UNLABELLED: Background/ Study Context: Age-related changes appear to affect the ability to identify emotional facial expressions in dual-task conditions (i.e., while simultaneously performing a second visual task). The level of interference generated by the secondary task depends on the phase of emotional processing affected by the interference and the nature of the secondary task. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of these variables on age-related changes in the processing of emotional faces. METHODS: The identification of emotional facial expressions (EFEs) was assessed in a dual-task paradigm using the following variables: (a) the phase during which interference was applied (encoding vs. retrieval phase); and (b) the nature of the interfering stimulus (visuospatial vs. verbal). The sample population consisted of 24 healthy aged adults (mean age = 75.38) and 40 younger adults (mean age = 26.90). The accuracy of EFE identification was calculated for all experimental conditions. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesis, the performance of the older group was poorer than that of the younger group in all experimental conditions. Dual-task performance was poorer when the interference occurred during the encoding phase of emotional face processing and when both tasks were of the same nature (i.e., when the experimental condition was more demanding in terms of attention). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide empirical evidence of age-related deficits in the identification of emotional facial expressions, which may be partially explained by the impairment of cognitive resources specific to this task. These findings may account for the difficulties experienced by the elderly during social interactions that require the concomitant processing of emotional and environmental information.
Aging/psychology , Attention/physiology , Emotions , Facial Expression , Task Performance and Analysis , Visual Perception/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Young Adult
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the progressive impairment of mental and emotional functions, including the processing of emotional facial expression (EFE). Deficits in decoding EFE are relevant in social contexts in which information from 2 or more sources may be processed simultaneously. To assess the role of contextual stimuli on EFE processing in AD, we analyzed the ability of patients with AD and healthy elderly adults to identify EFE when simultaneously performing another task. Each of the 6 basic EFEs was presented to 15 patients with AD and 35 controls in a dual task paradigm that is in parallel with a visuospatial or a semantic task. Results show that the decoding of EFEs was impaired in patients with AD when they were simultaneously processing additional visuospatial information, yet not when they were performed in conjunction with a semantic task. These findings suggest that the capacity to interpret emotional states is impaired in AD.
Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Attention , Emotions , Facial Expression , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Psychomotor Performance
INTRODUCTION: Previous research has shown that correct identification of emotional facial expressions (EFE) depends on the cognitive resources that are available. In this study, we examine whether the capacity to identify EFE in a dual task paradigm is affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). AIM: To investigate the interference generated by introducing a secondary task in EFE processing during the encoding and recovery of the facial expression in non-medicated PD patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 14 patients with de novo PD and 28 healthy adults identified 24 EFE under two conditions: simultaneous encoding along with a secondary task and introduction of the secondary task between the time that spans the encoding of the primary task and the response time latency. RESULTS: Results showed that identification of EFE by patients with PD was significantly worse than by healthy adults in the simultaneous encoding condition. In contrast, no differences were found when the interference of the secondary task took place in the phase involving recovery of information of the primary task. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PD only display specific deficits in processing EFE when the task consumes high levels of the resources required for divided attention, as occurs in everyday situations.
Emotions , Facial Expression , Parkinson Disease/psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Reaction Time
Introducción. Trabajos previos han puesto de manifiesto que la correcta identificación de las expresiones faciales emocionales (EFE) depende de los recursos cognitivos disponibles. En este trabajo investigamos si la capacidad para identificar EFE en un paradigma de doble tarea se ve afectada en la enfermedad de Parkinson (EP). Objetivo. Investigar la interferencia que genera la introducción de una tarea secundaria en el procesamiento de EFE durante las fases de codificación y recuperación de la expresión facial en pacientes con EP no medicados. Sujetos y métodos. Un total de 14 pacientes con EP de novo y 28 adultos sanos identificaron 24 EFE bajo dos condiciones: codificación simultánea con una tarea secundaria e introducción de la tarea secundaria entre el tiempo que media entre la codificación de la primaria y el tiempo de latencia de la respuesta. Resultados. Los resultados mostraron que los pacientes con EP identificaron las EFE significativamente peor que los adultos sanos en la condición de codificación simultánea. Por el contrario, no mostraron diferencias cuando la interferencia de la tarea secundaria se produjo en la fase de recuperación de la información de la primaria. Conclusiones. Los pacientes con EP muestran déficits específicos en el procesamiento de EFE sólo cuando la tarea consume altos recursos de atención dividida, como ocurre en las situaciones cotidianas (AU)
Introduction. Previous research has shown that correct identification of emotional facial expressions (EFE) depends onthe cognitive resources that are available. In this study, we examine whether the capacity to identify EFE in a dual task paradigm is affected in Parkinsons disease (PD). Aim. To investigate the interference generated by introducing a secondary task in EFE processing during the encoding and recovery of the facial expression in non-medicated PD patients. Subjects and methods. A total of 14 patients with de novo PD and 28 healthy adults identified 24 EFE under two conditions: simultaneous encoding along with a secondary task and introduction of the secondary task between the time that spans the encoding of the primary task and the response time latency. Results. Results showed that identification of EFE by patients with PD was significantly worse than by healthy adults in the simultaneous encoding condition. In contrast, no differences were found when the interference of the secondary task took place in the phase involving recovery of information of the primary task. Conclusions. Patients with PD only display specific deficits in processing EFE when the task consumes high levels of the resources required for divided attention, as occurs in everyday situations (AU)
Humans , Cognition Disorders/epidemiology , Parkinson Disease/complications , Facial Expression , Parkinson Disease/psychology , Emotions , Attention
