Borderline personality disorder and bias in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion: a pathway to understand the psychopathology

Abstract Background The identification of facial emotions is a key skill as it promotes rapid and accurate recognition of emotions and enables better communication and greater social adaptation. More recent studies have suggested that impaired social interactions may be related to deficits in social cognition and therefore in the recognition of facial expressions, contributing to social disturbance among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Objective To present the results of an empirical study assessing the recognition of facial emotion expressions in women with BPD, having as reference a group of healthy women from the general population. Methods The subjects (40 female with BPD and 40 controls) were assessed with a dynamic task on a computer screen for recognition of facial expressions of emotion. Results The BPD group had a lower accuracy in perceiving emotions of fear and surprise and slowness in recognising happiness. Logistic regression analyses also identified an association between BPD and higher sensitivity in the recognition of anger. Discussion Women with BPD made more mistakes in the recognition of negative emotions, which can bias the behaviour and regulation of affective states, favouring in turn the emergence of some typical symptoms associated with BPD.

Facial emotion processing and recognition among maltreated children: a systematic literature review.

Exposure to maltreatment is associated with biological, psychological, and social development impairments in children. This systematic literature review sought to determine whether an association exists between child maltreatment and facial emotion processing and recognition. The search was conducted using the databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and SciELO using the following keywords: "maltreatment," "adversity," "neglect," "sexual abuse," "emotional abuse," "physical abuse," "child(*)," "early," "infant," "face," "facial," "recognition," "expression," "emotion(*)," and "impairment." Seventeen articles were selected and analyzed. Maltreated children tended to exhibit less accuracy in global facial tasks and showed greater reactivity, response bias, and electrophysiological activation of specific brain areas in response to faces expressing negative emotions, especially anger. We concluded that the results of this review are exploratory and non-conclusive due to the small number of studies published and the wide variety of aims and procedures. Those shortcomings notwithstanding, the results indicate definite tendencies and gaps that should be more thoroughly explored in future studies.

Associação entre a pressão sangüínea com sinais e sintomas de dor orofacial e disfunção temporomandibular / Relationship between blood pressure with signs and symptons of orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders

O objetivo deste estudo é o de determinar a função da pressão sangüínea como possível fator diagnóstico em pacientes com desordens temporomandibulares (DTM). Foram examinadas as pressões sangüíneas de mulheres entre 17 e 40 anos de idade, com sinais e sintomas de desordens temporomandibulares (DTM), versus grupo controle (sem DTM), usando o aparelho "Digital Blood Pressure Meter" da A&D Engineering, Inc. Sendo assim, observou-se uma tendência à hipotensão nos pacientes com DTM em relação ao grupo controle