No evidence that depression affects emotion recognitionJuly 26, 2019 - 13:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - People with depression may be less likely to misclassify ambiguous facial expressions as happy, according to preliminary results from a facial expression recognition study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. To further test the theory that people with depression interpret self-referential social information negatively, investigators conducted a prospective cohort study of individuals who presented with depressive symptoms at participating general surgery clinics in the United Kingdom. Enrolled patients attended 4 study visits, each 2 weeks apart, either at home or at their primary care clinic. Depressive symptoms were assessed at each visit per the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Participants performed a computerized facial expression recognition task at the first 3 study visits. During the task, participants were presented with a facial stimulus and then asked to select the perceived emotion from a multiple-choice list. Each emotion was presented in 15 intensities, beginning with an ambiguous facial expression and intensifying to clearer expressions over subsequent trials. An “unbiased hit rate” was calculated for happy and sad facial expressions only, although 6 total emotions were represented across the computerized task. The unbiased hit rate captured patient ability to correctly identify an emotion while adjusting for any tendency to select that emotion when it was not present. A total of 509 patients were recruited for the original sample, among whom 505 completed the first facial recognition task. At baseline, 45% of patients met diagnostic criteria for depression, and the mean PHQ-9 score in the total sample was 10.38 (standard deviation, 6.62). Overall, participants were more likely to correctly identify happy facial expressions compared with sad facial expressions (P Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |