Neurophysiological and Interpersonal Correlates of Emotional Face Processing in Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

Background: A growing literature suggests deficient emotional facial expression (EFE) processing among recently abstinent individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Further investigation is needed to clarify valence-related discrepancies and elucidate neural and psychosocial correlates. We examined neurobehavioral indices of EFE processing and interpersonal problems in treatment seekers with AUDs and healthy community controls (CCs).Methods: Thirty-four individuals with AUDs and 39 CCs completed an emotion judgment task (EJT), requiring discrimination between happy, angry, and sad EFEs. A second task requiring discrimination of male and female faces with neutral expressions served as the control task (i.e., sex judgment task, SJT). Neurophysiological (i.e., N170 and P3) and behavioral measures were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). Interpersonal problems were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-64 (IIP-64). The relationship of IIP-64 and EJT performance was investigated via within-group correlations.Results: Analysis of the SJT revealed no group differences in behavioral measures, N170 amplitude, or P3 latency. P3 amplitudes, however, were significantly lower in the AUD group. For the EJT, initial observations of group differences in P3 amplitude were accounted for by differences in the control task. Behavioral analyses indicated that the AUD group was significantly less accurate than the CC group. Hypothesis-driven analyses using GLMM-estimated group differences indicated that anger processing was affected to a greater degree than were other emotions. Significant EJT/IIP-64 correlations were observed for anger processing within the AUD group and were confined to IIP-64 subscales with relatively high ratings on the affiliation dimension.Conclusions: Findings provide partial support for an emotion-specific processing deficit in persons with AUDs. Anger processing was more robustly affected than other emotions and was associated with interpersonal problems characterized by being overly needy, nonassertive, and overly accommodating. Results extend prior reports and reinforce the need for comprehensive study of emotion processing and its real-world implications.

Posterior Alpha Power During Working Memory Maintenance in Alcohol Use Disorder

“…The mean age of the HC was 43.3 (SD=12.5), and the mean age of individuals with AUD was 40.4 (SD=8.9). As previously reported in the treatmentseeking population (Lewis et al, 2019;Lewis et al, 2020;Hoffman, Lewis, & Nixon, 2019), the groups significantly differed on typical alcohol consumption, binge alcohol consumption, BDI, AI and smoking habits (all p's<.05). There were no significant differences between men and women within each group.…”

“…Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic psychophysiological disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite consequences (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although only a small percentage of people who regularly use alcohol are diagnosed with AUD, once it manifests, the neurobehavioral changes can be distinct and profound (Oscar-Berman & Marinkovic, 2007;Hoffman, Lewis, Nixon 2019;Lewis, Price, Garcia, Nixon 2019;Nixon & Glenn 2002;Beatty, Tivis, Stott, Nixon, Parsons 2000).…”

Delta Event-Related Oscillations Are Related to a History of Extreme Binge Drinking in Adolescence and Lifetime Suicide Risk

“…In contrast to electrophysiological studies [ 121 , 122 ], there have been numerous studies that have evaluated behavioral measures of facial recognition in alcohol-related pathology. Although most studies used relatively small numbers of participants [ 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 ], a systematic review found trends for impairments by alcoholics in facial recognition tasks [ 131 ], and a meta-analysis of facial emotional recognition found deficits in individuals with AUDs with an effect size of 0.6 [ 132 ]. The recognition of facial emotion has also been evaluated in adolescents, where initiation of substance use was associated with enhanced recognition of angry emotions [ 133 ].…”

Emotional Facial Expression Perception and Processing in AUD Subgroups

“…Contrarily, more recent studies (e.g. Hoffman, 2019) find no interaction with stimuli emotion in the characteristic decreased P3 amplitude in samples with AUD. The current study seeks to clarify AUD effects on ERP amplitudes in EFE tasks while expanding investigation to include the potential impact of polysubstance use on these effects.…”

“…Foisy et al, 2005). Such deficits appear associated with increased risk for interpersonal problems (Hoffman, Lewis, & Nixon, 2019). The current study seeks to clarify the effect of polysubstance use on the deficits found in AUD populations.…”