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Facial Affect Recognition in Myasthenia Gravis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2013

Esther Lázaro ,
Imanol Amayra ,
Juan Francisco López-Paz ,
Amaia Jometón ,
Natalia Martín ,
Patricia Caballero ,
Luís De Nicolás ,
Holger Hoffmann ,
Henrik Kessler  and
Begoña Ruiz
...Show all authors
Esther Lázaro*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Imanol Amayra
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Juan Francisco López-Paz
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Amaia Jometón
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Natalia Martín
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Patricia Caballero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Luís De Nicolás
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Holger Hoffmann
Affiliation:
University Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy (Germany)
Henrik Kessler
Affiliation:
University Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy (Germany)
Begoña Ruiz
Affiliation:
Centro de Referencia Estatal de Enfermedades Raras (Spain)
Oscar Martínez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
*
*Corresponding author: Esther Lázaro, Universidad de Deusto (Spain), E-mail: estherlazaro@deusto.es
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Abstract

The assessment of facial expression is an important aspect of a clinical neurological examination, both as an indicator of a mood disorder and as a sign of neurological damage. To date, although studies have been conducted on certain psychosocial aspects of myasthenia, such as quality of life and anxiety, and on neuropsychological aspects such as memory, no studies have directly assessed facial emotion recognition accuracy. The aim of this study was to assess the facial emotion recognition accuracy (fear, surprise, sadness, happiness, anger, and disgust), empathy, and reaction time of patients with myasthenia. Thirty-five patients with myasthenia and 36 healthy controls were tested for their ability to differentiate emotional facial expressions. Participants were matched with respect to age, gender, and education level. Their ability to differentiate emotional facial expressions was evaluated using the computer-based program Feel Test. The data showed that myasthenic patients scored significantly lower (p < 0.05) than healthy controls in the total Feel score, fear, surprise, and higher reaction time. The findings suggest that the ability to recognize facial affect may be reduced in individuals with myasthenia.

Keywords

myasthenia gravisfacial emotion recognition
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E52
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

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