Words matter when inferring emotions: a conceptual replication and extension.

It is long known that facial configurations play a critical role when inferring mental and emotional states from others. Nevertheless, there is still a scientific debate on how we infer emotions from facial configurations. The theory of constructed emotion (TCE) suggests that we may infer different emotions from the same facial configuration, depending on the context (e.g. provided by visual and lexical cues) in which they are perceived. For instance, a recent study found that participants were more accurate in inferring mental and emotional states across three different datasets (i.e. RMET, static and dynamic emojis) when words were provided (i.e. forced-choice task), compared to when they were not (i.e. free-labelling task), suggesting that words serve as contexts that modulate the inference from facial configurations. The goal of the current within-subject study was to replicate and extend these findings by adding a fourth dataset (KDEF-dyn), consisting of morphed human faces (to increase the ecological validity). Replicating previous findings, we observed that words increased accuracy across the three (previously used) datasets, an effect that was also observed for the facial morphed stimuli. Our findings are in line with the TCE, providing support for the importance of contextual verbal cues in emotion perception.

Association between specific types of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of subjective memory decline: findings from the PAMPA Cohort.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the effects of different physical activities practised during the time period when COVID-19 social distancing measures were in place on the risk of subjective memory decline in adults. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Data from the Prospective Study about Mental and Physical Health (PAMPA), a state-level (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), online-based cohort study, were analysed. Respondents were asked to rate their memory before COVID-19 social distancing measures were implemented (retrospectively) and on the day that the survey was completed. Subjective memory decline was defined as a perceived worsening of memory function during COVID-19 social distancing compared with the pre-pandemic period. The types of physical activity practised before and during COVID-19 social distancing measures were assessed. RESULTS: Data from 2319 adults were included. Out-of-home endurance, muscle strengthening, combined endurance and muscle strengthening, and stretching activities reduced the risk of subjective memory decline during the pandemic. In terms of physical activities practised at home, only muscle strengthening did not protect against subjective memory decline. Participants who sustained any type of physical activity at home during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a reduced risk for subjective memory decline. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity, regardless of the type of activity and location performed, during the time period when COVID-19 social distancing measures were in place can mitigate the effects of the pandemic on subjective memory decline.

Neural substrates of long-term item and source memory for emotional associates: An fMRI study.

Since Tulving's influential work on the distinction between familiarity and recollection-based retrieval, numerous studies have found evidence for differential contribution of these retrieval mechanisms on emotional episodic memory. Particularly, retrieval advantage for emotional, compared to neutral, information has been related to recollection-, but not familiarity-mediated processes. Neuroimaging studies suggest that this recollection-based retrieval for emotional information is related to stronger engagement of regions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). In the present study, we investigated neural correlates related to long-term memory of neutral information that has been associated with emotional and neutral contexts, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During encoding, different neutral objects integrated with emotional or neutral scenes were presented. One week later, the encoded objects were intermixed with new ones and participants had to indicate whether the objects were previously seen or not, using the Remember/Know procedure (item memory). Furthermore, memory for the correct scene background category was also tested (contextual source memory). First, replicating previous findings, we observed a preference for recollection-dependent memory retrieval versus familiarity-dependent memory retrieval for those neutral objects encoded in emotional compared to neutral contexts. Second, consistent with these behavioral effects, objects encoded with emotional, compared to neutral, scenes produced larger memory-related activity in recollection-sensitive brain regions, including PPC and PFC regions. Third, correctly retrieved emotional compared to neutral contextual information was associated with increased activity in these brain areas. Together, these results suggest that memory for information encoded in emotional contexts is remarkably robust over time and mediated by recollection-based processes.