Cognitive dysfunction predicts poorer emotion recognition in bariatric surgery candidates

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Bariatric Medicine

Background:

• Severe obesity is associated with cognitive deficits in executive function and memory.
• The impact of obesity on social cognition, specifically emotion recognition, remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between cognitive impairment and emotion recognition abilities in individuals undergoing evaluation for bariatric surgery.

Main Methods:

• 116 bariatric surgery candidates completed the Integneuro computerized test battery.
• The battery assessed traditional cognitive domains and included an emotion recognition task involving facial expressions.
• Accuracy and reaction time on the emotion recognition task were primary dependent variables.

Main Results:

• Older age, increased maze errors, and hypertension predicted lower accuracy in emotion recognition.
• Slower attention switching, poorer long-delay recall, and older age predicted slower response times.
• Cognitive dysfunction explained 22% of the variance in emotion recognition accuracy and 26% in response speed.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive dysfunction in bariatric surgery candidates is associated with poorer emotion recognition.
• These findings align with patterns observed in psychiatric and neurological disorders.
• Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and functional implications, particularly concerning weight loss outcomes.