Processing of affective faces varying in valence and intensity in shy adults: an event-related fMRI study

Recent behavioral and electrocortical studies have found that shy and socially anxious adults are hypersensitive to the processing of negative and ambiguous facial emotions. We attempted to extend these findings by examining the neural correlates of affective face processing in shy adults using an event-related fMRI design. We presented pairs of faces that varied in affective valence and intensity. The faces were morphed to alter the degree of intensity of the emotional expressive faces. Twenty-four (12 shy and 12 non-shy) young adult participants then made same/different judgments to these faces while in an MR scanner. We found that shy adults exhibited greater neural activation across a distinct range of brain regions to pairs of faces expressing negative emotions, moderate levels of emotional intensity, and emotional faces that were incongruent with one another. In contrast, non-shy individuals exhibited greater neural activation across a distinct range of brain regions to pairs of faces expressing positive emotions, low levels of emotional intensity, and emotional faces that were congruent with one another. Findings suggest that there are differences in neural responses between shy and non-shy adults when viewing affective faces that vary in valence, intensity, and discrepancy.(AU)

Processing of affective faces varying in valence and intensity in shy adults: an event-related fMRI study

Recent behavioral and electrocortical studies have found that shy and socially anxious adults are hypersensitive to the processing of negative and ambiguous facial emotions. We attempted to extend these findings by examining the neural correlates of affective face processing in shy adults using an event-related fMRI design. We presented pairs of faces that varied in affective valence and intensity. The faces were morphed to alter the degree of intensity of the emotional expressive faces. Twenty-four (12 shy and 12 non-shy) young adult participants then made same/different judgments to these faces while in an MR scanner. We found that shy adults exhibited greater neural activation across a distinct range of brain regions to pairs of faces expressing negative emotions, moderate levels of emotional intensity, and emotional faces that were incongruent with one another. In contrast, non-shy individuals exhibited greater neural activation across a distinct range of brain regions to pairs of faces expressing positive emotions, low levels of emotional intensity, and emotional faces that were congruent with one another. Findings suggest that there are differences in neural responses between shy and non-shy adults when viewing affective faces that vary in valence, intensity, and discrepancy.

A novel COMP mutation in an Inuit patient with pseudoachondroplasia and severe short stature.

Pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) is an autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia, generally identified clinically at two years of age due to decreased linear growth and a waddling gait. Radiographic features include small and irregular epiphyses, with metaphyseal changes of the long bones and characteristic vertebral changes. Mutations in the COMP gene cause PSACH and some cases of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia. Mutations generally cluster in the calmodulin-like repeat regions of the gene. Mutations in exon 13 (encoding the seventh calmodulin-like repeat) have been associated with severe short stature (-6 SD) in PSACH. We examined an Inuit boy with PSACH and severe short stature. Height essentially remained at -1 SD on the PSACH growth curve (-7.5 SD on a normal growth curve at 10.5 years). Analysis of COMP in our patient revealed a previously undescribed heterozygous A>T substitution in exon 8, at nucleotide 812. This change in the sequence resulted in replacement of a highly conserved and negatively charged aspartic acid with an uncharged, hydrophobic valine at amino acid position 271. Both unaffected parents were negative for this genetic change. This exon encodes the first calmodulin-like repeat, which has not been previously implicated in severe short stature. We propose that this novel missense substitution is responsible for the phenotype of this patient.