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Deficits in facial emotion recognition in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients has been well documented. Nevertheless, it is still not clear whether facial emotion recognition deficits are secondary to other cognitive impairments. The aim of this study was to answer the question of whether deficits in facial emotion recognition in PD result from impaired sensory processes, or from impaired decision processes. To address this question, we tested the ability to recognize a mixture of basic and complex emotions in 38 non-demented PD patients and 38 healthy controls matched on demographic characteristics. By using a task with an increased level of ambiguity, in conjunction with the signal detection theory, we were able to differentiate between sensitivity and response bias in facial emotion recognition. Sensitivity and response bias for facial emotion recognition were calculated using a d-prime value and a c index respectively. Our study is the first to employ the EIS-F scale for assessing facial emotion recognition among PD patients; to test its validity as an assessment tool, a group comprising schizophrenia patients and healthy controls were also tested. Patients with PD recognized emotions with less accuracy than healthy individuals (d-prime) and used a more liberal response criterion (c index). By contrast, patients with schizophrenia merely showed diminished sensitivity (d-prime). Our results suggest that an impaired ability to recognize facial emotions in PD patients may result from both decreased sensitivity and a significantly more liberal response criteria, whereas facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia may stem from a generalized sensory impairment only.

A training in the form of a computer game that aims at improving five cognitive functions in the elderly has been developed: visuospatial memory, attention, memory for prose, working memory and prospective memory. It was devised as a collaboration among the in Bydgoszcz. This software is an example of the so-called serious games. To the best of our knowledge it is the first one to focus particularly on prospective memory. This is the first report concerning the present training, which is currently being elaborated. The next step in its development will be testing its validity.

IntroductionPatients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may show impairment in their ability to recognize facial expressions. It has been speculated that this deficit is linked to hypodopaminergic state which may be connected with an increase in amygdalic activity.ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to assess ability in the perception and recognition of facial expressions among thirty-eight PD subjects and thirty-eight healthy control subjects matched by age, sex, and education level.AimsTo investigate differences in perception of positive, negative and neutral facial expressions, such as sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, astonishment, distrust, uncertainty, curiosity, satisfaction, tenderness, disbelief, embarrassment, disrespect.MethodsThe Polish Emotional Intelligence Scale - Faces (SIET) was used.ResultsThe results obtained indicate more deficits in recognition of sadness, anger, distrust, embarrassment and tenderness in PD subjects, while happiness was better recognized by PD subjects than by healthy control subjects. Overall, negative expressions were more poorly recognized by PD patients while there were no differences in recognition of positive and neutral emotions in both groups. In addition, astonishment, embarrassment and distrust were more poorly recognized in females with PD when compared with female control subjects. Whereas in male PD subjects, the recognition of disbelief and negative expressions was more impaired when compared with male subjects from the control group.ConclusionsThe results suggest that a hypodopaminergic state affects ability to recognize facial expressions, particularly those expressing negative emotions.