Both patients with schizophrenia and with a major depressive disorder (MDD) display deficits in identifying facial expressions of emotion during acute phases of their illness. However, specific... Show moreBoth patients with schizophrenia and with a major depressive disorder (MDD) display deficits in identifying facial expressions of emotion during acute phases of their illness. However, specific deficit patterns have not yet been reliably demonstrated. Tasks that employ emotionally ambiguous stimuli have recently shown distinct deficit patterns in patients with schizophrenia compared to other mental disorders as well as healthy controls. We here investigate whether a task which uses an ambiguous Japanese (Noh) mask and a corresponding human stimulus generates distinctive emotion attribution patterns in thirty-two Caucasian patients with schizophrenia, matched MDD patients and healthy controls. Results show that patients with schizophrenia displayed reaction time disadvantages compared to healthy controls while identifying sadness and anger. MDD patients were more likely to label stimuli with basic compared to subtle emotional expressions. Moreover, they showed more difficulties assigning emotions to the human stimulus than to the Noh mask. IQ, age and cognitive functioning did not modulate these results. Because overall group differences were not observed, this task is not suitable for diagnosing patients. However, the subtle differences that did emerge might give therapists handles that can be used in therapy. Show less
Liedtke, C.; Kohl, W.; Kret, M.E.; Koelkebeck, K. 2018
Background Previous research has shown that context (e.g. culture) can have an impact on speed and accuracy when identifying facial expressions of emotion. Patients with a major depressive disorder... Show moreBackground Previous research has shown that context (e.g. culture) can have an impact on speed and accuracy when identifying facial expressions of emotion. Patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) are known to have deficits in the identification of facial expressions, tending to give rather stereotypical judgments. While healthy individuals perceive situations which conflict with their own cultural values more negatively, this pattern would be even stronger in MDD patients, as their altered mood results in stronger biases. In this study we investigate the effect of cultural contextual cues on emotion identification in depression. Methods Emotional faces were presented for 100 ms to 34 patients with an MDD and matched controls. Stimulus faces were either covered by a cap and scarf (in-group condition) or by an Islamic headdress (niqab; out-group condition). Speed and accuracy were evaluated. Results Results showed that across groups, fearful faces were identified faster and with higher accuracy in the out-group than in the in-group condition. Sadness was also identified more accurately in the out-group condition. In comparison, happy faces were more accurately (and tended to be faster) identified in the in-group condition. Furthermore, MDD patients were slower, yet not more accurate in identifying expressions of emotion compared to controls. Limitations All patients were on pharmacological treatment. Participants’ political orientation was not included. The experiment differs from real life situations. Conclusion While our results underline findings that cultural context has a general impact on emotion identification, this effect was not found to be more prominent in patients with MDD. Show less
Individuals suffering from depression often have difficulty trusting others. Previous research has shown a relationship between trust formation and pupil mimicry - the synchronization of pupil... Show moreIndividuals suffering from depression often have difficulty trusting others. Previous research has shown a relationship between trust formation and pupil mimicry - the synchronization of pupil sizes between individuals. The current study therefore examined whether pupil mimicry is weaker in depressed individuals and an underlying factor of their low levels of trust. Forty-two patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 40 healthy control subjects played trust games with virtual partners. Images of these partners' eye regions were presented to participants before they had to make a monetary investment decision. Partners' pupils either dilated, constricted, or remained static over the course of 4-s interactions. During the task, participants' pupil sizes were recorded with eye-tracking equipment to assess mimicry. The results confirm that patients with MDD were somewhat less trusting than controls and used another's pupillary cues differently when deciding to trust. Specifically, whereas healthy controls trusted partners with dilating pupils more than partners with constricting pupils, patients with MDD particularly trusted partners whose pupils changed in size less, regardless of whether partners' pupils were dilating or constricting. This difference in investment behavior was unrelated to differences in pupil mimicry, which was equally apparent in both groups and fostered trust to the same extent. Whereas lower levels of trust observed in patients with MDD could not be explained by differences in pupil mimicry, our data show that pupil dilation mimicry might help people to trust. These findings provide further evidence for the important role of pupil size and pupil mimicry in interpersonal trust formation and shed light on the pathophysiology of clinically low trust in patients with MDD. Show less
Introduction Being able to understand other people's emotions and intentions is crucial for social interactions and well-being. Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) functioning hamper this ability and... Show moreIntroduction Being able to understand other people's emotions and intentions is crucial for social interactions and well-being. Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) functioning hamper this ability and have been observed in depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders. However, results of previous research in depression have been inconclusive, possibly due to the presence of comorbid disorders and the disregarding of other modulating factors. Methods Thirty-eight patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) and forty healthy matched controls were assessed with a ToM task using animated triangles. Results were correlated with attachment styles, empathy abilities and neurocognitive performance. Results Our findings show that 1) healthy female controls performed significantly stronger on the ToM task than female MDD patients, 2) these performance differences were driven by attachment styles and 3) depression severity did not impact task performance. Limitations The pharmacological treatment of the majority of patients might limit the generalizability of this study. Discussion Results indicate a gender-specific impact of attachment styles on ToM performance. Future studies should investigate whether impairments in social cognitive tasks pose a risk factor for depression and/or interactional styles or vice versa. Moreover, with regard to remediation programs gender-specific needs should be taken into account. Show less
Social cognitive skills are indispensable for successful communication with others. Substantial research has determined deficits in these abilities in patients with mental disorders. In... Show moreSocial cognitive skills are indispensable for successful communication with others. Substantial research has determined deficits in these abilities in patients with mental disorders. In neurobiological development and continuing into adulthood, cross-cultural differences in social cognition have been demonstrated. Moreover, symptomatic patterns in mental disorders may vary according to the cultural background of an individual. Cross-cultural studies can thus help in understanding underlying (biological) mechanisms and factors that influence behavior in health and disease. In addition, studies that apply novel paradigms assessing the impact of culture on cognition may benefit and advance neuroscience research. In this review, the authors give an overview of cross-cultural research in the field of social cognition in health and in mental disorders and provide an outlook on future research directions, taking a neuroscience perspective. Show less
