Emotion perception and interpersonal behaviour in epilepsy patients after unilateral amygdalohippocampectomy

• Authors: E.J.G. Ammerlaan , M.P.H. Hendriks , A.J. Colon , R.P.C. Kessels
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Aim of this study was to examine the relation between perception of facial expressions and interpersonal behavior in epilepsy patients after unilateral amygdalohippocampectomy (AH). Nine patients with unilateral amygdalohippocampectomy and 14 controls completed a forced-choice emotional recognition task, in which morphed facial emotional expressions were shown at different emotional intensities, and a self-report questionnaire of interpersonal behavior. Face perception and depressive symptoms were also taken into account. Compared to normal controls, patients were less sensitive in the recognition of fearful and disgusted facial expressions, in line with previous reports. These impairments were only minimally correlated with self-report interpersonal behavior. In all, unilateral damage to the amygdala and medial temporal lobe results in subtle emotion recognition impairments, but these deficits do not appear to extend to self-reported impairments in everyday interpersonal behavior. Further studies need to explore in more detail the effects of these subtle recognition problems on daily social intercourse.

Keywords

EN

AMYGDALOHIPPOCAMPECTOMY; BEHAVIOUR; EMOTION; EPILEPSY; NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

Discipline

• EXPERIMENTAL_BIOLOGY_&_MEDICINE: EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY & MEDICINE

• Publisher: Marceli Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 68
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 214-218

Contributors

author

E.J.G. Ammerlaan

author

M.P.H. Hendriks

author

A.J. Colon

author

R.P.C. Kessels

• Document Type: SHORT COMMUNICA
• Publication order reference: R.P.C. Kessels, Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, [e-mail]