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Recognizing emotions, and what happens when this is interrupted

Date:
November 10, 2014
Source:
Sissa Medialab
Summary:
Recognizing the emotions other people feel is crucial for establishing proper interpersonal relations. To do so, we look at (amongst other things) facial expressions and body posture. Unfortunately, in some neurological disorders this ability is heavily impaired. This happens, for example, in multiple sclerosis where scientific evidence shows that people affected by the disease often have trouble recognizing expressions that communicate emotions. A new study now demonstrates that the same difficulty may also be encountered with emotions conveyed by posture.
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Recognizing the emotions other people feel is crucial for establishing proper interpersonal relations. To do so, we look at (amongst other things) facial expressions and body posture. Unfortunately, in some neurological disorders this ability is heavily impaired. This happens, for example, in multiple sclerosis where scientific evidence shows that people affected by the disease often have trouble recognizing expressions that communicate emotions.

A new study now demonstrates that the same difficulty may also be encountered with emotions conveyed by posture. In addition, the study shows that this difficulty recognizing other people's emotions is unrelated to difficulties identifying one own's emotions, a disorder known as alexithymia, which may be present in patients with multiple sclerosis.

"The finding on posture is new, and even though this symptom is less pronounced than the inability to read facial expressions, it is nonetheless important" explains Marilena Aiello, a SISSA researcher. "Studies on the identification of expressions in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis are important. In this type of disease the relationship between patients and carers is crucial to guarantee the patient the best quality of life. It's thus vital to identify the factors that may influence and improve this relationship."

In addition to Aiello, the other SISSA researchers who participated in the study, published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, are Cinzia Cecchetto (first author) and Raffaella Rumiati, a SISSA neuroscientist who coordinated the research project.


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Materials provided by Sissa Medialab. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Cinzia Cecchetto, Marilena Aiello, Delia D’Amico, Daniela Cutuli, Daniela Cargnelutti, Roberto Eleopra, Raffaella Ida Rumiati. Facial and Bodily Emotion Recognition in Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Alexithymia and Other Characteristics of the Disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S1355617714000939

Cite This Page:

Sissa Medialab. "Recognizing emotions, and what happens when this is interrupted." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 November 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141110083515.htm>.
Sissa Medialab. (2014, November 10). Recognizing emotions, and what happens when this is interrupted. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 9, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141110083515.htm
Sissa Medialab. "Recognizing emotions, and what happens when this is interrupted." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141110083515.htm (accessed October 9, 2024).

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