RESUMEN
Background: The evidence about facial emotion recognition in anorexia nervosa as the role of alexithymic traits on this emotional ability is conflicting and heterogeneous. Objective: We assessed the capability of recognizing facial expressions of two primary emotions, fear, and anger, in the context of anorexia nervosa. Methods: Women affected by anorexia nervosa were compared with healthy weight women in a well-established implicit facial emotion recognition task. Both reaction time and level of accuracy were computed. Moreover, the individual levels of alexithymia were assessed through a standard self-report questionnaire. Results: Participants with anorexia nervosa reported a significantly lower performance in terms of reaction time and accuracy when the emotion of fear-but not anger-was the target. Notably, such an alteration was linked to the levels of alexithymia reported in the self-report questionnaire. Conclusion: In anorexia nervosa, difficulties in processing facial fearful (but not angry) expressions may be observed as linked to higher expressions of alexithymic traits. We suggested future research in which emotional processing will be investigated taking into account the role of the bodily dimensions of emotional awareness.
RESUMEN
The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) significantly impacts cognitive functioning. The prolonged use (more than 3 months) of ventilotherapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seems to have positive effects in restoring cognitive difficulties. However, there is poor evidence about its possible short-term effect. We investigated whether the short use (less than 15 days at testing) of CPAP improved the cognitive functioning in fifty individuals with OSAS by collecting retrospective neuropsychological measures about verbal memory and learning, information processing speed, attention (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive system), and executive functions (i.e., strategic reasoning, problem-solving, and mental planning). The predictive role of days of CPAP use on the neuropsychological scores was assessed by hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses, over and above the possible role of demographics, body mass index, level of OSAS severity, and the level of anxiety and depression. The average number of days since CPAP adaptation was 4.70 (SD = 3.90; range = 0-15). As the days of CPAP adaptation increased, verbal learning and long-term memory significantly improved, contrary to the other assessed domains. Our results show a significant improvement in some cognitive functions even after a short treatment with CPAP, pointing to the importance of the early use of ventilotherapy to rapidly improve cognitive functioning. Identifying which cognitive functions can or cannot be restored with CPAP use may enable the design of complementary neuropsychological interventions focused on those residual difficulties, possibly enhancing patients' compliance to the treatment.
RESUMEN
Evidence relative to facial emotion recognition and the role played by alexithymia in fibromyalgia syndrome is rare and heterogeneous. In this work, we investigated this ability in fibromyalgia investigating the implicit behaviour in the facial emotion recognition task, focusing on fear and anger. Twenty women with fibromyalgia and twenty healthy women as controls performed a facial emotion recognition of fearful and angry expressions. Their implicit behaviour was scored in accordance with the redundant target effect. The level of alexithymic traits through a standard psychological questionnaire and its effect on behavioral performance were also assessed. Participants affected by fibromyalgia reported a lower level of accuracy in recognizing fearful and angry expressions, in comparison with the controls. Crucially, such a difference was not explained by the different levels of alexithymic traits between groups. Our results agreed with some previous evidence suggesting an altered recognition of others' emotional facial expressions in fibromyalgia syndrome. Considering the role of emotion recognition on social cognition and psychological well-being in fibromyalgia, we underlined the crucial role of emotional difficulties in the onset and maintenance of the symptoms life-span.
