Facial emotion recognition in individuals with mild cognitive impairment: An exploratory study.

Autor: Burgio F; IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126, Venezia, Italy., Menardi A; Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, 35128, Padova, Italy.; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129, Padova, Italy., Benavides-Varela S; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129, Padova, Italy.; Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy., Danesin L; IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126, Venezia, Italy. laura.danesin@hsancamillo.it., Giustiniani A; IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126, Venezia, Italy., Van den Stock J; Department of Neuroscience, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.; Geriatric Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium., De Mitri R; IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126, Venezia, Italy., Biundo R; Department of General Psychology (DPG), University of Padua, 35131, Padua, Italy.; Study Center for Neurodegeneration (CESNE), University of Padua, 35131, Padua, Italy., Meneghello F; Unità Operativa Complessa Cure Primarie Distretto 3 Mirano-Dolo, Aulss 3, Serenissima, Italy., Antonini A; Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Centre for Rare Neurological Diseases (ERN-RND), University of Padova, Padova, Italy., Vallesi A; Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, 35128, Padova, Italy.; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129, Padova, Italy., de Gelder B; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6200, MD, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Semenza C; Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, 35128, Padova, Italy.; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129, Padova, Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience [Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci] 2024 Jun; Vol. 24 (3), pp. 599-614. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 05.
DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01160-5
Abstrakt: Understanding facial emotions is fundamental to interact in social environments and modify behavior accordingly. Neurodegenerative processes can progressively transform affective responses and affect social competence. This exploratory study examined the neurocognitive correlates of face recognition, in individuals with two mild cognitive impairment (MCI) etiologies (prodromal to dementia - MCI, or consequent to Parkinson's disease - PD-MCI). Performance on the identification and memorization of neutral and emotional facial expressions was assessed in 31 individuals with MCI, 26 with PD-MCI, and 30 healthy controls (HC). Individuals with MCI exhibited selective impairment in recognizing faces expressing fear, along with difficulties in remembering both neutral and emotional faces. Conversely, individuals with PD-MCI showed no differences compared with the HC in either emotion recognition or memory. In MCI, no significant association emerged between the memory for facial expressions and cognitive difficulties. In PD-MCI, regression analyses showed significant associations with higher-level cognitive functions in the emotional memory task, suggesting the presence of compensatory mechanisms. In a subset of participants, voxel-based morphometry revealed that the performance on emotional tasks correlated with regional changes in gray matter volume. The performance in the matching of negative expressions was predicted by volumetric changes in brain areas engaged in face and emotional processing, in particular increased volume in thalamic nuclei and atrophy in the right parietal cortex. Future studies should leverage on neuroimaging data to determine whether differences in emotional recognition are mediated by pathology-specific atrophic patterns.
(© 2024. The Psychonomic Society, Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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