Facial emotion recognition and cerebral white matter lesions in myotonic dystrophy type 1

Kobayakawa, Mutsutaka; Tsuruya, Natsuko; Takeda, Akitoshi; Suzuki, Atsunobu; Kawamura, Mitsuru

doi:10.1016/j.jns.2009.11.011

« Previous Next »Journal of the Neurological Sciences
Volume 290, Issue 1 , Pages 48-51, 15 March 2010

Facial emotion recognition and cerebral white matter lesions in myotonic dystrophy type 1

Mutsutaka Kobayakawa
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Natsuko Tsuruya
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Akitoshi Takeda
- Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Atsunobu Suzuki
- Program of Gerontological Research Organization for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan
Mitsuru Kawamura
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Saitama, Japan
- Corresponding author. Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8666, Japan. Tel./fax: +81 3 3784 8710.

Received 2 September 2009; accepted 23 November 2009. published online 14 December 2009.

Abstract

In order to investigate the cognitive and neurological bases of social cognitive impairment in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), we examined the facial expression recognition abilities and the cerebral lesions in a group of DM 1 (5 men, 4 women).

We measured sensitivity to facial emotions and compared the findings with magnetic resonance image (MRI) findings evaluated using a semi-quantitative method.

The DM1 patients showed lower sensitivity to disgusted and angry faces as compared to the healthy controls. The assessment of brain lesions revealed that more severe lesions occurred in the frontal, temporal, and insular white matters. Sensitivity to the emotion of disgust was negatively correlated with temporal lesions, and sensitivity to anger negatively correlated with frontal, temporal, and insular lesions.

The results of this study indicate an association between lesions in the frontal, temporal, and insular subcortices and decreased emotional sensitivity to disgust and anger in DM1 patients. These areas are thought to play an important role in emotional processing in the normal brain. Our results suggest that social cognitive impairment in DM1 patients is attributable to impaired emotional processing linked to white matter lesions.

Keywords: Myotonic dystrophy type 1, Facial expression, Emotion, Social cognition, White matter lesion