Francesca Felicia Operto1, Grazia Maria Giovanna Pastorino2, Roberta Mazza3, Carlo Di Bonaventura4, Rosa Marotta5, Nazareno Pastorino6, Sara Matricardi7, Alberto Verrotti8, Marco Carotenuto9, Michele Roccella10. 1. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy. Electronic address: opertofrancesca@gmail.com. 2. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy; Department of Mental Health, Physical and Preventive Medicine, Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy. 3. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy. 4. Epilepsy Unit, Department of Neurosciences/Mental Health, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy. 5. Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy. 6. Department of Cultural Heritage Sciences, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy. 7. Department of Pediatrics, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy. 8. Department of Pediatrics, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy. 9. Department of Mental Health, Physical and Preventive Medicine, Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy. 10. Department of Psychological, Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Deficits in facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind are frequent in patients with epilepsy. Although this evidence, studies on pediatric age are few and the relation between these abilities and other cognitive domain remains to be better elucidated. The purpose of our study is to evaluate facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind in children and adolescents with focal epilepsy, and correlate them with intelligence and executive functions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our work is a cross-sectional observational study. Sixty-two children and adolescents aged between 7-16 years diagnosed by focal epilepsy and 32 sex/age-matched controls were recruited. All participants were administered a standardized battery tests to assess social cognition (NEPSY-II), executive functions (EpiTrack Junior) and cognitive non-verbal level (Raven Progressive Matrices). RESULTS: Emotion recognition mean score was significantly lower in the epilepsy group than in the controls to Student's t-test (p<0.05). Epilepsy group showed an impairment in happiness, sadness, anger and fear recognition, compared to controls (p<0.05). Theory of Mind mean score was also significantly lower in epilepsy group than controls (p<0.05). Deficits in emotion recognition seemed to be related to low age at onset of epilepsy, long duration of disease, low executive functions and low non-verbal intelligence. Deficits in Theory of Mind seemed to be related to a high seizure frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that children and adolescents with focal epilepsy had deficit in facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind, compared to their peer. Both these difficulties seem to be related to some features of epilepsy itself. Our results also suggest that deficits in facial emotion recognition are potentially related to difficulties in executive functions and non-verbal intelligence. More studies are needed to confirm these hypotheses.
OBJECTIVES: Deficits in facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind are frequent in patients with epilepsy. Although this evidence, studies on pediatric age are few and the relation between these abilities and other cognitive domain remains to be better elucidated. The purpose of our study is to evaluate facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind in children and adolescents with focal epilepsy, and correlate them with intelligence and executive functions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our work is a cross-sectional observational study. Sixty-two children and adolescents aged between 7-16 years diagnosed by focal epilepsy and 32 sex/age-matched controls were recruited. All participants were administered a standardized battery tests to assess social cognition (NEPSY-II), executive functions (EpiTrack Junior) and cognitive non-verbal level (Raven Progressive Matrices). RESULTS: Emotion recognition mean score was significantly lower in the epilepsy group than in the controls to Student's t-test (p<0.05). Epilepsy group showed an impairment in happiness, sadness, anger and fear recognition, compared to controls (p<0.05). Theory of Mind mean score was also significantly lower in epilepsy group than controls (p<0.05). Deficits in emotion recognition seemed to be related to low age at onset of epilepsy, long duration of disease, low executive functions and low non-verbal intelligence. Deficits in Theory of Mind seemed to be related to a high seizure frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that children and adolescents with focal epilepsy had deficit in facial emotion recognition and Theory of Mind, compared to their peer. Both these difficulties seem to be related to some features of epilepsy itself. Our results also suggest that deficits in facial emotion recognition are potentially related to difficulties in executive functions and non-verbal intelligence. More studies are needed to confirm these hypotheses.
Authors: Francesca Felicia Operto; Grazia Maria Giovanna Pastorino; Maria Stellato; Lucia Morcaldi; Luigi Vetri; Marco Carotenuto; Andrea Viggiano; Giangennaro Coppola Journal: Brain Sci Date: 2020-07-23
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