Clinical correlates of social cognition after an ischemic stroke: preliminary findings

ABSTRACT. The co-occurrence of post-stroke behavioral disorders and cognitive impairment has been extensively investigated. However, studies usually do not include social cognition among the assessed cognitive domains. Objective: To investigate the potential association between facial emotion recognition, a measure of social cognition, and behavioral and cognitive symptoms in the subacute phase of ischemic stroke. Methods: Patients admitted to a Stroke Unit with ischemic stroke were followed up to 60 days. At this time point, they were evaluated with the following tools: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB); Visual Memory Test of the Brief Cognitive Battery (VMT); Phonemic Verbal Fluency (F-A-S Test); Digit Span; Facial Emotion Recognition Test (FERT) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A control group composed of 21 healthy individuals also underwent the same evaluation. Results: Eighteen patients with ischemic stroke were enrolled in this study. They had similar age, sex and schooling years compared to controls. Depression symptoms and episodic memory deficits were significantly more frequent in patients compared to controls. The recognition of sadness expression positively correlated with the levels of anxiety and depression, while and the recognition of fear expression negatively correlated with depression in the stroke group. Conclusions: After an ischemic stroke, patients exhibit impairment in social cognition skills, specifically facial emotion recognition, in association with behavioral symptoms.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Souza,Maria de Fátima Dias de, Cardoso,Maíra Glória de Freitas, Vieira,Érica Leandro Marciano, Rocha,Natália Pessoa, Vieira,Talita Hélen Ferreira e, Pessoa,Alberlúcio Esquirio, Pedroso,Vinicius Sousa Pietra, Rachid,Milene Alvarenga, Souza,Leonardo Cruz de, Teixeira,Antônio Lúcio, Mourão,Aline Mansueto, Miranda,Aline Silva de
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia, Departamento de Neurologia Cognitiva e Envelhecimento 2021
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642021000200223
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!