PLoS ONE (Jan 2012)

Neural processing of emotional facial and semantic expressions in euthymic bipolar disorder (BD) and its association with theory of mind (ToM).

  • Agustin Ibanez,
  • Hugo Urquina,
  • Agustín Petroni,
  • Sandra Baez,
  • Vladimir Lopez,
  • Micaela do Nascimento,
  • Eduar Herrera,
  • Raphael Guex,
  • Esteban Hurtado,
  • Alejandro Blenkmann,
  • Leandro Beltrachini,
  • Carlos Gelormini,
  • Mariano Sigman,
  • Alicia Lischinsky,
  • Teresa Torralva,
  • Fernando Torrente,
  • Marcelo Cetkovich,
  • Facundo Manes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046877
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 10
p. e46877

Abstract

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BackgroundAdults with bipolar disorder (BD) have cognitive impairments that affect face processing and social cognition. However, it remains unknown whether these deficits in euthymic BD have impaired brain markers of emotional processing.Methodology/principal findingsWe recruited twenty six participants, 13 controls subjects with an equal number of euthymic BD participants. We used an event-related potential (ERP) assessment of a dual valence task (DVT), in which faces (angry and happy), words (pleasant and unpleasant), and face-word simultaneous combinations are presented to test the effects of the stimulus type (face vs word) and valence (positive vs. negative). All participants received clinical, neuropsychological and social cognition evaluations. ERP analysis revealed that both groups showed N170 modulation of stimulus type effects (face > word). BD patients exhibited reduced and enhanced N170 to facial and semantic valence, respectively. The neural source estimation of N170 was a posterior section of the fusiform gyrus (FG), including the face fusiform area (FFA). Neural generators of N170 for faces (FG and FFA) were reduced in BD. In these patients, N170 modulation was associated with social cognition (theory of mind).Conclusions/significanceThis is the first report of euthymic BD exhibiting abnormal N170 emotional discrimination associated with theory of mind impairments.