Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Service of Psychiatric Specialties, Mood Disorders Unit University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland.
Neuroimage Clin. 2017 Sep 6;16:545-556. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.09.006. eCollection 2017.
Gaze conveys emotional information, and humans present sensitivity to its direction from the earliest days of life. Bipolar disorder is a disease characterized by fluctuating states of emotional and cognitive dysregulation. To explore the role of attentional control on face processing in bipolar patients (BP) we used gaze direction as an emotion modulation parameter in a two-back Working Memory (WM) task while high-density EEG data were acquired. Since gaze direction influences emotional attributions to faces with neutral expressions as well, we presented neutral faces with direct and averted gaze. Nineteen euthymic BP and a sample of age- and gender-matched controls were examined. In BP we observed diminished P200 and augmented P300 evoked responses, differentially modulated by non-repeated or repeated faces, as well as by gaze direction. BP showed a reduced P200 amplitude, significantly stronger for faces with direct gaze than averted gaze. Source localization of P200 indicated decreased activity in sensory-motor regions and frontal areas suggestive of abnormal affective processing of neutral faces. The present study provides neurophysiological evidence for abnormal gaze processing in BP and suggests dysfunctional processing of direct eye contact as a prominent characteristic of bipolar disorder.
注视传达情感信息，人类从生命的早期就表现出对注视方向的敏感性。双相情感障碍是一种以情绪和认知调节波动为特征的疾病。为了探索注意力控制在双相情感障碍患者（BP）面部处理中的作用，我们在 2 -back 工作记忆（WM）任务中使用注视方向作为情绪调节参数，同时获取高密度 EEG 数据。由于注视方向也会影响中性表情的面孔的情绪归因，我们呈现了具有直视和回避注视的中性面孔。我们检查了 19 名情绪稳定的 BP 和一组年龄和性别匹配的对照者。在 BP 中，我们观察到 P200 和增强的 P300 诱发反应减弱，这与非重复或重复的面孔以及注视方向有关。BP 的 P200 振幅减小，直视面孔的 P200 振幅明显大于回避注视的面孔。P200 的源定位表明感觉运动区域和额区的活动减少，提示对中性面孔的异常情感处理。本研究为 BP 中注视处理异常提供了神经生理学证据，并表明对视接触的处理不当是双相情感障碍的一个突出特征。
