Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun;19(3):419-425.
doi: 10.1007/s12311-020-01121-x.

Impairments in Emotion Recognition and Risk-Taking Behavior After Isolated, Cerebellar Stroke

Nils S van den Berg  1   2 , Rients B Huitema  3 , Jacoba M Spikman  3 , Gert-Jan Luijckx  3 , Edward H F de Haan  4
Affiliations

Impairments in Emotion Recognition and Risk-Taking Behavior After Isolated, Cerebellar Stroke

Nils S van den Berg et al. Cerebellum. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

An increasing amount of research has shown a cerebellar involvement in higher order cognitive functions, including emotional processing and decision-making. However, it has not been investigated whether impairments in facial emotion recognition, which could be a marker of impaired emotional experiences, are related to risky decision-making in these patients. Therefore, we aimed to investigate facial emotion recognition and risky decision-making in these patients as well as to investigate a relationship between these constructs. Thirteen patients with a discrete, isolated, cerebellar lesion as a consequence of a stroke were included in the study. Emotion recognition was assessed with the Facial Expressions of Emotions-Stimuli and Test (FEEST). Risk-taking behavior was assessed with the Action Selection Test (AST). Furthermore, 106 matched healthy controls performed the FEEST and 20 matched healthy controls performed the AST. Compared with healthy controls, patients were significantly worse in the recognition of emotional expressions and they took significantly more risks. In addition, a worse ability to recognize fearful facial expressions was strongly related to an increase in risky decisions in the AST. Therefore, we suggest that tests of emotion recognition should be incorporated into the neuropsychological assessment after cerebellar stroke to boost detection and treatment of these impairments in these patients.

Keywords: Cerebellar stroke; Cerebellum; Facial emotion recognition; Risky decision-making; Social cognition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Example of a photograph of the Action Selection Test in the assessment of risk-taking behavior
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Lesion density plot of the cerebellar lesions on axial slices. Colors indicate the number of overlapping lesions on a range from one (blue) to five (red) overlapping lesions. The left hemisphere is presented on the right
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Holmes G. The cerebellum of man. Brain. 1939;62:1–30. doi: 10.1093/brain/62.1.1. - DOI
    1. Koziol LF, Budding D, Andreasen N, D’Arrigo S, Bulgheroni S, Imamizu H, et al. Consensus paper: the cerebellum’s role in movement and cognition. Cerebellum. 2014;13(1):151–177. doi: 10.1007/s12311-013-0511-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schmahmann JD, Sherman JC. The cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. Brain. 1998;121(4):561–579. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.4.561. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schmahmann JD. The cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome: clinical correlations of the dysmetria of thought hypothesis. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2001;13(4):313–322. doi: 10.1080/09540260120082164. - DOI
    1. Baillieux H, De Smet HJ, Paquier PF, De Deyn PP, Mariën P. Cerebellar neurocognition: insights into the bottom of the brain. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2008;110(8):763–773. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2008.05.013. - DOI - PubMed