Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 27, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Facial Emotion Recognition in Bipolar Disorder and Healthy Aging
Mario Altamura1, Flavia A Padalino, Eleonora Stella
1*Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy; †Harvard Medical School, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA; and ‡Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Abstract:
Emotional face recognition is impaired in bipolar disorder, but it is not clear whether this is specific for the illness. Here, we investigated how aging and bipolar disorder influence dynamic emotional face recognition. Twenty older adults, 16 bipolar patients, and 20 control subjects performed a dynamic affective facial recognition task and a subsequent rating task. Participants pressed a key as soon as they were able to discriminate whether the neutral face was assuming a happy or angry facial expression and then rated the intensity of each facial expression. Results showed that older adults recognized happy expressions faster, whereas bipolar patients recognized angry expressions faster. Furthermore, both groups rated emotional faces more intensely than did the control subjects. This study is one of the first to compare how aging and clinical conditions influence emotional facial recognition and underlines the need to consider the role of specific and common factors in emotional face recognition.
Related Concept Videos
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Bipolar Disorder
Physiology of Emotion
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in emotional responses by regulating involuntary physiological functions. It consists of two main components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system...
Emotional Expression
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

