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The perception of emotional facial expressions in stroke patients with and without depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Barbara Montagne
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Gudrun M. S. Nys
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine – Section Neurology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Martine J. E van Zandvoort
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Helmholtz Instituut, Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
L. Jaap Kappelle
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Edward H. F de Haan
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Helmholtz Instituut, Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Roy P. C. Kessels*
Affiliation:
Departments of Geriatric Medicine Medical Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
*
Dr Roy P. C. Kessels, NICI/Biological Psychology & Neuropsychology, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tel: +3124 3612541; Fax: +3124 3616066; E-mail: r.kessels@ger.umcn.nl

Abstract

Background:

Emotion perception may be impaired after stroke. No study on emotion perception after stroke has taken the influence of post-stroke depressive symptoms into account, although depressive symptoms themselves may hamper emotion perception.

Objective:

To compare the perception of emotional facial expressions in stroke patients with and without depressive symptoms.

Methods:

Twenty-two stroke patients participated whose depressive symptoms were classified using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (cutoff = 10) and who were compared with healthy controls. Emotion recognition was measured using morphed images of facial expressions.

Results:

Patients with depressive symptoms performed worse than controls on all emotions; patients without depressive symptoms performed at control level. Patients with depressive symptoms were less sensitive to the emotions anger, happiness and sadness compared with patients without depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

Post-stroke depressive symptoms impair emotion perception. This extends findings in bipolar disorder indicating that emotion perception deficits are strongly related to the level of depression.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard

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