Dario Galati

Voluntary facial expression of emotion: Comparing congenitally blind with normally sighted encoders

The ability of congenitally blind persons to produce voluntarily facial expressions of a number of emotions was compared with that of normally sighted individuals using both objective facial measurement and observer recognition. Results revealed that there were almost no significant differences between blind and sighted participants with respect to the number and type of facial action units produced. The portrayals of the blind participants were significantly more poorly recognized by observers than were those of the sighted participants (except for happiness). Correspondence analyses of the data showed differences between sighted and blind participants in the dimensional structure of the expressions (as based on the similarity among emotions with respect to both objective measurement and judgments). Overall, the data relavitize earlier conclusions on the facial expression of blind as compared with sighted persons and suggest specific hypotheses and procedures for further work in this area.

Distinct pathways of neural coupling for different basic emotions

Emotions are complex events recruiting distributed cortical and subcortical cerebral structures, where the functional integration dynamics within the involved neural circuits in relation to the nature of the different emotions are still unknown. Using fMRI, we measured the neural responses elicited by films representing basic emotions (fear, disgust, sadness, happiness). The amygdala and the associative cortex were conjointly activated by all basic emotions. Furthermore, distinct arrays of cortical and subcortical brain regions were additionally activated by each emotion, with the exception of sadness. Such findings informed the definition of three effective connectivity models, testing for the functional integration of visual cortex and amygdala, as regions processing all emotions, with domain-specific regions, namely: i) for fear, the frontoparietal system involved in preparing adaptive motor responses; ii) for disgust, the somatosensory system, reflecting protective responses against contaminating stimuli; iii) for happiness: medial prefrontal and temporoparietal cortices involved in understanding joyful interactions. Consistently with these domain-specific models, the results of the effective connectivity analysis indicate that the amygdala is involved in distinct functional integration effects with cortical networks processing sensorimotor, somatosensory, or cognitive aspects of basic emotions. The resulting effective connectivity networks may serve to regulate motor and cognitive behavior based on the quality of the induced emotional experience.

EEG phase synchronization during emotional response to positive and negative film stimuli

In the present study the patterns of interdependency between different brain regions were investigated as volunteers looked at emotional and non-emotional film stimuli. The main goal was to evaluate the emotion-related differences and to check their consistency during the elaboration of the same type of stimuli in repeated presentations. A measure called synchronization index (SI) was used to detect interdependencies in EEG signals. The hypotheses were that emotional-information processing could involve variation in synchronized activity and that two valence-specific emotions - happiness and sadness - differ from each other. The SI obtained was compared among the various experimental conditions and significant changes were found. The results demonstrated an overall increase of SI during emotional stimulation and, in particular, during sadness, which yielded a pattern involving a large exchange of information among frontal channels. On the other hand, happiness was associated with a wider synchronization among frontal and occipital sites, although happiness itself was less synchronized. We conclude that the SI can be successfully applied for studying the dynamic cooperation between cortical areas during emotion responses.

Judging and coding facial expression of emotions in congenitally blind children.

We investigate the facial expression of emotions in very young congenitally blind children to ” nd out whether these are objectively and subjectively recognisable. We also try to see whether the adequacy of the facial expression of emotions changes as the children get older. We video recorded the facial expressions of 10 congenitally blind children and 10 sighted children (as a control group) in seven everyday situations considered as emotion elicitors. The recorded sequences were analysed according to the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (Max; Izard, 1979) and then judged by 280 decoders who used four scales (two dimensional and two categorical) for their answers. The results showed that all the subjects (both the blind and the sighted) were able to express their emotions facially, though not always according to the theoretically expected pattern. Recognition of the various expressions was fairly accurate, but some emotions were systematically confused with others. The decoders’ answers to the dimensional and categorical scales were similar for both blind and sighted subjects. Our ” ndings on objective and subjective judgements show that there was no decrease in the facial expressiveness of the blind children in the period of development considered.

The subjective components of happiness and their attainment: a cross-cultural comparison between Italy and Cuba

This study aims to identify the subjective components of happiness and to analyze their degree of attainment in two countries, Italy and Cuba, characterized by very different cultural and socio-economic structures. Two hundred and sixty-five subjects participated in a questionnaire study: 133 from Italy and 132 from Cuba. Respondents were asked to think of happiness and to write down at least 5 components that made them feel happy. A measure of overall happiness was also obtained by asking subjects to rate to what extent they had attained each component in their life. The analysis of responses provided by the two samples yielded the identification of 21 cross-culturally shared happiness components, which referred to individual interests, relational interests and values. The most relevant components in each group were health, family, love and money. Italian and Cuban subjects differed in the frequency of citation of some happiness components (e.g. money, work, partner) and in the degree of attainment of them. Overall, Cubans perceived themselves as happier than Italians. Findings are discussed in relation to the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the Italian and Cuban contexts.

The Hurst exponent of cardiac response to positive and negative emotional film stimuli using wavelet

We examined the Hurst exponent of heart rate time series and its relation with the subjective measures of valence and arousal in two groups of subjects. The electrocardiogram (ECG) and the subjective valence and arousal were measured during the administration of emotional film stimuli (happiness, sadness, anger and fear). The results showed that there is a difference in the Hurst exponent for the happiness and sadness conditions but not between the negative emotion conditions (sadness, anger and fear). This seems to indicate that the Hurst exponent is an indicator of subjective valence.

Long-Term Memory for Traumatic Events: Experiences and Emotional Reactions During the 2000 Flood in Italy

The authors investigated how people remember real-life traumatic events. Adult residents (N = 145) of an Italian community that was flooded in fall of 2000 completed a questionnaire 3 years after the flood. Respondents briefly recounted their personal experiences with the flood and answered questions about emotional reactions to the flood, appraisal processes, and disaster exposure. Results showed that participants tended to recall experiences that occurred during the most critical phases of the disaster. The emotions most strongly experienced by respondents—sadness, fear, and surprise—were associated with specific appraisals. Content and amount of memories about flood experiences did not significantly vary as a function of flood exposure. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between memory quantity and emotional intensity. The authors discuss findings in the context of literature on traumatic memory and emotion.

Parental Attitudes, Attachment Styles, Social Networks, and Psychological Processes in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

ABSTRACT In this study the authors used a cross-cultural approach to examine parental attitudes, attachment styles, social networks, and some of the psychological processes involved in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Fifty-two children (aged 4–11 years) took part in the study: 30 Italians (15 with ASD and 15 controls) and 22 Cubans (11 with ASD and 11 controls). Findings indicated significant differences between the two cultural groups in terms of the structure of the childrens social network and parental attitudes toward their children. However, the mother–child attachment relationship and cognitive and emotional functioning of the study participants were independent of culture.

Emotions and Everyday Life in Cuba

Investigates the quality of everyday emotional experience in Cuba, a cultural context profoundly different from those previously analysed. A questionnaire was completed by 153 students of Havana University (age 17–28 years). They were asked to report an emotion-eliciting episode that had happened to them and to answer some questions concerning the content of the episode, i.e., antecedent, contextual aspects, cognitive evaluations, reactions, and social sharing of the emotion. The results indicated that positive emotions accounted for about 50% of everyday emotional experience and were significantly associated with high intensity. The antecedents most frequently cited were of a relational type and involved family, partner, and friends. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies on emotion antecedents conducted in Europe and in the US. It is argued that the Cuban cultural context presents some interesting peculiarities, which may influence the presence of specific typologies of emotion and the quality of subjective everyday experience.

L'operatore in un contesto di emergenza: motivazioni ed emozioni

Questa ricerca si propone di studiare le motivazioni che inducono alcune persone a intraprendere l’attivita di soccorritore volontario sulle autoambulanze. Lo studio vuol inoltre indagare quali sono le esperienze emotive che accompagnano questa attivita ed evidenziare eventuali risposte di stress o situazioni di burn-out. Sono stati assunti come riferimento teorico alcuni modelli elaborati dalla psicologia della motivazione e delle emozioni. L’indagine e stata svolta con l’ausilio di un questionario somministrato ad un gruppo di 110 volontari della Croce Rossa Italiana. e emerso che le motivazioni e le esperienze emotive associate all’attivita di volontariato si differenziano in base all’eta, al sesso e al livello di competenza. Le motivazioni piu frequenti si riferiscono all’autorealizzazione, le esperienze emotive all’ansia/paura ed alla tristezza/compassione. I risultati sembrano indicare l’opportunita ed il bisogno di attenti progetti di selezione e formazione; quest’ultima dovra riguardare l’ambito delle motivazioni, quello delle competenze e non dovra trascurare una sensibilizzazione nei confronti dei problemi emotivi e comunicativi.