Frequency characteristics of EEG spectra in the emotions

The present investigation was devoted to a spectral analysis of EEG frequency constituents during the ideational reproduction of the emotions of joy, anger, fear, and sorrow in man. Significant differences (p<0.05) in the emotional states were detected with respect to average alpha rhythm frequency for the C₄, T₄, F₃, and O₁ leads. The presence of two opposite tendencies in the character of the shifts in the peak alpha frequency by comparison with the baseline was demonstrated: an increase for the emotions of joy and anger and a decrease for sorrow and fear. Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel'nosti imemi I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 453–457, April-May-June, 1995.     

Recognition of emotional facial expressions in benzodiazepine dependence and detoxification

Introduction: The study investigates how benzodiazepine (BZD) use and detoxification affects empathy and the recognition and intensity rating of emotional facial expressions. The sample comprised 43 participants in three groups: (1) during detoxification (N?=?13), (2) after detoxification (N?=?15), (3) a matched control group (N?=?15). Clinical subjects were recruited from in-patients of an addiction treatment unit.

Methods: Empathy levels were tested with the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short). Recognition accuracy and emotion intensity rating were based on a computerised task displaying static and dynamic facial expressions of joy, anger, sadness, and fear.

Results: The controls proved more accurate than both experimental groups in identifying facial expressions of negative emotions. Joy recognition proved most accurate overall. Among the clinical subjects, women in particular exhibited an impaired ability to correctly identify negative emotions from facial expressions. Dynamic stimuli were better recognised than static ones albeit only in the experimental groups. No significant differences were found for emotion intensity ratings and EQ scores.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the impaired facial emotion recognition accuracy is not caused by deficits in empathy. No improvement was recorded post-detoxification which may indicate impaired interpersonal functioning among BZD users. Further research is warranted in light of this study’s limitations.     

Emotional coping and the psychophysiological substrates of elevated blood pressure

A structured interview concerning emotional coping patterns was administered to 63 28-year-old men included in a psychophysiological study of blood pressure elevation. The interviews were tape recorded and subsequently evaluated by a rater not otherwise involved in the study. The interviews involved discussion of four emotions: anger, sorrow, anxiety, and joy. The results indicate that normotensives can express sorrow to significantly more people than hypertensives, and that their behavior in situations involving sorrow tends to be more instrumental than that of the group with labile pressure. Hypertensives also experienced significantly less joy than normotensives. In multiple regression analyses on physiological variables relevant for blood pressure elevation, the use of a somatic and unfocused way of describing sorrow was associated with significantly lower heart rate. The results show also that emotional coping explains a significant amount of the variance in three of the psychosocial functions involved in elevated blood pressure: ability to express anger at work, plus the social support variables of attachment and acquaintance.     

Emotion recognition from physiological signals

Emotion recognition is one of the great challenges in human-human and human-computer interaction. Accurate emotion recognition would allow computers to recognize human emotions and therefore react accordingly. In this paper, an approach for emotion recognition based on physiological signals is proposed. Six basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, neutrality and amusement are analysed using physiological signals. These emotions are induced through the presentation of International Affecting Picture System (IAPS) pictures to the subjects. The physiological signals of interest in this analysis are: electromyogram signal (EMG), respiratory volume (RV), skin temperature (SKT), skin conductance (SKC), blood volume pulse (BVP) and heart rate (HR). These are selected to extract characteristic parameters, which will be used for classifying the emotions. The SVM (support vector machine) technique is used for classifying these parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology provides in general a recognition rate of 85% for different emotional states.     

Emotion recognition from physiological signals

Emotion recognition is one of the great challenges in human–human and human–computer interaction. Accurate emotion recognition would allow computers to recognize human emotions and therefore react accordingly. In this paper, an approach for emotion recognition based on physiological signals is proposed. Six basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, neutrality and amusement are analysed using physiological signals. These emotions are induced through the presentation of International Affecting Picture System (IAPS) pictures to the subjects. The physiological signals of interest in this analysis are: electromyogram signal (EMG), respiratory volume (RV), skin temperature (SKT), skin conductance (SKC), blood volume pulse (BVP) and heart rate (HR). These are selected to extract characteristic parameters, which will be used for classifying the emotions. The SVM (support vector machine) technique is used for classifying these parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology provides in general a recognition rate of 85% for different emotional states.     

Effects of unrecognized physiological residual arousal on emotional experience

This study investigated the effect of residual arousal on perceived positive and negative emotion, and the relationship between the valence of emotion and cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory reactivity. A total of 74 participants were randomly assigned to either a Residual Arousal (exercise‐induced) group or a No Residual Arousal (no exercise) group. Following the arousal manipulation, participants watched a video that elicited positive emotion and a video that elicited negative emotion. Within‐person differences revealed greater discrepancies between participants’ reports of positive and negative emotions in response to the videos, indicating that residual arousal caused stronger positive and negative emotions. With regard to physiological reactivity, participants in the No Residual Arousal group exhibited lower heart rate, respiration amplitude, and heart rate variability (LF /HF ratio) during the negative video than during the positive video, suggesting that the positive and negative videos had different influences on physiology. These results support the hypothesis that autonomic activation may be nonspecific with regard to the genesis of emotion, but once a person becomes emotional, physiological reactivity may differ between emotions.     

Emotional communication in support groups for siblings of children with disabilities

ObjectiveSupport groups are often arranged for siblings of children with disabilities to prevent psychological maladjustment. This study describes how children express emotions in support groups and how group leaders and other children respond.MethodConversations in 17 group sessions for siblings aged 11 to 16 were coded with VR-CoDES to report frequency of emotional expressions and responses.ResultsChildren expressed negative emotion during group sessions (n = 235), 59% as cues and 41%concerns. The immediate response was in 98% of the instances from the group leader. 38% of the responses focused on emotion, cognition or behavior.ConclusionChildren express emotions, but seldom respond immediately to others’ emotional expressions in support groups. Group leaders should attend to emotion, cognition and behavior more frequently.Practice implicationsGroup leaders may better fulfill the support potential of support groups through explicitly stating the role of participants, and by exploring emotional aspects.     

Physicians,emotion, and the clinical encounter: A survey of physicians’ experiences

ObjectivesTraining in emotion management is not a standard part of medical education. This study’s objective was to understand physicians’ challenges navigating emotion (their own and their patients’) and identify areas for intervention to support physician wellness and enhance patient care.MethodsIn 2019, we surveyed 103 physicians in emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, and neurology. Participants quantitatively reported emotion training, emotions that were challenging, and barriers to addressing emotion. They provided qualitative examples of emotion challenges and successes that we analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThere were no significant differences in responses by specialty. Only 10% reported receiving emotion management training, with no evidence that more recently trained physicians received more. Those who had received training on emotion reported greater comfort in dealing with patients’ emotions and were more likely to engage in teaching on emotion. There were gender and career stage differences regarding which emotions physicians found most challenging. The authors identified central themes of emotion-related challenges and successes.ConclusionsTargeted educational initiatives are needed to advance physicians’ ability to navigate emotion in clinical encounters.Practice implicationsDeveloping strategies for managing patients’ emotions may better prepare physicians for navigating the emotional demands of practicing medicine.     

The psychophysiology of disgust: Differentiating negative emotional contexts with facial EMG

The goals of this study were (a) to examine differing views on the relationship between self-report of emotion and physiological expression of emotion, (b) to differentiate between negative emotional contexts during imagery using facial electromyogram (EMG), and (c) to describe the facial muscle patterning and autonomic physiology of situations that involve expelling or avoiding disgusting sensory stimulation. Fifty subjects imagined situations eliciting disgust, anger, pleasure, and joy in 8-s trials using a tone-cued imagery procedure. Heart rate, skin conductance level, and facial EMG at the corrugator, zygomatic, and levator labii superioris/alesque muscle regions were recorded during imagery, and self-reports of emotion were collected after imagery trials. Self-reports of emotion produced results consistent with the affective categorization of the images. Activity at the levator labii region was higher during disgust than during anger imagery. Corrugator region increase characterized the negative as compared with the positive emotional contents, and activity at the zygomatic region was higher during joy imagery than during the other three emotions. Heart rate acceleration was greater during disgust, anger, and joy imagery than during pleasant imagery. Disgust imagery could be discriminated from anger imagery using facial EMG, and the expressive physiology of disgust was occasioned by the action set of active avoidance or rejection of sensory stimulation.     

Children's communication of emotional cues and concerns during a preoperative needle procedure

ObjectiveThis study explores children’s expressions of emotional cues and concerns during needle procedures, nurses’ responses and findings in relation to children’s age and sex.MethodsTwenty-six children aged 6–12 years were video recorded during a preoperative needle procedure. Emotional communication was analyzed using Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences.ResultsA total of 111 cues or concerns were identified in the observed needle procedures, with a distribution of 77 cues and 34 concerns. A majority of children (85%) expressed emotional cues through non-verbal communication. No differences between child age or sex related to expressed emotion were found. The child elicited the communicated emotion in 98% of sequences. Nurses' responses were coded as not providing space for communication in 75% of sequences.ConclusionChildren are capable of expressing their emotional distress, primarily non-verbally, during needle procedures. A child showing less overt expressions during a needle procedure does not necessarily experience less fear or pain. The nurses’ communication focused on practical information during the needle procedure, with less attention to the child’s distress.Practice implicationsNurses need to develop strategies to be aware of emotions the child communicates before, during and after a needle procedure.     

Cardiac cine magnetic resonance fingerprinting for combined ejection fraction,T1 and T2 quantification

This study introduces a technique called cine magnetic resonance fingerprinting (cine‐MRF) for simultaneous T₁, T₂ and ejection fraction (EF) quantification. Data acquired with a free‐running MRF sequence are retrospectively sorted into different cardiac phases using an external electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. A low‐rank reconstruction with a finite difference sparsity constraint along the cardiac motion dimension yields images resolved by cardiac phase. To improve SNR and precision in the parameter maps, these images are nonrigidly registered to the same phase and matched to a dictionary to generate T₁ and T₂ maps. Cine images for computing left ventricular volumes and EF are also derived from the same data. Cine‐MRF was tested in simulations using a numerical relaxation phantom. Phantom and in vivo scans of 19 subjects were performed at 3 T during a 10.9 seconds breath‐hold with an in‐plane resolution of 1.6 x 1.6 mm² and 24 cardiac phases. Left ventricular EF values obtained with cine‐MRF agreed with the conventional cine images (mean bias ?1.0%). Average myocardial T₁ times in diastole/systole were 1398/1391 ms with cine‐MRF, 1394/1378 ms with ECG‐triggered cardiac MRF (cMRF) and 1234/1212 ms with MOLLI; and T₂ values were 30.7/30.3 ms with cine‐MRF, 32.6/32.9 ms with ECG‐triggered cMRF and 37.6/41.0 ms with T₂‐prepared FLASH. Cine‐MRF and ECG‐triggered cMRF relaxation times were in good agreement. Cine‐MRF T₁ values were significantly longer than MOLLI, and cine‐MRF T₂ values were significantly shorter than T₂‐prepared FLASH. In summary, cine‐MRF can potentially streamline cardiac MRI exams by combining left ventricle functional assessment and T₁‐T₂ mapping into one time‐efficient acquisition.     

Relationship of left ventricular and atrial dimensions with moderate to severe left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (grade II and above)

IntroductionLeft ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DD) is an entity in which the ventricle fails to fill up properly due to impaired ventricular relaxation and/or decreased compliance. The diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction is based on a variety of parameters in doppler echocardiograpy. However, some parameters like interventricular septal thickness in diastole (IVSd), posterior wall thickness in diastole (PWd), left ventricular internal end diastolic and systolic diameters (LVIDD and LVISD) along with left atrial diameters (LAD) have yet to be evaluated for the diagnostic workup of DD.MethodsA case control study was done in the cardiology department from patient records from 2016 to 2018. Patients were diagnosed as diastolic dysfunction grade II and above by doppler echocardiography. IVSd, PWd, LVIDD, LAD, LVISD were obtained through 2-D echocardiography.ResultsPatients with DD had greater LAD, IVSd and PWd and decreased LVIDD and LVISD as compared to control group. Overall, IVSD was the most significant predictor (OR 1.52 95%CI 1.35–1.71) of DD followed by PWd and LAD. Similarly, LAD, IVSd and PWd had higher sensitivity and specificity than LVIDD and LVIDS.ConclusionIVSd, LAD and PWd showed significant performance in the diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction and hence can be used as a screening and diagnostic tool in diastolic dysfunction of grade ll and above.     

Neurophysiological Correlates of Induced Discrete Emotions in Humans: An Individually Oriented Analysis

Studies on 30 right-handed subjects addressed EEG characteristics (62 channels) in conditions of laboratory simulation of induced emotions of happiness, joy, anger, disgust, fear/anxiety, and sadness. Induced emotions were found to produce, along with common features, individual patterns in the distribution of amplitude-frequency EEG characteristics. Induced positive and negative discrete emotions were characterized by interhemisphere activatory asymmetry in the theta-2 (4–6 Hz), alpha-2 (10–12 Hz), and beta-1 (12–18 Hz) ranges. Experience of the emotions of joy, anger, and disgust occurred on the background of asymmetrical increases in activity in the anterior cortex of the left hemisphere in the theta-2 range, suggesting a leading role for the activity of these areas in realizing the cognitive components of emotional reacting. In addition, some high-ergicity negative emotions evoked combined alpha-2 and beta-1 desynchronization (disgust) or beta-1 desynchronization (fear/anxiety) in the right parietal-temporal cortex, suggesting its involvement in the mechanisms of non-specific emotional activation. These data provide evidence that each of these emotions is characterized by its own individual pattern in the distribution of the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the EEG and, on the other hand, that series of ranges and cortical areas show similar but different (in terms of intensity) effects in response to emotional activation for emotions of different flavor. __________ Translated from Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 90, No. 12, pp. 1457–1471, December, 2004.     

Emotions in everyday life: an ambulatory monitoring study with female students

Additional heart rate as an indicator of emotional arousal was monitored throughout the day with a special ambulatory device. Fifty female students received acoustic feedback every 10-20 min. The feedback was based either on events (additional heart rate present) or was random without additional heart rate. Following the feedback the subjects were asked to disclose their emotions. The following emotions were listed on the display of the monitoring device: no emotion, happiness, anger, anxiety/fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust. The frequency and quality of the emotions were not different between event-related and random feedbacks, indicating that the subjects were not able to discriminate between events with and without additional heart rate correctly. Accordingly, the physiological profiles of the differing emotions compared to conditions with "no emotion" were equivocal. The psychological ratings of excitement and enjoyment, however, came up to expectations. The results show that cognitive schemata and personality dimensions are more important in emotion perception than physiological activation.     

Baseline tissue Doppler imaging-derived echocardiographic parameters and left ventricle reverse remodelling following cardiac resynchronization therapy introduction

Introduction

The aim of the study was to assess the relation of baseline mechanical dyssynchrony with the left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) decrease following cardiac resynchronization (CRT) therapy introduction.

Material and methods

Sixty consecutive patients (aged 66.3 ± 8.7 years; 57 men) with chronic heart failure (71.7% of ischaemic and 28.3% of non-ischaemic origin) and current indications for CRT were assessed before and 3 months after biventricular heart stimulator implantation. Longitudinal movements of twelve segments of the left ventricle (LV) (6 basal and 6 midlevel) and two segments of the right ventricle (RV) were analysed using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) techniques with time from onset of Q wave in ECG to peak systolic velocity in colour-coded TDI (T_TDI), time to peak strain (T_strain) and time to peak strain rate (T_{strain rate}). Minimal and maximal time differences within LV and between LV and RV walls were calculated.

Results

In the study group LVEF and 6-min walk test distance increased, while NYHA class, NT-proBNP level, left ventricular end-diastolic volume and LVESV decreased. Significant correlations between the magnitude of LVESV reduction with maximal time differences between T_strain of 12 LV segments (r=0.34, p = 0.017) and time differences between T_TDI basal LV-RV segments (r = –0.29, p=0.041) were found.

Conclusions

Only a few TDI-derived parameters such as maximal time differences between T_strain of 12 LV segments and T_TDI difference of LV-RV basal segments can be useful to predict the magnitude of left ventricle reverse remodelling after CRT introduction.     

Mothers' frontal EEG asymmetry in response to infant emotion states and mother-infant emotional availability, emotional experience, and internalizing symptoms

This study examined the links between mothers' frontal EEG asymmetry at rest and during videos of their 5- to 8-month-old infants expressing three emotion states (joy, anger/distress, and neutral interest), mother-infant emotional availability (EA) in the home, mothers' depressive and anxious symptoms, and mothers' emotional experience in response to infant emotion cues. Greater relative right frontal activity at rest was associated with greater maternal anxiety, but was unrelated to EA or mother-reported emotional experience in response to infant emotion cues. A shift toward greater relative right frontal activation in response to infant emotional stimuli was associated with lower maternal anxiety, greater mother-infant EA, and mothers' experience of sadness, concern, irritability, and the absence of joy in response to seeing their own infant in distress. These findings suggest that mothers' in the moment empathetic responding to their infant's emotions, indexed by a shift in frontal EEG asymmetry in response to infant emotional displays, is related to mother-infant EA in the home. Implications for conceptualizing parenting risk are discussed.     

链霉素对兔左心室后负荷增加所致电生理变化的影响

目的:探讨左心室后负荷增加引起的心脏电生理变化及链霉素和维拉帕米对其的影响。方法:采用部分夹闭家兔升主动脉根部以增加左室后负荷的在体心脏模型,观察后负荷增加前后心肌相对不应期(RRP)、有效不应期(ERP)、单相动作电位时程(MAPD₉₀)和室颤阈(VFT)的变化,并比较了链霉素和维拉帕米对这些电生理参数变化的影响。结果:后负荷上升引起RRP、ERP和MAPD₉₀缩短,VFT下降(P<0.01);链霉素可有效抑制后负荷增加引起的心脏电生理变化;而维拉帕米除可提高VFT外(P<0.01),对后负荷增加引起RRP、ERP和MAPD90的缩短没有明显影响(P＞0.05)。结论:结果提示牵张激活性离子通道的活化可能参与后负荷增加引起的心脏电生理变化过程,且链霉素通过抑制这种离子通道的活化而发挥作用。     

X-linked creatine transporter deficiency results in prolonged QTc and increased sudden death risk in humans and disease model

PurposeCreatine transporter deficiency (CTD) is a rare X-linked disorder of creatine transport caused by pathogenic variants in SLC6A8 (Xq28). CTD features include developmental delay, seizures, and autism spectrum disorder. This study was designed to investigate CTD cardiac phenotype and sudden death risk.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional analysis of CTD males between 2017 and 2020. Subjects underwent evaluation with electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiography, and ambulatory ECG with comparable analysis in creatine transporter deficient mice (Slc6a8^−/y) using ECG, echocardiography, exercise testing, and indirect calorimetry.ResultsEighteen subjects with CTD (18 males, age 7.4 [3.8] years) were evaluated: seven subjects (39%) had QTc ≥ 470 milliseconds: 510.3 ± 29.0 vs. 448.3 ± 15.9, P < 0.0001. The QTc ≥ 470 milliseconds cohort had increased left ventricular internal dimension (diastole) ([LVIDd] Z-score: 0.22 ± 0.74, n = 7 vs. −0.93 ± 1.0, n = 11, P = 0.0059), and diminished left ventricular posterior wall dimension (diastole) ([LVPWDd, in mm]: 5.0 ± 0.6, n = 7 vs. 5.7 ± 0.8, n = 11, P = 0.0183), when compared to subjects with normal or borderline QTc prolongation. Similar ECG and echocardiographic abnormalities were seen in Slc6a8^−/y mice. Additionally, Slc6a8^−/y mice had diminished survival (65%).ConclusionProlonged QTc and abnormal echocardiographic parameters consistent with developing cardiomyopathy are seen in some male subjects with CTD. Slc6a8^−/y mice recapitulated these cardiac abnormalities. Male CTD subjects may be at increased risk for cardiac dysfunction and sudden death.     

Prognostic value of left ventricular apical tissue removed for HeartMate II left ventricular assist device placement

BackgroundWith the increasing use of left ventricular assist devices, the left ventricular apical core has become a more frequently encountered surgical pathology tissue. We investigated the prognostic value of this cardiac tissue in short-term patient mortality. Previous studies have shown that the degree of cardiac fibrosis correlates with improvements in ejection fraction and the likelihood of weaning from an assist device.MethodsLeft ventricular apical core tissues from 29 sequential subjects who received a HeartMate II continuous axial flow left ventricular assist device were studied retrospectively to determine whether interstitial fibrosis, replacement fibrosis (scar), the presence of mural thrombus, or other histopathologic findings were associated with hemodynamic changes or mortality in this population. Patients received left ventricular assist devices as bridges to transplantation or as destination therapy. Interstitial fibrosis was determined by observer scoring and digital scoring methods. Before and after left ventricular assist device procedure, right heart catheterizations were reviewed for clinical cardiac data.ResultsThe presence of replacement fibrosis in the apical core tissue significantly correlated with decreased improvement in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure after left ventricular assist device placement (P=.02). Ten subjects died over the course of this study. No specimen variables, including scar, interstitial fibrosis, and the presence of mural thrombosis, correlated with patient mortality.ConclusionsPathologic findings in left ventricular apical cores have little prognostic utility in guiding patient management as related to overall 1-year mortality, but may indicate patients who are more likely to positively remodel their hearts.