RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To examine the automatic processing of facial expression and explore the pathogenesis in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients. METHODS: Fifteen GAD patients and 15 gender-, age- and education-matched healthy volunteers were recruited from First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University. The expression-related mismatch negativity (MMN) was recorded to explore the automatic processing mechanism into emotional faces with task-irrelevant emotional faces as effective media. RESULTS: The MMNs elicited by emotional faces were significantly lower in GAD participants than those in healthy participants [MMN1:case group (-0.30 ± 0.09) µV, control group (-0.68 ± 0.13) µV, P = 0.0003; MMN2: case group (-0.22 ± 0.13) µV, control group (-0.72 ± 0.13) µV, P = 0.011] (Ps < 0.05) analyzing. For the effect of expression, it was found that the MMNs elicited by negative expression were lower in GAD participants than those in healthy participants mainly in right hemisphere while positive expression mainly in left hemisphere [MMN1:case group (-0.45 ± 0.15) µV, control group (-0.99 ± 0.15) µV, P = 0.017; MMN2:case group (0.23 ± 0.22) µV, control group (-1.23 ± 0.22) µV, P = 0.003; (MMN1:case group (-0.12 ± 0.14) µV, control group (-0.65 ± 0.14) µV, P = 0.015; MMN2:case group (0.14 ± 0.18) µV, control group (-0.42 ± 0.18) µV, P = 0.039]. CONCLUSION: There is an impairment of automatic processing of emotional faces.
