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Deficits in facial emotion processing in mild cognitive impairment
Edmond Teng1, Po H Lu, Jeffrey L Cummings
1Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7226, USA. eteng@ucla.edu
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
|March 14, 2007
Summary
Facial emotion processing deficits emerge early in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), particularly in multiple-domain MCI, before Alzheimer disease diagnosis. This highlights subtle cognitive changes in pre-dementia stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with impaired facial emotion processing.
- The emergence of these deficits early in the neurodegenerative process remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate facial emotion processing in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-dementia condition.
- To determine if deficits are present before clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.
Main Methods:
- Assessed facial emotion processing using the Florida Affect Battery in single-domain MCI, multiple-domain MCI (MCI-MD), and normal controls.
- Examined performance on subtests including facial affect discrimination.
Main Results:
- Single-domain MCI participants showed intact facial emotion processing.
- MCI-MD participants exhibited significantly impaired facial affect discrimination.
- Impaired performance in MCI-MD correlated with frontal/executive function deficits and was more pronounced in men.
Conclusions:
- Facial emotion processing deficits can be detected in MCI prior to overt Alzheimer disease.
- These findings indicate early neurodegenerative changes affecting social cognition in MCI.
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