Facial emotion recognition in patients with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder

Abstract

Objectives: The ability to recognize facial emotional expressions is a fundamental skill that is necessary for successful social interaction. Previous studies examining this competency in patients with bipolar disorder have generated mixed results. Since bipolar patients show multiple psychosocial difficulties even after remission, this study was aimed at further elucidating emotion recognition deficits in bipolar patients.

Methods and design: Sixty-two stable bipolar out-patients (37 females; 25 males) and 62 matched healthy controls participated in the study. Explicit facial emotion recognition accuracy was measured with a computerized task.

Results: Analysis of emotion recognition performance revealed no gender effect but a significant group effect, indicating significantly worse accuracy in patients with bipolar I. Patients with bipolar II disorder did not differ significantly from healthy controls. These results were not correlated with either residual symptoms or intellectual impairments.

Conclusions: Based on our results, patients with bipolar disorder vary not only in diagnosis, but also in social cognitive functions, all of which should be addressed in clinical treatment. Future studies should clarify whether emotion recognition deficits are involved in the development and maintenance of bipolar disorder.