significant differences for the PTG group. Due to the limited sample size and cultural differences, the applicability of these results to other regions or countries needs to be verified. The presented findings suggest that the impact of PTG during emotional response is reflected in both bottom-up (evidenced by the early ERP components) and top-down (evidenced by the later ERP components) processes. Individuals with high PTG may use a meditation-related emotional regulation strategy of acceptance at the basic stage and non-judgement at a later stage.

Cross-channel adaptation reveals shared emotion representation from face and biological motion.

Emotions in interpersonal interactions can be communicated simultaneously via various social signals such as face and biological motion (BM). Here, we demonstrate that even though BM and face are very different in visual properties, emotions conveyed by these two types of social signals involve dedicated and common processing mechanisms (N = 168, college students, 2020-2024). By utilizing the visual adaptation paradigm, we found that prolonged exposure to the happy BM biased the emotion perception of the subsequently presented morphed BM toward sad, and vice versus. The observed aftereffect disappeared when the BM adaptors were shown inverted, indicating that it arose from emotional information processing rather than being a result of adaptation to constitutive low-level features. Besides, such an aftereffect was also found for facial expressions and similarly vanished when the face adaptors were inverted. Critically, preexposure to emotional faces also exerted an adaptation aftereffect on the emotion perception of BMs. Furthermore, this cross-channel effect could not only happen from faces to BMs but also from BMs to faces, suggesting that emotion perception from face and BM are potentially driven by common underlying neural substrates. Overall, these findings highlighted a close coupling of BM and face emotion perception and suggested the existence of a dedicated emotional representation that can be shared across these two different types of social signals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Disability and infidelity with a cross-cultural couple: an emotionally focused therapy case study

ABSTRACT This clinical case study delves into the therapeutic process of a cross-cultural couple, facing the intersection of disability and infidelity concerns. This intersection illuminates the intricate dynamics that arise when couples navigate both the complexities of disability and the emotional turmoil associated with infidelity. Utilizing Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), case intervention unfolded through three distinct stages, revealing intricate emotional dynamics, attachment styles, and communication patterns. The study explores the couples’ narrative, negative interaction cycles, and distinct emotional processing styles, considering complicating factors such as immigration challenges, cultural norms, and online infidelity. To strengthen bonds, the therapeutic approach promotes cultural sensitivity, intersectionality, and emotional connection. Despite time constraints and visa issues, the study highlights the efficacy of EFT in navigating the complexities of this cross-cultural couple. This case study contributes to the existing literature by examining the interplay of disability, infidelity, and cultural diversity within the framework of couples’ therapy.

Detecting five-pattern personality traits using eye movement features for observing emotional faces.

The five-pattern personality traits rooted in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have promising prospects for clinical application. However, they are currently assessed using a self-report scale, which may have certain limitations. Eye tracking technology, with its non-intrusive, objective, and culturally neutral characteristics, has become a powerful tool for revealing individual cognitive and emotional processes. Therefore, applying this technology for personality assessment is a promising approach. In this study, participants observed five emotional faces (anger, happy, calm, sad, and fear) selected from the Chinese Facial Affective Picture System. Utilizing artificial intelligence algorithms, we evaluated the feasibility of automatically identifying different traits of the five-pattern personality traits from participants' eye movement patterns. Based on the analysis of five supervised learning algorithms, we draw the following conclusions: The Lasso feature selection method and Logistic Regression achieve the highest prediction accuracy for most of the traits (TYa, SYa, SYi, TYi). This study develops a framework for predicting five-pattern personality traits using eye movement behavior, offering a novel approach for personality assessment in TCM.

Longitudinal changes in neural responses to fearful faces in adolescents with anorexia nervosa – A fMRI study

ObjectiveAlthough proven neuronal changes are correlated with anorexia nervosa (AN), where these changes occur and how they change during the course of this disease are often unclear; this is especially true regarding emotion processing, e.g., of anxiety, despite a growing body of literature on its importance for the pathophysiology and clinical course of patients with AN. MethodsTwenty-two female adolescent patients with AN were scanned during acute starvation and after short-term weight recovery and were compared to 27 healthy controls. A well-established face-matching paradigm involving individuals with different emotions was used during fMRI. ResultsPatients with AN selectively showed significantly increasing neural activation in the somatomotor cortex when viewing fearful faces following short-term weight recovery. No differences were found compared to healthy controls or for neutral, angry or surprised faces. Neural activation in response to fearful faces during acute starvation was associated with lower BMI-SDS and greater illness burden. ConclusionHigher somatomotor activity could represent anxiety-induced preparations for motor reactions (e.g., fight or flight) that are more pronounced in more affected patients. These results align with recent models of AN that increasingly incorporate anxiety into the pathophysiological and prognostic model of AN and help elucidate its underlying neurological mechanisms.

Topography of Cholinergic Nerve Terminal Vulnerability and Balance Self-Efficacy in Parkinson's Disease.

Postural instability and gait disturbances (PIGD) represent a significant cause of disability in Parkinson's disease (PD). Cholinergic system dysfunction has been implicated in falls in PD. The occurrence of falls typically results in fear of falling (FoF) that in turn may lead to poorer balance self-efficacy. Balance self-efficacy refers to one's level of confidence in their ability to balance while completing activities of daily living like getting dressed, bathing, and walking. Lower self-efficacy, or greater FoF during these activities is a function of motor, cognitive, and emotional impairments and may impact quality of life in PD. Unlike known cholinergic reduction, especially in the right lateral geniculate and caudate nuclei, little is known about the role of cholinergic transporters in FoF or mobility self-efficacy in PD. [18F]fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol ([18F]FEOBV) positron emission tomography (PET) studies were conducted to assess vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) expression in 126 patients with PD (male (m) = 95, female (f) = 31). Participants had a mean age of 67.3 years (standard deviation (SD) = 7.1) and median Hoehn Yahr stage of 2.5. Patients also completed the Short Falls Efficacy Scale (sFES-I) as a survey measure of concerns about falling. [18F]FEOBV data were processed in Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) using a voxel-wise regression model with sFES-I scores as the outcome measure. Reduced [18F]FEOBV binding in tectum, metathalamic (lateral more than medial geniculate nuclei), thalamus proper, bilateral mesiotemporal (hippocampal, parahippocampal, fusiform gyri and fimbriae), and right cerebellar lobule VI significantly associated with higher sFES-I scores (p < 0.05, family-wise error (FWE) correction after Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement (TFCE)). Unlike the more limited involvement of the brainstem-thalamic complex and caudate nuclei cholinergic topography associated with falls in PD, cholinergic reductions in the extended connectivity between the thalamic complex and the temporal limbic system via the fimbriae associates with FoF. Additional cholinergic changes were seen in the cerebellum. The temporal limbic system plays a role not only in episodic memory but also in spatial navigation, scene and contextual (e.g., emotional) processing. Findings may augur novel therapeutic approaches to treat poor mobility self-efficacy in PD. No: NCT02458430. Registered 18 March, 2015, https://www. gov/study/NCT02458430; No: NCT05459753. Registered 01 July, 2022, https://www. gov/study/NCT05459753.

The insular cortex, autonomic asymmetry and cardiovascular control: looking at the right side of stroke.

Evidence from animal and human studies demonstrates that cortical regions play a key role in autonomic modulation with a differential role for some brain regions located in the left and right brain hemispheres. Known as autonomic asymmetry, this phenomenon has been demonstrated by clinical observations, by experimental models, and currently by combined neuroimaging and direct recordings of sympathetic nerve activity. Previous studies report peculiar autonomic-mediated cardiovascular alterations following unilateral damage to the left or right insula, a multifunctional key cortical region involved in emotional processing linked to autonomic cardiovascular control and featuring asymmetric characteristics. Based on clinical studies reporting specific damage to the insular cortex, this review aims to provide an overview of the prognostic significance of unilateral (left or right hemisphere) post-insular stroke cardiac alterations. In addition, we review experimental data aiming to unravel the central mechanisms involved in post-insular stroke cardiovascular complications. Current clinical and experimental data suggest that stroke of the right insula can present a worse cardiovascular prognosis.

Machine Learning-Based Approach: Enhancing Social Media Platform

Machine Learning is a technique that aims to learn from data over a task based on certain performance measures. With the flooding of data and increased computational ability, machine learning algorithms have a huge research scope. The task of identifying the correct machine learning algorithm for an application is very challenging without analysing the basic information about the problem such as the domain of the undertaken problem, the features available in the data, etc. The movie industry, a huge part of entertainment industry, has seen a phenomenal growth throughout the globe in recent times. A movie can capture the attention of a viewer and can trigger cognitive and emotional processes in the brain. In this research, the emotional outcome of the viewer was analysed while they watch the movie before its actual release that is, during its preview. Traditionally Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging device was used to assess human brain activity but proved to be non-feasible and costly so EEG sensors were used to monitor and record the functioning of the brain of volunteers for further analysis. We proposed a model to use the collected data through EEG sensors were analysed using artificial neural network which was Used to find high and low of different brain waves mapping to the emotions depicted in every scene of the movie. Performance measures such as accuracy, precision and recall were calculated to validate our proposed model. Our proposed model resulted in providing assistance to movie makers who could Study the pulse of audience before the actual release and could incorporate changes if necessary.

How does emotional content influence visual word recognition? A meta-analysis of valence effects

AbstractResearch on the interplay between language and emotion has shown evidence that the affective content of words influences their recognition. However, the direction of the effects is not clear, as there are mixed findings regarding the role of positive and, especially, negative valence. We conducted a Bayesian multi-level meta-analysis to examine the role of valence in visual word recognition, focusing on the lexical decision task. The results revealed a facilitative effect of positive valence on lexical decision times. That is, positive words led to faster responses than both negative and neutral words. In contrast, negative valence did not have any effect, although the analysis of several moderator variables suggested that there might be a facilitative effect in some cases, specifically, when negative words elicit very strong and intense emotions. These results shed light on the complexities of emotional word processing. They also point to the need for psycholinguistic models to take affective information into account, and thus provide a complete view of visual word recognition.

Children’s exposure to chemical contaminants: Demographic disparities and associations with the developing basal ganglia

Children are regularly exposed to chemical contaminants that may influence brain development. However, relatively little is known about how these contaminants impact the developing human brain. Here, we combined silicone wristband exposure assessments with neuroimaging for the first time to examine how chemical contaminant mixtures are associated with the developing basal ganglia—a brain region key for the healthy development of emotion, reward, and motor processing, and which may be particularly susceptible to contaminant harm. Further, we examined demographic disparities in exposures to clarify which children were at highest risk for any contaminant-associated neurobiological changes. Participants included 62 community children (average age 7.00 years, 53% female, 66% White) who underwent structural neuroimaging to provide data on their basal ganglia structure and wore a silicone wristband for seven days to track their chemical contaminant exposure. 45 chemical contaminants—including phthalates and their alternatives, brominated flame retardants, organophosphate esters, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls—were detected in over 75% of wristbands. Notable demographic disparities in exposure were present, such that Non-White and lower-income children were more exposed to several contaminants. Exposure to chemical contaminant mixtures was not associated with overall basal ganglia volume; however, two organophosphate esters (2IPPDPP and 4IPPDPP) were both associated with a larger globus pallidus, a basal ganglia sub-region. Results highlight demographic disparities in exposure and suggest possible risks to a brain region key for healthy emotional development.

EAV: EEG-Audio-Video Dataset for Emotion Recognition in Conversational Contexts

Understanding emotional states is pivotal for the development of next-generation human-machine interfaces. Human behaviors in social interactions have resulted in psycho-physiological processes influenced by perceptual inputs. Therefore, efforts to comprehend brain functions and human behavior could potentially catalyze the development of AI models with human-like attributes. In this study, we introduce a multimodal emotion dataset comprising data from 30-channel electroencephalography (EEG), audio, and video recordings from 42 participants. Each participant engaged in a cue-based conversation scenario, eliciting five distinct emotions: neutral, anger, happiness, sadness, and calmness. Throughout the experiment, each participant contributed 200 interactions, which encompassed both listening and speaking. This resulted in a cumulative total of 8,400 interactions across all participants. We evaluated the baseline performance of emotion recognition for each modality using established deep neural network (DNN) methods. The Emotion in EEG-Audio-Visual (EAV) dataset represents the first public dataset to incorporate three primary modalities for emotion recognition within a conversational context. We anticipate that this dataset will make significant contributions to the modeling of the human emotional process, encompassing both fundamental neuroscience and machine learning viewpoints.

Mentalized Affectivity, Helicopter Parenting, and Psychopathological Risk in Emerging Adults: A Network Analysis.

Emerging adulthood represents a critical stage characterized by heightened risks for anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms development. Research has shown that difficulties in emotional identification, expression, and processing, as well as dysfunctional parenting styles, may exacerbate symptoms in emerging adults. The present study aimed at examining the interplay between mentalized affectivity (i.e., emotional identification, processing, and expression), helicopter parenting, and psychopathological risk in 913 Italian cisgender emerging adults (M = 24.34, SD = 2.81; 71.20% assigned female at birth), using network analysis. The results indicated moderate to strong associations between psychopathological symptoms, with emotional processing difficulties significantly associated with general anxiety, depression, and, to a lesser extent, somatization. Additionally, increased degrees of helicopter parenting from mothers were linked to increased psychopathology and higher emotional processing difficulties. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing the interconnection between symptoms and emotional processing to prevent and treat psychopathological risks in emerging adults. Moreover, interventions targeting intrusive and overprotecting parenting behaviors may promote well-being among emerging adults.

Two sides of the same coin? What neural processing of emotion and rewards can tell us about complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder

BackgroundBorderline personality disorder (BPD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) share clinical similarities, complicating diagnosis and treatment. Research on the neurobiology of BPD and monotraumatic PTSD has shown that a prefrontal-limbic imbalance in emotional and reward processing is a hallmark of both disorders, but studies examining this network in cPTSD are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to directly compare neural processing of emotion and reward during decision making in cPTSD and BPD. MethodsUsing functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured neural activity in female patients (27 patients with cPTSD, 21 patients with BPD and 37 healthy controls) during a Desire-Reason Dilemma task featuring distracting fearful facial expressions. ResultsWe found no differences in neural activation when comparing cPTSD and BPD. However, when grouping patients based on symptom severity instead on diagnosis, we found that increased symptoms of cPTSD were associated with increased activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during reward rejection, whereas increased symptoms of BPD were associated with decreased activation in prefrontal and limbic regions during reward rejection with distracting negative emotional stimuli. ConclusionThis is the first study to investigate and compare emotional processing and reward-based decision making in cPTSD and BPD. Although we found no neural differences between disorders, we identified symptom-related neural patterns. Specifically, we found that elevated cPTSD symptoms were related to greater sensitivity to reward stimuli, whereas heightened BPD symptoms were related to increased susceptibility to emotional stimuli during goal-directed decision making. These findings enhance our understanding of neural pathomechanisms in trauma-related disorders.

From gut to brain: unveiling probiotic effects through a neuroimaging perspective-A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

The gut-brain axis, a bidirectional communication network between the gastrointestinal system and the brain, significantly influences mental health and behavior. Probiotics, live microorganisms conferring health benefits, have garnered attention for their potential to modulate this axis. However, their effects on brain function through gut microbiota modulation remain controversial. This systematic review examines the effects of probiotics on brain activity and functioning, focusing on randomized controlled trials using both resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methodologies. Studies investigating probiotic effects on brain activity in healthy individuals and clinical populations (i.e., major depressive disorder and irritable bowel syndrome) were identified. In healthy individuals, task-based fMRI studies indicated that probiotics modulate brain activity related to emotional regulation and cognitive processing, particularly in high-order areas such as the amygdala, precuneus, and orbitofrontal cortex. Resting-state fMRI studies revealed changes in connectivity patterns, such as increased activation in the Salience Network and reduced activity in the Default Mode Network. In clinical populations, task-based fMRI studies showed that probiotics could normalize brain function in patients with major depressive disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. Resting-state fMRI studies further suggested improved connectivity in mood-regulating networks, specifically in the subcallosal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus. Despite promising findings, methodological variability and limited sample sizes emphasize the need for rigorous, longitudinal research to clarify the beneficial effects of probiotics on the gut-brain axis and mental health.

Heterogeneous emotional contagion of the cyber–physical society

When emergencies occur, panic spreads quickly across cyberspace and physical space. Despite widespread attention to emotional contagion in cyber–physical societies (CPS), existing studies often overlook individual relationship heterogeneity, which results in imprecise models. To address this issue, we propose a heterogeneous emotional contagion method for CPS. First, we introduce the Strong–Weak Emotional Contagion Model (SW-ECM) to simulate the heterogeneous emotional contagion process in CPS. Second, we formulate the mean-field equations for the SW-ECM to accurately capture the dynamic evolution of heterogeneous emotional contagion in the CPS. Finally, we construct a small-world network based on strong–weak relationships to validate the effectiveness of our method. The experimental results show that our method can effectively simulate the heterogeneous emotional contagion and capture changes in relationships between individuals, providing valuable guidance for crowd evacuations prone to emotional contagion.

Childhood risks and problematic smartphone use: Dual processes of life history strategy and psychological distress

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) and its negative consequences among adolescents are so commonly observed that they have become a matter of public concern. Utilizing life history (LH) theory, this study aims to examine how childhood risks (i.e., childhood harshness and unpredictability) would be associated with adolescent PSU via cognitive and emotional processes of LH strategy and psychological distress. A sample of 459 Chinese high school students aged from 14 to 18 (M = 16.90) participated in this study and voluntarily completed an anonymous survey. The results showed that childhood unpredictability and psychological distress were positively correlated with PSU, whereas childhood harshness and the two processes of LH strategy were negatively correlated with PSU. Path analysis further supported a partial mediation model, in which childhood unpredictability increased PSU, via serial mediators of the emotional process of LH strategy and psychological distress. The findings support the efficacy of LH theory in elucidating the development of behavioral addiction. However, the direct and negative association of childhood harshness with PSU was unexpected. It implicates the complexity of childhood environment on adolescent behavioral addictions and warrants further investigation.