Article

Charcot first described emotional deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS)
in the XIXth century. Despite this early description, there are very few studies
about emotions and MS.
This study aimed at better understanding the
emotional process in MS and more specifically recognition of facial emotions and
emotional experience. METHODS: Thirteen women with remittent MS (R-MS), with a
mean EDSS score of 2, were compared with thirteen healthy control subjects,
matched for age (mean age of 42+/-2), sex and educational level. The Beck
Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the brief repeatable
battery of neuropsychological tests for MS (BCcogSEP) were administered.
Recognition of faces and facial expression of emotion were assessed by the Benton
facial recognition test and recognition of facial emotions was assessed by
Ekman's facial expression test. We have also presented 12 different sounds and
pictures from the International Affective Digitized Sounds and Picture System
(IADS and IAPS) in order to study the emotional experience by using criteria of
valence and arousal. RESULTS: No deficit of facial emotion recognition was found
in MS in this small population. Nevertheless, patients who had difficulty
recognizing faces were the least able to recognize facial expressions. No
significant difference was observed between the patient and control group for the
experience of emotional valence. However, independently of their mood and
cognitive status, the self-assessment of the MS patient population suggested that
the patients were less reactive to negative sounds (P=0.005) and negative
pictures (P=0.002) as compared with the control group, pointing to lesser
sensitivity towards aversive stimuli. CONCLUSION: These data suggest disorders in
emotional processes in R-MS, mainly a poor reactivity to negative stimuli which
may have an impact on everyday life. A larger population should be studied to confirm these modifications of emotion.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : FRANCAIS