The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease

Roger Staff, Trevor S. Ahearn, Louise H. Phillips, Clare L. Cooper, Donald Mowat, Claude M. Wischik, Lawrence J. Whalley, Alison D. Murray

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Deficits in facial emotion processing are features of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These impairments are often distressing for carers as well as patients. Such non-cognitive symptoms are often cited as a contributing reason for admission into institutionalised care. The ability to interpret emotional cues is crucial to healthy psychological function and relationships and impaired emotional facility may lead to antisocial behavior. Understanding the origins of the noncognitive aspects of AD may lead to an improvement in the management of sufferers and ease the carer burden. In a cross-sectional study we recorded patients’ facial processing abilities, (emotion and identity recognition), disease severity (ADAS-cog, Neuropsychiatic Inventory) and investigated the regional cerebral blood flow correlates of facial emotion processing deficits using 99Tcm HMPAO rCBF SPECT. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) we identified decreased blood flow in posterior frontal regions specifically associated with emotion perception deficits and independent of non-emotional facial processing abilities or/and disease severity. The posterior frontal lobe has been identified in previous studies in the absence of dementia as being important in emotion processing. The results suggest that the cognitive disease severity, in combination with the facial processing ability, do not completely explain facial emotion processing in AD patients and that the posterior frontal lobe mediates such behaviour.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6-13
Number of pages8
JournalNeuroscience & Medicine
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Mar 2011

Fingerprint

Cerebrovascular Circulation
Alzheimer Disease
Emotions
Aptitude
Frontal Lobe
Caregivers
Regional Blood Flow
Single-Photon Emission-Computed Tomography
Cues
Dementia
Cross-Sectional Studies
Psychology
Equipment and Supplies

Keywords

  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • emotion
  • SPECT
  • rCBF
  • facial processing
  • dementia

Cite this

The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease. / Staff, Roger; Ahearn, Trevor S.; Phillips, Louise H.; Cooper, Clare L.; Mowat, Donald; Wischik, Claude M.; Whalley, Lawrence J.; Murray, Alison D.

In: Neuroscience & Medicine, Vol. 2, No. 1, 17.03.2011, p. 6-13.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Staff, R, Ahearn, TS, Phillips, LH, Cooper, CL, Mowat, D, Wischik, CM, Whalley, LJ & Murray, AD 2011, 'The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease', Neuroscience & Medicine, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 6-13. https://doi.org/10.4236/nm.2011.21002
Staff R, Ahearn TS, Phillips LH, Cooper CL, Mowat D, Wischik CM et al. The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease. Neuroscience & Medicine. 2011 Mar 17;2(1):6-13. https://doi.org/10.4236/nm.2011.21002
Staff, Roger ; Ahearn, Trevor S. ; Phillips, Louise H. ; Cooper, Clare L. ; Mowat, Donald ; Wischik, Claude M. ; Whalley, Lawrence J. ; Murray, Alison D. / The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease. In: Neuroscience & Medicine. 2011 ; Vol. 2, No. 1. pp. 6-13.
@article{c315b748cf574938b6650a922c89e98d,
title = "The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease",
abstract = "Deficits in facial emotion processing are features of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These impairments are often distressing for carers as well as patients. Such non-cognitive symptoms are often cited as a contributing reason for admission into institutionalised care. The ability to interpret emotional cues is crucial to healthy psychological function and relationships and impaired emotional facility may lead to antisocial behavior. Understanding the origins of the noncognitive aspects of AD may lead to an improvement in the management of sufferers and ease the carer burden. In a cross-sectional study we recorded patients’ facial processing abilities, (emotion and identity recognition), disease severity (ADAS-cog, Neuropsychiatic Inventory) and investigated the regional cerebral blood flow correlates of facial emotion processing deficits using 99Tcm HMPAO rCBF SPECT. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) we identified decreased blood flow in posterior frontal regions specifically associated with emotion perception deficits and independent of non-emotional facial processing abilities or/and disease severity. The posterior frontal lobe has been identified in previous studies in the absence of dementia as being important in emotion processing. The results suggest that the cognitive disease severity, in combination with the facial processing ability, do not completely explain facial emotion processing in AD patients and that the posterior frontal lobe mediates such behaviour.",
keywords = "Alzheimer’s Disease, emotion, SPECT, rCBF, facial processing, dementia",
author = "Roger Staff and Ahearn, {Trevor S.} and Phillips, {Louise H.} and Cooper, {Clare L.} and Donald Mowat and Wischik, {Claude M.} and Whalley, {Lawrence J.} and Murray, {Alison D.}",
year = "2011",
month = "3",
day = "17",
doi = "10.4236/nm.2011.21002",
language = "English",
volume = "2",
pages = "6--13",
journal = "Neuroscience & Medicine",
number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The cerebral blood flow correlates of emotional facial processing in mild Alzheimer's disease

AU - Staff, Roger

AU - Ahearn, Trevor S.

AU - Phillips, Louise H.

AU - Cooper, Clare L.

AU - Mowat, Donald

AU - Wischik, Claude M.

AU - Whalley, Lawrence J.

AU - Murray, Alison D.

PY - 2011/3/17

Y1 - 2011/3/17

N2 - Deficits in facial emotion processing are features of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These impairments are often distressing for carers as well as patients. Such non-cognitive symptoms are often cited as a contributing reason for admission into institutionalised care. The ability to interpret emotional cues is crucial to healthy psychological function and relationships and impaired emotional facility may lead to antisocial behavior. Understanding the origins of the noncognitive aspects of AD may lead to an improvement in the management of sufferers and ease the carer burden. In a cross-sectional study we recorded patients’ facial processing abilities, (emotion and identity recognition), disease severity (ADAS-cog, Neuropsychiatic Inventory) and investigated the regional cerebral blood flow correlates of facial emotion processing deficits using 99Tcm HMPAO rCBF SPECT. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) we identified decreased blood flow in posterior frontal regions specifically associated with emotion perception deficits and independent of non-emotional facial processing abilities or/and disease severity. The posterior frontal lobe has been identified in previous studies in the absence of dementia as being important in emotion processing. The results suggest that the cognitive disease severity, in combination with the facial processing ability, do not completely explain facial emotion processing in AD patients and that the posterior frontal lobe mediates such behaviour.

AB - Deficits in facial emotion processing are features of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These impairments are often distressing for carers as well as patients. Such non-cognitive symptoms are often cited as a contributing reason for admission into institutionalised care. The ability to interpret emotional cues is crucial to healthy psychological function and relationships and impaired emotional facility may lead to antisocial behavior. Understanding the origins of the noncognitive aspects of AD may lead to an improvement in the management of sufferers and ease the carer burden. In a cross-sectional study we recorded patients’ facial processing abilities, (emotion and identity recognition), disease severity (ADAS-cog, Neuropsychiatic Inventory) and investigated the regional cerebral blood flow correlates of facial emotion processing deficits using 99Tcm HMPAO rCBF SPECT. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) we identified decreased blood flow in posterior frontal regions specifically associated with emotion perception deficits and independent of non-emotional facial processing abilities or/and disease severity. The posterior frontal lobe has been identified in previous studies in the absence of dementia as being important in emotion processing. The results suggest that the cognitive disease severity, in combination with the facial processing ability, do not completely explain facial emotion processing in AD patients and that the posterior frontal lobe mediates such behaviour.

KW - Alzheimer’s Disease

KW - emotion

KW - SPECT

KW - rCBF

KW - facial processing

KW - dementia

U2 - 10.4236/nm.2011.21002

DO - 10.4236/nm.2011.21002

M3 - Article

VL - 2

SP - 6

EP - 13

JO - Neuroscience & Medicine

JF - Neuroscience & Medicine

IS - 1

ER -

Access to Document