Association of white matter abnormality with facial emotion cognitive in the first-episode schizo-phrenic patients with never-medicated / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the structure changes of white matter in the first-episode schizo-phrenic patients with never-medicated(FESZ)and the relationship between facial emotion perception and white matter(WM)integrity.Methods Sixty-three schizophrenic patients and thirty health control subjects underwent diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)scans.Voxel-based analysis was used to compared fractional ani-sotropy(FA)map between the two groups.Correlations were analyzed with pearson relative analysis between impaired facial emotion perception tested by facial emotion categorization(FEC)and severity of symptoms measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS).Results (1)Compared with controls, FESZ patients showed overall decreased FA in WM of the body of left ventral frontal lobe((MNI(x,y,z):-18,26,-4;t=4.43)),right supramarginal gyrus((MNI(x,y,z):32,-50,26;t=4.27)),left middle oc-cipital gyral((MNI(x,y,z):-26,-60,0;t=4.89)),right middle occipital gyral((MNI(x,y,z):28,-70, 14;t=4.18)),left fusiform gyrus((MNI(x,y,z):-40,-50,0;t=3.92)),left cerebellum anterior lobe ((MNI(x,y,z):-32,-56,-28;t=4.57)),right parahippocampa gyrus1((MNI(x,y,z):32,-10,-14;t=4.16)),right parahippocampa gyrus2((MNI(x,y,z):16,-6,-14;t=4.56)),left anterior cingulate ((MNI(x,y,z):-2,4,-6;t=4.41)),left extra-nuclear((MNI(x,y,z):-2,-10,-6;t=4.44)),right thalamus((MNI(x,y,z):10,-10,2;t=4.20)),left thalamus((MNI(x,y,z):-22,-28,12;t=4.01)), and right caudate((MNI(x,y,z):14,12,8;t=4.87)).(2)Compared with controls,the patients with schizo-phrenia showed a higher shift point and a steeper slope than control subjects in FEC.Correlational analysis re-vealed that the negative correlations were found between the slope and negative factor(r=-0.298,P=0.036),between positive factor and the FA value in WM of the right middle occipital gyral(r=-0.322,P=0.023)and the left middle occipital gyral(r=-0.288,P=0.043),and between the FA value in the left cere-bellum anterior lobe and shift point(r=-0.393,P=0.005),but the positive correlation was found between disorganized/concrete factor and the FA value in the right parahippocampal gyrus(r=0.429,P=0.002).Con-clusions There are extensive microstructural abnormalities in WM of patients with FESZ.Disrupted WM in-tegrity in these regions may constitute a potential neural pathological basis for the facial emotion perception impairments in schizophrenia.

Facial Expression Enhances Emotion Perception Compared to Vocal Prosody: Behavioral and fMRI Studies / 神经科学通报·英文版

Facial and vocal expressions are essential modalities mediating the perception of emotion and social communication. Nonetheless, currently little is known about how emotion perception and its neural substrates differ across facial expression and vocal prosody. To clarify this issue, functional MRI scans were acquired in Study 1, in which participants were asked to discriminate the valence of emotional expression (angry, happy or neutral) from facial, vocal, or bimodal stimuli. In Study 2, we used an affective priming task (unimodal materials as primers and bimodal materials as target) and participants were asked to rate the intensity, valence, and arousal of the targets. Study 1 showed higher accuracy and shorter response latencies in the facial than in the vocal modality for a happy expression. Whole-brain analysis showed enhanced activation during facial compared to vocal emotions in the inferior temporal-occipital regions. Region of interest analysis showed a higher percentage signal change for facial than for vocal anger in the superior temporal sulcus. Study 2 showed that facial relative to vocal priming of anger had a greater influence on perceived emotion for bimodal targets, irrespective of the target valence. These findings suggest that facial expression is associated with enhanced emotion perception compared to equivalent vocal prosodies.

La medida de la percepción emocional con el modelo de rasch / Measuring emotion perception with the rasch model

Resumen Reconocer y denominar expresiones emocionales son habilidades en cuyo estudio existe un creciente interés por parte de la psicología y las neurociencias; trastornos tales como el autismo, la esquizofrenia y la depresión se caracterizan por dificultades en reconocer las emociones ajenas. El hallazgo de diferencias a favor de las mujeres en Percepción Emocional (PE) ha sido replicado transculturalmente por lo que sirve como evidencia de validez. En esta investigación, de diseño instrumental, se construyeron 28 ítems y se pusieron a prueba mediante el modelo de Rasch (MR) en una muestra de población general española (102 varones y 102 mujeres; rango de edad=18-65). El ajuste datos-modelo fue suficiente. Las medidas de las personas muestran que el test resultó fácil (rango = -.60 a 4.14 logits). Se hallaron las diferencias sexuales predichas, d= -.36 (d con corrección de la atenuación= -.50); que ningún ítem mostrase funcionamiento diferencial (DIF) asociado al sexo y que la variable construida tenga propiedades intervalares añade confianza al valor estimado del tamaño del efecto. La construcción de una escala de intervalo en la que se localizan conjuntamente ítems y personas ofrece información cuantitativa y permite detectar patrones inesperados de respuesta que pueden ser de utilidad para el diagnóstico neuropsicológico.

Abstract Recognizing and labeling emotion expressions are abilities in whose study psychology and the neurosciences are increasingly interested; disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and depression are characterized by difficulties in recognizing others' emotions. The finding of sex differences favoring women in Emotion Perception (EP) has been replicated cross-culturally, and so it can be used as validity evidence. In this instrumental design study, some 28 items were constructed and tested by means of the Rasch model (RM) in a Spanish community sample (102males and 102 females; age range=18-65). Data-model fit was good enough. Person measures show that the test was easy (range = -.60 to 4.14 logits). Even so, the predicted sex differences favoring women were found, d= -.36 (disattenuated d= -.50). That no item showed sex-related Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and that the constructed variable has interval scale properties add confidence to the effect size estimated value. The construction of an interval scale on which EP items and persons are conjointly represented offers quantitative information and allows the discovery of unexpected response patterns.

Impaired Perception of Emotional Expression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The increasing recognition that deficits in social emotions occur in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is helping to explain the spectrum of neuropsychological dysfunctions, thus supporting the view of ALS as a multisystem disorder involving neuropsychological deficits as well as motor deficits. The aim of this study was to characterize the emotion perception abilities of Korean patients with ALS based on the recognition of facial expressions. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with ALS and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed neuropsychological tests and facial emotion recognition tasks [ChaeLee Korean Facial Expressions of Emotions (ChaeLee-E)]. The ChaeLee-E test includes facial expressions for seven emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, and neutral. RESULTS: The ability to perceive facial emotions was significantly worse among ALS patients performed than among healthy controls [65.2±18.0% vs. 77.1±6.6% (mean±SD), p=0.009]. Eight of the 24 patients (33%) scored below the 5th percentile score of controls for recognizing facial emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Emotion perception deficits occur in Korean ALS patients, particularly regarding facial expressions of emotion. These findings expand the spectrum of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction associated with ALS into emotion processing dysfunction.

Impaired Perception of Emotional Expression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The increasing recognition that deficits in social emotions occur in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is helping to explain the spectrum of neuropsychological dysfunctions, thus supporting the view of ALS as a multisystem disorder involving neuropsychological deficits as well as motor deficits. The aim of this study was to characterize the emotion perception abilities of Korean patients with ALS based on the recognition of facial expressions. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with ALS and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed neuropsychological tests and facial emotion recognition tasks [ChaeLee Korean Facial Expressions of Emotions (ChaeLee-E)]. The ChaeLee-E test includes facial expressions for seven emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, and neutral. RESULTS: The ability to perceive facial emotions was significantly worse among ALS patients performed than among healthy controls [65.2±18.0% vs. 77.1±6.6% (mean±SD), p=0.009]. Eight of the 24 patients (33%) scored below the 5th percentile score of controls for recognizing facial emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Emotion perception deficits occur in Korean ALS patients, particularly regarding facial expressions of emotion. These findings expand the spectrum of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction associated with ALS into emotion processing dysfunction.

An Overview of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is characterised by multiplicity of symptoms affecting cognition, emotion and perception. The early age of onset, varying degree of intellectual and psychosocial impairment and possibility of long-term disability makes it a severe and devastating mental illness. Symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into four categories: positive, negative, disorganised and cognitive symptoms. Various combinations of severity of these four categories are found in patients. They may also experience symptoms of other mental disorders, including depression, obsessive and compulsive symptoms, somatic concerns, and mood or anxiety symptoms. More than 80% of patients with schizophrenia have parents who do not have the disorder. The risk of having schizophrenia is greater in persons whose parents have the disorder. The peak incidence of schizophrenia is at 21 years. The onset is earlier for men (between ages 15 and 25 years) and later in women (between ages 25 and 35 years). Childhood onset schizophrenia is rare. The first psychotic episode is often preceded by a prodromal phrase lasting weeks or even years. The psychotic phase progresses through an acute phase, a recovery or stabilisation phase, and a stable phase. Early detection and treatment results in a better outcome. Management of schizophrenia is holistic and multidisciplinary. Family physicians play an important role in the early detection of those who are psychotic; managing patients who are stabilised and require maintenance pharmacotherapy; and the detection of physical illnesses of cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes which have a higher prevalence among patients with schizophrenia as compared to the general population.