Philibert Duriez1,2, Aurore Guy-Rubin1, Héline Kaya Lefèvre3,4, Philip Gorwood1,2. 1. GHU Paris Psychiatrie Et Neurosciences, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, CMME, 1 rue Cabanis, 75014, Paris, France. 2. Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), Université de Paris, INSERM U1266, 75014, Paris, France. 3. GHU Paris Psychiatrie Et Neurosciences, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, CMME, 1 rue Cabanis, 75014, Paris, France. h.kaya_lefevre@ghu-paris.fr. 4. Université de Paris, LPPS, 92100, Boulogne-Billancourt, France. h.kaya_lefevre@ghu-paris.fr.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Anorexia Nervosa (AN) has been linked to emotion processing inefficiencies, social cognition difficulties and emotion dysregulation, but data on Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) are heterogenous and inconclusive. This study aims to explore FER in patients with AN using a dynamic and ecological evaluation, and its relationship with Physical Activity (PA), an important aspect of AN that could impact emotional processing. METHODS: Sixty-six participants (33 patients with AN and 33 healthy controls) performed a morphed facial emotional recognition task and 49 of them wore an accelerometer during seven days to assess PA. Axis-I disorders and depressive symptoms have been assessed. RESULTS: No difference was found regarding time to recognize facial emotions. However, patients with AN correctly recognize emotions more frequently than controls. This was specific to disgust, although there was also a tendency for sadness. Among patients, higher depressive scores are associated with a faster and more accurate recognition of disgust, while a higher level of PA is associated to decreased accuracy in recognizing sadness. CONCLUSION: Patients with AN are capable of recognizing facial emotions as accurately as controls, but could have a higher sensitivity in recognizing negative emotions, especially disgust and sadness. PA has opposite effects and, thus, could be considered as an emotional regulation strategy against negative affect. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE II: Controlled trial without randomization.
PURPOSE: Anorexia Nervosa (AN) has been linked to emotion processing inefficiencies, social cognition difficulties and emotion dysregulation, but data on Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) are heterogenous and inconclusive. This study aims to explore FER in patients with AN using a dynamic and ecological evaluation, and its relationship with Physical Activity (PA), an important aspect of AN that could impact emotional processing. METHODS: Sixty-six participants (33 patients with AN and 33 healthy controls) performed a morphed facial emotional recognition task and 49 of them wore an accelerometer during seven days to assess PA. Axis-I disorders and depressive symptoms have been assessed. RESULTS: No difference was found regarding time to recognize facial emotions. However, patients with AN correctly recognize emotions more frequently than controls. This was specific to disgust, although there was also a tendency for sadness. Among patients, higher depressive scores are associated with a faster and more accurate recognition of disgust, while a higher level of PA is associated to decreased accuracy in recognizing sadness. CONCLUSION: Patients with AN are capable of recognizing facial emotions as accurately as controls, but could have a higher sensitivity in recognizing negative emotions, especially disgust and sadness. PA has opposite effects and, thus, could be considered as an emotional regulation strategy against negative affect. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE II: Controlled trial without randomization.
Authors: Sevgi Bektas; Johanna Louise Keeler; Lisa M Anderson; Hiba Mutwalli; Hubertus Himmerich; Janet Treasure Journal: Nutrients Date: 2022-04-21 Impact factor: 6.706