title: Intact anger recognition in depression despite aberrant visual facial information usage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous literature has indicated abnormalities in facial emotion recognition abilities, as well as deficits in basic visual processes in major depression. However, the literature is unclear on a number of important factors including whether or not these abnormalities represent deficient or enhanced emotion recognition abilities compared to control populations, and the degree to which basic visual deficits might impact this process.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study investigated emotion recognition abilities for angry versus neutral facial expressions in a sample of undergraduate students with Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) scores indicative of moderate depression (i.e., ≥20), compared to matched low-BDI-II score (i.e., ≤2) controls via the Bubbles Facial Emotion Perception Task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated unimpaired behavioural performance in discriminating angry from neutral expressions in the high depressive symptoms group relative to the minimal depressive symptoms group, despite evidence of an abnormal pattern of visual facial information usage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The generalizability of the current findings is limited by the highly structured nature of the facial emotion recognition task used, as well as the use of an analog sample undergraduates scoring high in self-rated symptoms of depression rather than a clinical sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that basic visual processes are involved in emotion recognition abnormalities in depression, demonstrating consistency with the emotion recognition literature in other psychopathologies (e.g., schizophrenia, autism, social anxiety). Future research should seek to replicate these findings in clinical populations with major depression, and assess the association between aberrant face gaze behaviours and symptom severity and social functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
authors.forename: Cameron M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
authors.forename: Carina G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
authors.forename: Ruth L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4. Electronic address: vmgoghar@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Vina M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Goghari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anger; Anxiety; Bubbles task; Depression; Emotion recognition