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Selective deficits in emotional expression recognition following brain damage
Abstracts /International
Joumal of Pgxhophysiology
solving have been shown (Kimura, 1992). More recently, we have collected human data that suggest sexual dimorphism associated with verbal versus spatial tasks, differences in psychophysiological responding and differential effects of smoking on performance (Algan et al., 199.5).A modified version of the Morris Water Maze (MWM) developed by McDonald and White (1994) using visual vs. spatial cues, could discriminate between independent memory systems in rats. The present study employed the MWM to screen cognitive strategies in rats that may show sex differences, which cannot be captured by learning and memory tests like active avoidance. Rats received 0.04 mg/kg nicotine, or saline, s.c., for 13 days prior to testing. The platform was in the same location for the first 12 days: either visible or hidden. On the 13rh day, the visible platform was moved to a new location, leaving the animals with a choice. For the 12 days, nicotinic improved performance, i.e., time to reach the platform, in both sexes. On the 13rh day however, female rats that received only saline went directly to the visible platform (6/7) whereas males and the nicotine treated females used their spatial cues and searched for the platform in the quadrant it had been for the past 12 days. The results showed clearly that males tended to use spatial cues, whereas females used visual cues to solve the problem. This difference, however, was eliminated by the administration of nicotine. CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL OF VISION IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS
PROCESSING
F. Fotiou’, A. Goulas’, K. Fountoulakis’, D. Papakostopouloss ‘Lab of Clinical Neurophysiology, A Neurological Clinic, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ‘Lab of Fluid Mechanics, Dept of Mechanical Eng, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 3Electrodiagnostic Department, Bristol Eye Hospital, UK The important role of eye movements and particularly of the micromovements and microsaccades in the psychophysiology of vision is widely recognised. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a dysfunction of the synaptic transmission in the neuromuscular junction. However there is evidence for CNS Ach receptor dysfunction as well’. Among the most common clinical manifestations of the disease are the deteriorating eye movements, diplopia and dropping of eye lid, sparing visual aquity. Recently, pathological PR-VEPs has been reported’. The reason that may produce these impressive alterations of PR-VEPs may be a possible dysfunction of CNS Ach receptors, eye movement disturbance or both. In order to investigate this, we examined 11 patients with a clinical picture of external ophthalmoplegia due to different causes (8 patients suffering from MG and 3 from ophthalmic myopathy) with the use of simultaneous recording of Eye Movements (with the use of an optical method) and PR-VEPs. The eye micromovements during fixation were deteriorating in both groups, while PR-VEPs were abnormal only in MG patients. This means that failure of the centrally, controlled adaptive mechanisms to optimise
25 (1997) 17-84
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oculomotor performance, may be the main cause of abnormal PR-VEP’s in MG. SELECTIVE DEFICITS IN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION RECOGNITION FOLLOWING BRAIN DAMAGE A.J. Calder*‘, A.W. Young’, A. Kamat3, R. Sprengelmeyer’, D.I. Perrett’, D. Rowland’ ‘MRC Applied Psychology Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, England *School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JU, Scotland %nstitut an der Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf, 40591 Dusseldorf, Germany We describe two studies of impaired expression recognition in brain-damaged subjects. The first study examined two cases with bilateral amygdala damage (DR and SE) and the second a group of people with Huntington’s disease. Both studies used a test of recognition of facial expressions of basic emotions from the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series. Interpolated images were created for six continua that lay around the perimeter of an emotion hexagon (running from happiness to surprise to fear to sadness to disgust to anger to happiness). When asked to decide which emotion these morphed images were most like, control subjects identified them as belonging to distinct regions of the continuum, corresponding to the nearest prototype expression. DR and SE, however, showed deficits in the recognition of fear and to a lesser extent anger. The Huntington’s disease cases also showed problems with fear and anger and an especially severe problem with disgust, which was recognised at chance level. This pattern was confirmed using a second test of expression recognition comprising ten examples of each of the six basic emotions in the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series. Perception of facial identity was also tested using morphed facial continua. DR and the Huntingtons group performed normally on these tasks, confirming the dissociability of impairments affecting the recognition of identity and expression. These results support the suggestion that certain basic emotions may have dedicated neural substrates; among these, disgust and fear are prime candidates. FEATURE CONJUNCTION IN A NON-SPATIAL VISUAL ATTENTION TASK David L. Woods*, Keith H. Ogawa, E. William Yund and Akira Uno Dept. of Neurology, UC Davis, VA Northern California System of Clinics, Martinez, CA 94553 Visual feature conjunction was examined in a high-rate serial presentation task in which stimuli varying independently in color (red, blue, green) and orientation (vertical, right diagonal, horizontal) were presented randomly to the four visual quadrants at a rapid rate (ca 3/set). Subjects responded to
Joumal of Pgxhophysiology
solving have been shown (Kimura, 1992). More recently, we have collected human data that suggest sexual dimorphism associated with verbal versus spatial tasks, differences in psychophysiological responding and differential effects of smoking on performance (Algan et al., 199.5).A modified version of the Morris Water Maze (MWM) developed by McDonald and White (1994) using visual vs. spatial cues, could discriminate between independent memory systems in rats. The present study employed the MWM to screen cognitive strategies in rats that may show sex differences, which cannot be captured by learning and memory tests like active avoidance. Rats received 0.04 mg/kg nicotine, or saline, s.c., for 13 days prior to testing. The platform was in the same location for the first 12 days: either visible or hidden. On the 13rh day, the visible platform was moved to a new location, leaving the animals with a choice. For the 12 days, nicotinic improved performance, i.e., time to reach the platform, in both sexes. On the 13rh day however, female rats that received only saline went directly to the visible platform (6/7) whereas males and the nicotine treated females used their spatial cues and searched for the platform in the quadrant it had been for the past 12 days. The results showed clearly that males tended to use spatial cues, whereas females used visual cues to solve the problem. This difference, however, was eliminated by the administration of nicotine. CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL OF VISION IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS
PROCESSING
F. Fotiou’, A. Goulas’, K. Fountoulakis’, D. Papakostopouloss ‘Lab of Clinical Neurophysiology, A Neurological Clinic, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ‘Lab of Fluid Mechanics, Dept of Mechanical Eng, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 3Electrodiagnostic Department, Bristol Eye Hospital, UK The important role of eye movements and particularly of the micromovements and microsaccades in the psychophysiology of vision is widely recognised. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a dysfunction of the synaptic transmission in the neuromuscular junction. However there is evidence for CNS Ach receptor dysfunction as well’. Among the most common clinical manifestations of the disease are the deteriorating eye movements, diplopia and dropping of eye lid, sparing visual aquity. Recently, pathological PR-VEPs has been reported’. The reason that may produce these impressive alterations of PR-VEPs may be a possible dysfunction of CNS Ach receptors, eye movement disturbance or both. In order to investigate this, we examined 11 patients with a clinical picture of external ophthalmoplegia due to different causes (8 patients suffering from MG and 3 from ophthalmic myopathy) with the use of simultaneous recording of Eye Movements (with the use of an optical method) and PR-VEPs. The eye micromovements during fixation were deteriorating in both groups, while PR-VEPs were abnormal only in MG patients. This means that failure of the centrally, controlled adaptive mechanisms to optimise
25 (1997) 17-84
69
oculomotor performance, may be the main cause of abnormal PR-VEP’s in MG. SELECTIVE DEFICITS IN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION RECOGNITION FOLLOWING BRAIN DAMAGE A.J. Calder*‘, A.W. Young’, A. Kamat3, R. Sprengelmeyer’, D.I. Perrett’, D. Rowland’ ‘MRC Applied Psychology Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, England *School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JU, Scotland %nstitut an der Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf, 40591 Dusseldorf, Germany We describe two studies of impaired expression recognition in brain-damaged subjects. The first study examined two cases with bilateral amygdala damage (DR and SE) and the second a group of people with Huntington’s disease. Both studies used a test of recognition of facial expressions of basic emotions from the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series. Interpolated images were created for six continua that lay around the perimeter of an emotion hexagon (running from happiness to surprise to fear to sadness to disgust to anger to happiness). When asked to decide which emotion these morphed images were most like, control subjects identified them as belonging to distinct regions of the continuum, corresponding to the nearest prototype expression. DR and SE, however, showed deficits in the recognition of fear and to a lesser extent anger. The Huntington’s disease cases also showed problems with fear and anger and an especially severe problem with disgust, which was recognised at chance level. This pattern was confirmed using a second test of expression recognition comprising ten examples of each of the six basic emotions in the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series. Perception of facial identity was also tested using morphed facial continua. DR and the Huntingtons group performed normally on these tasks, confirming the dissociability of impairments affecting the recognition of identity and expression. These results support the suggestion that certain basic emotions may have dedicated neural substrates; among these, disgust and fear are prime candidates. FEATURE CONJUNCTION IN A NON-SPATIAL VISUAL ATTENTION TASK David L. Woods*, Keith H. Ogawa, E. William Yund and Akira Uno Dept. of Neurology, UC Davis, VA Northern California System of Clinics, Martinez, CA 94553 Visual feature conjunction was examined in a high-rate serial presentation task in which stimuli varying independently in color (red, blue, green) and orientation (vertical, right diagonal, horizontal) were presented randomly to the four visual quadrants at a rapid rate (ca 3/set). Subjects responded to