Ambiguous emotion recognition in temporal lobe epilepsy: the role of expression intensity.

The lateralization of emotion processing is currently debated and may be further explored by examining facial expression recognition (FER) impairments in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Furthermore, there is also debate in the literature whether FER deficits in individuals with TLE are more pronounced in the right than in the left hemisphere. Individuals with TLE were tested with an FER task designed to be more sensitive than those classically used to shed light on this issue. A total of 25 right- and 32 left-TLE patients, candidates for surgery, along with controls, underwent an FER task composed of stimuli shown not only at full-blown intensities (100 %), but also morphed to lower-intensity display levels (35 %, 50 %, and 75 %). The results showed that, as compared to controls, right-TLE patients showed deficits in the recognition of all emotional categories. Furthermore, when considering valence, right-TLE patients were impaired only in negative emotion recognition, but no deficits for positive emotions were highlighted in left-TLE patients. Finally, only the right-TLE patients' impairment was found to be related to the age of epilepsy onset. Our work demonstrates that the FER deficits in TLE span multiple emotional categories and show manifestations dependent on the laterality of the epileptic focus. Taken together, our findings provide the strongest evidence for the right-hemisphere model, but they also partially support the valence model. We suggest that current models are not exhaustive at explaining emotional-processing cerebral control, and further that multistep models should be developed.

[Levels of burden of Alzheimer disease caregivers]. / Livelli del burden in caregiver di pazienti con malattia di Alzheimer.

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to investigate the caregiver burden by means of scales to quantify the perceived burden, and the anxiety and depression levels. METHODS: Seventy-seven caregivers of patients with Alzheimer disease or other kinds of dementia (19 males and 58 females) admitted to the Alzheimer Evaluation Unit of Milan Niguarda Ca'Granda Hospital, were enrolled and filled in Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) and the short form of the Anxiety and Depression scale (AD-R). The statistical analysis demonstrates that caregiver with relatives affected by more severe cognitive impairment (patients) show significant levels of burden and anxiety. RESULTS: The most relevant burden dimensions are: Time-Dependence Burden, Developmental Burden and Physical Burden. Time-Dependence Burden and Social Burden significantly correlate with cognitive (p = 0.01, p = 0.05) and functional rates of patients (p = 0.01, p = 0.05), whereas Developmental Burden only correlates with cognitive rates (p = 0.01). The more prolonged patients' disease the higher the caregivers'anxiety level (p < 0.05). There is nota significant correlation between the Developmental Burden, Physical Burden and Depression, observed in the caregivers' sample, and the cognitive and functional state of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Alzheimer disease caregivers need an increase of their personal time anda specific intervention aimed to reduce the perceived feeling of social isolation, the physical distress and the anxious and depressive symptoms.

Canceling out both the real and the spectral lines.

Neglect patients typically show motor perseveration while canceling targets on the ipsilesional side. This behavior can be influenced by the presence vs. absence of targets on the (neglected) contralesional side (). As alternative explanations, the authors proposed (i) directional hypokinesia--the patient cannot perform reaching movements towards detected left-sided targets, and thus carries on canceling on the right side, and (ii) allochiria--the patient misperceives left-sided targets as located on the right side, and cancels them there. We report here data from a patient (EZ) that might confirm the second hypothesis. EZ was presented with 19 displays in which the number and position of cancellation targets on both sides were varied systematically. EZ showed motor perseveration while canceling, but this tendency did not vary across conditions. Interestingly though, EZ also drew cancellation marks in the empty space between the ipsilesional targets, and this phenomenon was significantly more intense when there were more targets on the neglected side. As EZ's comments suggested, such a behavior might reflect the attempt to cancel out delusional targets. Our speculation is that those objects were generated by allochiria.