Emotional Word Processing in Patients With Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

Frontiers in Neurology

Sarah Said-Yuerekli¹  Mario Braun³  Margarita Kirschner³  Patrick Benjamin Langthaler³  Georg Zimmermann³  Lucas Johannes Rainer⁴  Giorgi Kuchukhidze⁵  Eugen Trinka⁶  Martin Kronbichler⁸  Lisa Kronbichler⁸  Elisabeth Schmid⁹  Julia Höfler^1,10 

[1] Psychosomatics, Christian-Doppler Medical Centre, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria;Department of Mathematics, Paris-Lodron University, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultaet, Salzburg, Austria;Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler Medical Centre, Paracelsus Medical University, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg, Member of the European Reference Network, Epicare, Salzburg, Austria;;Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy &Department of Psychology, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultaet, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria;Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT–University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria;Karl-Landsteiner Institute for Neurorehabilitation and Space Neurology, Salzburg, Austria;Neuroscience Institute, Christian-Doppler Medical Centre, Paracelsus Medical University, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Salzburg, Austria;Research and Innovation Management, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria;Team Biostatistics and Big Medical Data, IDA Lab Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria;

关键词: discrete emotion;    dimensional emotion;    neuropsychology;    juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME);    implicit emotion processing;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2022.875950

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveAccording to Panksepp's hierarchical emotion model, emotion processing relies on three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct levels. These levels comprise subcortical networks (primary level), the limbic system (secondary level), and the neocortex (tertiary level) and are suggested to serve differential emotional processing. We aimed to validate and extend previous evidence of discrete and dimensional emotion processing in patient with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).MethodsWe recorded brain activity of patients with JME and healthy controls in response to lexical decisions to words reflecting the discrete emotion fear and the affective dimension negativity previously suggested to rely on different brain regions and to reflect different levels of processing. In all study participants, we tested verbal cognitive functions, as well as the relationship of psychiatric conditions, seizure types and duration of epilepsy and emotional word processing.ResultsIn support of the hierarchical emotion model, we found an interaction of discrete emotion and affective dimensional processing in the right amygdala likely to reflect secondary level processing. Brain activity related to affective dimensional processing was found in the right inferior frontal gyrus and is suggested to reflect tertiary level processing. Psychiatric conditions, type of seizure nor mono- vs. polytherapy and duration of epilepsy within patients did not have any effect on the processing of emotional words. In addition, no differences in brain activity or response times between patients and controls were observed, despite neuropsychological testing revealed slightly decreased verbal intelligence, verbal fluency and reading speed in patients with JME.SignificanceThese results were interpreted to be in line with the hierarchical emotion model and to highlight the amygdala's role in processing biologically relevant stimuli, as well as to suggest a semantic foundation of affective dimensional processing in prefrontal cortex. A lack of differences in brain activity of patients with JME and healthy controls in response to the emotional content of words could point to unaffected implicit emotion processing in patients with JME.

【 授权许可】

Unknown