title: Emotional information processing in patients with narcolepsy: a psychophysiologic investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cataplexy is the key symptom of the narcoleptic syndrome. It is usually triggered by emotions, which play an important role in the manifestation and severity of the disease. Accordingly, we compared the psychophysiologic effects on patients with narcolepsy and healthy subjects of processing visual stimuli that have established emotional valences.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight drug-free patients with narcolepsy with severe cataplexy and 8 controls were studied. Fifty-four color pictures (pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant) selected from the International Affective Picture System were presented on a monitor to the subjects. The effects of exposure to the pictures were assessed in muscular (corrugator, zygomatic and mylohyoid electromyographic activity), autonomic (blood pressure, heart rate, and skin conductance responses) cognitive (scalp-recorded event-related potentials), and subjective (valence, arousal, and dominance by Self-Assessment Manikin) systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The autonomic, muscular, and cognitive systems showed an attenuated reaction to visual stimuli in patients compared to controls. Furthermore, patients with narcolepsy showed the lowest responses when unpleasant pictures were presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that, compared to the group of healthy subjects, patients with narcolepsy suffer from a temporal disadvantage in input processing, in particular, of unpleasant stimuli. The drawback exhibited by these patients suggests reduced reactivity of the aversive motivational system responsible for negative or unpleasant emotions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tucci
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stegagno
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vandi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferrillo
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Palomba
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vignatelli
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferini-Strambi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montagna
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Plazzi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography / Q000295:instrumentation; D004585:Electrooculography / Q000295:instrumentation; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000150:complications*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011603:Psychophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*