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The Relationship Between Facial Expression and Cognitive Function in Patients With Depression.
Ma Ruihua1, Guo Hua2, Zhao Meng3
1Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 8, 2021
Summary
Patients with depression show impaired recognition of negative facial expressions, particularly sadness and disgust. This deficit is linked to significant impairments in cognitive functions like processing speed, reasoning, and memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Depression is associated with impaired facial expression recognition and cognitive deficits.
- Understanding the relationship between these impairments is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between facial expression recognition and cognitive function in individuals with depression.
- To identify specific cognitive domains linked to difficulties in recognizing facial emotions.
Main Methods:
- Facial expression recognition tests (anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, surprise) were administered to 31 patients with depression and 20 healthy controls.
- Cognitive function was assessed using the Chinese version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), including tests for processing speed, reasoning, and memory.
Main Results:
- Patients with depression exhibited significant deficits in recognizing sadness, happiness, and disgust expressions compared to controls.
- Depressed individuals showed lower scores across multiple cognitive domains, including the Trail Making Test (TMT) and symbol coding.
- Impaired recognition of sadness and disgust expressions positively correlated with deficits in cognitive functions such as processing speed, reasoning, and memory.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive impairment in depression contributes to reduced ability to recognize negative facial expressions.
- Deficits in processing speed, reasoning, problem-solving, and memory are key factors affecting facial emotion recognition in depression.
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