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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Depression or anxiety: which is best able to predict patterns of lateralisation for the processing of emotional
Victoria J Bourne1, Matei Vladeanu2
1a Department of Psychology , Royal Holloway, University of London , Surrey , UK.
Abstract:
Previous research has shown that both anxiety and depression are associated with strength of lateralisation for the processing of emotive faces, although these clinical measures have always been considered in separate studies. In the present study, we measure depression and anxiety, within the same non-clinical sample, and consider whether these variables can predict strength of lateralisation, measured using the chimeric faces test. There are two key findings from this study. First, for females only, anxiety is negatively associated with right hemispheric superiority for processing of negative emotional expressions. Second, there was only one finding for depression, showing a relationship with strength of lateralisation for the processing of fearful faces that differed according to sex.
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