Top

Published in:

01-09-2011 | Original Communication

Alexithymia and impaired facial affect recognition in multiple sclerosis

Authors: D. Prochnow, J. Donell, R. Schäfer, S. Jörgens, H. P. Hartung, M. Franz, R. J. Seitz

Published in: Journal of Neurology | Issue 9/2011

Abstract

Despite the high relevance of emotion processing for social functioning, the study of the impairment of facial affect in multiple sclerosis (MS) has received little attention. Previous research reported evidence for emotion processing deficits but the nature and extent are not fully explained. Thirty-five MS patients underwent dedicated neuropsychological assessment of emotion processing using two facial affect recognition tasks and self-report measures of alexithymia. For comparison, healthy participants served as controls. Relative to healthy controls, MS patients were impaired in facial affect recognition on four of the six Ekman basic emotions, except happiness and disgust. The MS patients were more alexithymic than the healthy controls. These data provide evidence for deficits in the recognition of emotional face expressions and emotional introspection.

Seitz RJ, Nickel J, Azari NP (2006) Functional modularity of the medial prefrontal cortex: involvement in human empathy. Neuropsychology 20:743–751PubMedCrossRef

Decety J, Jackson PL (2004) The functional architecture of human empathy. Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 3:71–100PubMedCrossRef

Nicholl CR, Lincoln NB, Francis VM, Stephan TF (2001) Assessment of emotional problems in people with multiple sclerosis. Clin Rehabil 15:657–668PubMedCrossRef

Geurts JJG, Barkhof F (2008) Grey matter pathology in multiple sclerosis. Lancet Neurol 7:841–851PubMedCrossRef

Grassiot B, Desgranges B, Eustache F et al (2009) Quantification and clinical relevance of brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis: a review. J Neurol 256:1397–1412PubMedCrossRef

Beatty WW, Goodkin DE, Weir WS, Staton RD, Monson N, Beatty PA (1989) Affective judgements by patients with Parkinson’s disease or chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. Bull Psychon Soc 27:361–364

Krause M, Wendt J, Dressel A, Berneiser J, Kessler C, Hamm AO, Lotze M (2009) Prefrontal function associated with impaired emotion recognition in patients with multiple sclerosis. Beh Brain Res 205:280–285

Henry JD, Phillips LH, Beatty WW et al (2009) Evidence for deficits in facial affect recognition and theory of mind in multiple sclerosis. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 15:277–285PubMedCrossRef

Beatty WW, Orbelo DM, Sorocco KH, Ross ED (2003) Comprehension of affective prosody in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler 9:148–153PubMedCrossRef

10.

Montreuil M, Lyon-Caen O (1993) Troubles thymiques et relations entre alexithymie et dysfonctionnement inter hémisphérique dans la sclérose en plaques. Rev Neuropsychol 3:287–302

11.

Franz M, Popp K, Schäfer R et al (2008) Alexithymia in the German general population. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:54–62PubMedCrossRef

12.

Chahraoui K, Pinoit JM, Viegas N, Adnet J, Bonin B, Moreau T (2008) Alexithymie et liens avec la depression et l’anxiété dans la sclérose en plaques. Rev Neurol 164:242–245PubMedCrossRef

13.

Pedrosa Gil F, Ridout N, Kessler H, Neuffer M, Schoechlin C, Traue HC, Nickel M (2008) Facial emotion recognition and alexithymia in adults with somatoform disorders. Depress Anxiety 26:E26–E33CrossRef

14.

Hartung HP, Gonsette R, Konig N et al (2002) Mitoxantrone in progressive multiple sclerosis: a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised, multicentre trial. Lancet 360:2018–2025PubMedCrossRef

15.

Kurtzke J (1983) Rating neurologic impairment in multiple sclerosis: an expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Neurology 33:1444–1452PubMed

16.

Kessler J, Markowitsch HJ, Denzler P (2000) Mini-Mental-Status-Test (MMST). Beltz Test GmbH, Göttingen

17.

Hautzinger M, Bailer M, Worall H, Keller F (1995) Beck depressions-inventar (BDI) testhandbuch. Huber, Bern

18.

Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ (1994) The twenty-item Toronto alexithymia scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res 38:23–32PubMedCrossRef

19.

Benton AL, Sivan AB, Hamsher K, Varney NR, Spreen O (1994) Contributions to neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press, New York

20.

Scherer P, Penner IK, Rohr A et al (2007) The faces symbol test, a newly developed screening instrument to assess cognitive decline related to multiple sclerosis: first results of the Berlin Multi-Centre FST Validation Study. Mult Scler 13:402–411PubMedCrossRef

21.

Ekman P, Friesen W (1976) Pictures of facial affect. Consulting psychologists press, Palo Alto

22.

Seidler D (2008) Evaluation und Validierung eines computergestützten Diagnostiktools zur Erfassung affektexpressiver Wahrnehmungskompetenzen. Diploma thesis; Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany

23.

Banati M, Sandor J, Mike A (2009) Social cognition and theory of mind in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Eur J Neurol 17:426–433PubMedCrossRef

24.

Jehna M, Neuper C, Petrovic K (2010) An exploratory study on emotion recognition in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome and multiple sclerosis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 112:482–484PubMedCrossRef

25.

Meletti S, Benuzzi F, Rubboli G et al (2003) Impaired facial emotion recognition in early-onset right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Neurology 60:426–431PubMed

26.

Johnson SA, Stout JC, Solomon AC et al (2007) Beyond disgust: impaired recognition of negative emotions prior to diagnosis in Huntington’s disease. Brain 130:1732–1744PubMedCrossRef

27.

Bodden ME, Dodel R, Kalbe E (2010) Theory of mind in Parkinson’s disease and related basal ganglia disorders: a systematic review. Mov Disord 25:13–27PubMed

28.

Kano M, Fukudo S, Gyoba J (2003) Specific brain processing of facial expressions in people with alexithymia: an H ₂ ¹⁵ O-PET study. Brain 126:1474–1484PubMedCrossRef

29.

Jessimer M, Markham R (1997) Alexithymia: a right hemisphere dysfunction specific to recognition of certain facial expressions? Brain Cogn 34:246–258PubMedCrossRef

30.

Vuilleumier P (2005) How brains beware: neural mechanisms of emotional attention. Trends Cogn Sci 9:585–594PubMedCrossRef

31.

Philippi CL, Mehta S, Grabowski T et al (2009) Damage to association fiber tracts impairs recognition of the facial expression of emotion. J Neurosci 29:15089–15099PubMedCrossRef

32.

Bo L, Geurts JJ, Mork SJ, van der Valk P (2006) Grey matter pathology in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand Suppl 183:48–50PubMedCrossRef

33.

Benedict RHB, Ramasamy D, Munschauer F, Weinstock-Guttmann B, Zivadinov R (2009) Memory impairment in multiple sclerosis: correlation with deep grey matter and mesial temporal atrophy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 80:201–206PubMedCrossRef

34.

Amato MP, Ponziani G, Siracusa G, Sorbi S (2001) Cognitive dysfunction in early-onset multiple sclerosis—a reappraisal after 10 years. Arch Neurol 58:1602–1606PubMedCrossRef

Title: Alexithymia and impaired facial affect recognition in multiple sclerosis
Authors: D. Prochnow
J. Donell
R. Schäfer
S. Jörgens
H. P. Hartung
M. Franz
R. J. Seitz
Publication date: 01-09-2011
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Journal of Neurology / Issue 9/2011
Print ISSN: 0340-5354
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1459
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6002-4

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Alexithymia and impaired facial affect recognition in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 9/2011

Independent patterns of damage to retinocortical pathways in multiple sclerosis without a previous episode of optic neuritis

Genotype and phenotype characterization in a large dystrophinopathic cohort with extended follow-up

News on ion channels: erythromelalgia, treatment of episodic ataxia and faciobrachial dystonic seizures

New insights into the pathophysiology of pes cavus in Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 1A duplication

Exclusion of linkage to chromosomes 14q, 2q37 and 8p21.1-q11.23 in a Serbian family with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification

Henri Duret (1849–1921)