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Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research

Facial emotion recognition in agenesis of the corpus callosum

Authors: Matthew W Bridgman, Warren S Brown, Michael L Spezio, Matthew K Leonard, Ralph Adolphs, Lynn K Paul

Published in: Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders | Issue 1/2014

Abstract

Background

Impaired social functioning is a common symptom of individuals with developmental disruptions in callosal connectivity. Among these developmental conditions, agenesis of the corpus callosum provides the most extreme and clearly identifiable example of callosal disconnection. To date, deficits in nonliteral language comprehension, humor, theory of mind, and social reasoning have been documented in agenesis of the corpus callosum. Here, we examined a basic social ability as yet not investigated in this population: recognition of facial emotion and its association with social gaze.

Methods

Nine individuals with callosal agenesis and nine matched controls completed four tasks involving emotional faces: emotion recognition from upright and inverted faces, gender recognition, and passive viewing. Eye-tracking data were collected concurrently on all four tasks and analyzed according to designated facial regions of interest.

Results

Individuals with callosal agenesis exhibited impairments in recognizing emotions from upright faces, in particular lower accuracy for fear and anger, and these impairments were directly associated with diminished attention to the eye region. The callosal agenesis group exhibited greater consistency in emotion recognition across conditions (upright vs. inverted), with poorest performance for fear identification in both conditions. The callosal agenesis group also had atypical facial scanning (lower fractional dwell time in the eye region) during gender naming and passive viewing of faces, but they did not differ from controls on gender naming performance. The pattern of results did not differ when taking into account full-scale intelligence quotient or presence of autism spectrum symptoms.

Conclusions

Agenesis of the corpus callosum results in a pattern of atypical facial scanning characterized by diminished attention to the eyes. This pattern suggests that reduced callosal connectivity may contribute to the development and maintenance of emotion processing deficits involving reduced attention to others' eyes.

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Title: Facial emotion recognition in agenesis of the corpus callosum
Authors: Matthew W Bridgman
Warren S Brown
Michael L Spezio
Matthew K Leonard
Ralph Adolphs
Lynn K Paul
Publication date: 01-12-2014
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 1866-1947
Electronic ISSN: 1866-1955
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1866-1955-6-32

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Facial emotion recognition in agenesis of the corpus callosum

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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