How major depressive disorder affects the ability to decode multimodal dynamic emotional stimuli

Most studies investigating the processing of emotions in depressed patients reported impairments in the decoding of negative emotions. However, these studies adopted static stimuli (mostly stereotypical facial expressions corresponding to basic emotions) which do not reflect the way people experience emotions in everyday life. For this reason, this work proposes to investigate the decoding of emotional expressions in patients affected by Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder (RMDDs) using dynamic audio/video stimuli. RMDDs’ performance is compared with the performance of patients with Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood (ADs) and healthy (HCs) subjects. The experiments involve 27 RMDDs (16 with acute depression - RMDD-A, and 11 in a compensation phase - RMDD-C), 16 ADs and 16 HCs. The ability to decode emotional expressions is assessed through an emotion recognition task based on short audio (without video), video (without audio) and audio/video clips. The results show that AD patients are significantly less accurate than HCs in decoding fear, anger, happiness, surprise and sadness. RMDD-As with acute depression are significantly less accurate than HCs in decoding happiness, sadness and surprise. Finally, no significant differences were found between HCs and RMDD-Cs in a compensation phase. The different communication channels and the types of emotion play a significant role in limiting the decoding accuracy

Enhanced Post-Learning Memory Consolidation is Influenced by Arousal Predisposition and Emotion Regulation but Not By Stimulus Valence or Arousal

Emotionally arousing stimuli are more memorable than neutral ones and arousal induced after learning enhances later retrieval. However, there is as yet little study of how stimulus qualities might interact with induced arousal and how individual differences might influence the modulation of memory. Thus, the present study examined the effect of arousal induced after learning on memory for words that varied in both arousal and valence quality, as well as the influence of three individual differences factors that are known to influence arousal response: emotional suppression, emotional reappraisal, and arousal predisposition. Seventy-six adults (57 female) viewed and rated 60 words that normatively ranged from high to low in arousal and valence. Ten minutes later, they viewed a 3-min comedic or neutral video clip. Arousal induced after learning enhanced 1-week delayed memory, spanning the lengthy task without preference for word type or serial position, contrasting with reports of arousal effects interacting with stimulus qualities. Importantly, being predisposed to arousal led to greater enhancement of long-term memory modulation, while the use of emotional reappraisal, which reduces arousal responding, inhibited the ability of arousal to induce memory enhancement. Thus, individual differences that influence arousal responding can contribute to or interfere with memory modulation

Multi-modal Approach for Affective Computing

Throughout the past decade, many studies have classified human emotions using only a single sensing modality such as face video, electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), galvanic skin response (GSR), etc. The results of these studies are constrained by the limitations of these modalities such as the absence of physiological biomarkers in the face-video analysis, poor spatial resolution in EEG, poor temporal resolution of the GSR etc. Scant research has been conducted to compare the merits of these modalities and understand how to best use them individually and jointly. Using multi-modal AMIGOS dataset, this study compares the performance of human emotion classification using multiple computational approaches applied to face videos and various bio-sensing modalities. Using a novel method for compensating physiological baseline we show an increase in the classification accuracy of various approaches that we use. Finally, we present a multi-modal emotion-classification approach in the domain of affective computing research.Comment: Published in IEEE 40th International Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC) 201

Post-learning Arousal Enhances Veridical Memory And Reduces False Memory In The Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm examines false memory by introducing words associated with a non-presented ‘critical lure’ as memoranda, which typically causes the lures to be remembered as frequently as studied words. Our prior work has shown enhanced veridical memory and reduced misinformation effects when arousal is induced after learning (i.e., during memory consolidation). These effects have not been examined in the DRM task, or with signal detection analysis, which can elucidate the mechanisms underlying memory alterations. Thus, 130 subjects studied and then immediately recalled six DRM lists, one after another, and then watched a 3-min arousing (n = 61) or neutral (n = 69) video. Recognition tested 70 min later showed that arousal induced after learning led to better delayed discrimination of studied words from (a) critical lures, and (b) other non-presented ‘weak associates.’ Furthermore, arousal reduced liberal response bias (i.e., the tendency toward accepting dubious information) for studied words relative to all foils, including critical lures and ‘weak associates.’ Thus, arousal induced after learning effectively increased the distinction between signal and noise by enhancing access to verbatim information and reducing endorsement of dubious information. These findings provide important insights into the cognitive mechanisms by which arousal modulates early memory consolidation processes

Positive and Negative Sources of Emotional Arousal Enhance Long-Term Word-List Retention When Induced as Long as 30 Min After Learning

The consolidation of newly formed memories occurs slowly, allowing memories to be altered by experience for some time after their formation. Various treatments, including arousal, can modulate memory consolidation when given soon after learning, but the degree of time-dependency of these treatments in humans has not been studied. Thus, 212 participants learned a word list, which was followed by either a positively or negatively valenced arousing video clip (i.e., comedy or surgery, respectively) after delays of 0, 10, 30 or 45 min. Arousal of either valence induced up to 30 min after learning, but not after 45 min, significantly enhanced one-week retrieval. The findings support (1) the time-dependency of memory modulation in humans and (2) other studies that suggest that it is the degree of arousal, rather than valence that modulates memory. Important implications for developing memory intervention strategies and for preserving and validating witness testimony are discussed

Emotions in context: examining pervasive affective sensing systems, applications, and analyses

Pervasive sensing has opened up new opportunities for measuring our feelings and understanding our behavior by monitoring our affective states while mobile. This review paper surveys pervasive affect sensing by examining and considering three major elements of affective pervasive systems, namely; “sensing”, “analysis”, and “application”. Sensing investigates the different sensing modalities that are used in existing real-time affective applications, Analysis explores different approaches to emotion recognition and visualization based on different types of collected data, and Application investigates different leading areas of affective applications. For each of the three aspects, the paper includes an extensive survey of the literature and finally outlines some of challenges and future research opportunities of affective sensing in the context of pervasive computing