Visual avoidance of unpleasant stimuli (i.e., strategic positioning of eyes, head and torso away from an environmental stimulus) is a common attentional control behavior that may down-regulate emotion by reducing visual input. Despite its ubiquity, relatively little is known about how visual avoidance is affected by neurological diseases that impact neural circuits involved in emotional functioning. We examined visual avoidance in 56 behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients, 43 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and 34 healthy controls. Participants came to our laboratory and viewed an extremely disgusting film clip while visual avoidance was measured using behavioral coding of head, body, and eye position. Controlling for differences in cognitive functioning, bvFTD patients were less likely to engage in visual avoidance behaviors than both AD patients and healthy controls. Additional analyses revealed that diminished visual avoidance in this task was associated with lower levels of real-world emotion regulation but not with emotion reactivity as reported by the primary caregiver.

Visual avoidance of unpleasant stimuli (i.e., strategic positioning of eyes, head and torso away from an environmental stimulus) is a common attentional control behavior that may down-regulate emotion by reducing visual input. Despite its ubiquity, relatively little is known about how visual avoidance is affected by neurological diseases that impact neural circuits involved in emotional functioning. We examined visual avoidance in 56 behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients, 43 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and 34 healthy controls. Participants came to our laboratory and viewed an extremely disgusting film clip while visual avoidance was measured using behavioral coding of head, body, and eye position. Controlling for differences in cognitive functioning, bvFTD patients were less likely to engage in visual avoidance behaviors than both AD patients and healthy controls. Additional analyses revealed that diminished visual avoidance in this task was associated with lower levels of real-world emotion regulation but not with emotion reactivity as reported by the primary caregiver.

Caring for a spouse with dementia can lead to increased health problems in caregivers. The present study examined whether patient deficits in visual avoidance, a common form of emotion regulation, are related to greater psychological distress in caregivers. Participants were 43 Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, 43 behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients, and their spousal caregivers. Patient visual avoidance (e.g., gaze aversion) was measured using behavioral coding of head, body, and eye position while viewing a disgusting film. Caregiver psychological distress was measured using a standard self-report symptom inventory. Lower use of visual avoidance by patients was associated with greater psychological distress in their caregivers. This relationship was partially mediated by patient overall emotional functioning (as reported by caregivers), such that patients with less visual avoidance were seen as having worse emotional functioning, which in turn related to greater caregiver psychological distress. Dementia diagnosis moderated this effect, with diminished patient visual avoidance particularly detrimental to psychological distress of bvFTD caregivers. Findings suggest that the use of visual avoidance may serve as a marker of overall emotional functioning in patients and that preservation of this emotion regulatory behavior may help reduce the negative effects of caregiving.

Caring for a spouse with dementia can lead to increased health problems in caregivers. The present study examined whether patient deficits in visual avoidance, a common form of emotion regulation, are related to greater psychological distress in caregivers. Participants were 43 Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, 43 behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients, and their spousal caregivers. Patient visual avoidance (e.g., gaze aversion) was measured using behavioral coding of head, body, and eye position while viewing a disgusting film. Caregiver psychological distress was measured using a standard self-report symptom inventory. Lower use of visual avoidance by patients was associated with greater psychological distress in their caregivers. This relationship was partially mediated by patient overall emotional functioning (as reported by caregivers), such that patients with less visual avoidance were seen as having worse emotional functioning, which in turn related to greater caregiver psychological distress. Dementia diagnosis moderated this effect, with diminished patient visual avoidance particularly detrimental to psychological distress of bvFTD caregivers. Findings suggest that the use of visual avoidance may serve as a marker of overall emotional functioning in patients and that preservation of this emotion regulatory behavior may help reduce the negative effects of caregiving.

Background

Behavioral symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative diseases can be particularly challenging for caregivers. Previously, we reported that patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) experienced emotions that were atypical or incongruent with a given situation (i.e., non-target emotions).

Aim

We tested the hypothesis that greater experience of non-target emotions by patients is associated with lower caregiver emotional well-being.

Methods

178 patients with FTD, AD, or other neurodegenerative diseases and 35 healthy individuals watched 3 films designed to induce amusement, sadness, and disgust, and then reported their emotions during the films. Caregivers of the patients reported their own emotional well-being on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey.

Results

In response to the amusement and sadness (but not disgust) films, greater experience of non-target emotions by patients was related to lower caregiver emotional well-being. These effects were specific to patients' experience of negative non-target emotions (i.e., not found for positive non-target emotions or for negative or positive target emotions).

Conclusion

The findings reveal a previously unstudied patient behavior that is related to worse caregiver emotional well-being. Future research and clinical assessment may benefit from evaluating non-target emotions in patients.

Background

Behavioral symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative diseases can be particularly challenging for caregivers. Previously, we reported that patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) experienced emotions that were atypical or incongruent with a given situation (i.e., non-target emotions).

Aim

We tested the hypothesis that greater experience of non-target emotions by patients is associated with lower caregiver emotional well-being.

Methods

178 patients with FTD, AD, or other neurodegenerative diseases and 35 healthy individuals watched 3 films designed to induce amusement, sadness, and disgust, and then reported their emotions during the films. Caregivers of the patients reported their own emotional well-being on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey.

Results

In response to the amusement and sadness (but not disgust) films, greater experience of non-target emotions by patients was related to lower caregiver emotional well-being. These effects were specific to patients' experience of negative non-target emotions (i.e., not found for positive non-target emotions or for negative or positive target emotions).

Conclusion

The findings reveal a previously unstudied patient behavior that is related to worse caregiver emotional well-being. Future research and clinical assessment may benefit from evaluating non-target emotions in patients.

Positivity resonance-defined as a synthesis of shared positive affect, mutual care and concern, plus behavioral and biological synchrony-is theorized to contribute to a host of positive outcomes, including relationship satisfaction. The current study examined whether, in long-term married couples, behavioral indices of positivity resonance (rated using a new behavioral coding system) are associated with concurrent shared positive affect using a well-established dyadic-level behavioral coding system (i.e., Specific Affect Coding System: SPAFF), and whether positivity resonance predicts concurrent marital satisfaction independently from other affective indices. Long-term married couples completed a self-report inventory assessing marital satisfaction and were then brought into the laboratory to participate in a conversation about an area of marital disagreement while being videotaped for subsequent behavioral coding. Interrater reliability for positivity resonance behavioral coding was high (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.8). Results indicated that positivity resonance is associated with frequency of shared positive affect using SPAFF. No associations were found between positivity resonance and frequencies of SPAFF-coded individual-level positive affect or shared negative affect. Additionally, positivity resonance predicted marital satisfaction independently from frequencies of SPAFF-coded shared positive affect and individual-level positive affect alone. The effect of positivity resonance on marital satisfaction also remained significant after controlling for overall affective tone of conflict conversation. These findings provide preliminary construct and predictive validity for positivity resonance behavioral coding, and highlight the possible role positivity resonance may play in building relationship satisfaction in married couples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Disgust is an emotion that helps us deal with potential contamination (Rozin & Fallon, 1987). It produces a distinctive facial expression (e.g., wrinkled nose) and a physiological response that is accompanied by strong visceral sensations (e.g., nausea). Given the important role that the anterior insula plays in processing and integrating visceral information (Craig, 2009), it is likely to be centrally involved in disgust. Despite this, few studies have examined the link between insular degeneration and the experience, physiology, and expression of disgust. We studied a group that was heterogeneous in terms of insular damage: 84 patients with neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease) and 29 controls. Subjects viewed films that elicit high levels of disgust and sadness. Emotional reactivity was assessed using self-report, peripheral physiology, and facial behavior. Regional brain volumes (insula, putamen, pallidum, caudate, and amygdala) were determined from structural MRIs using the FreeSurfer method. Results indicated that smaller insular volumes were associated with reduced disgust responding in self-report and physiological reactivity, but not in facial behavior. In terms of the specificity of these findings, insular volume did not predict sadness reactivity, and disgust reactivity was not predicted by putamen, pallidum, and caudate volumes (lower self-reported disgust was associated with smaller amygdala volume). These findings underscore the central role of the insula in the experience and physiology of disgust. (PsycINFO Database Record

Objective

To evaluate the association between changes in functional disability and suicide ideation among older adults following psychotherapy for depression.

Methods

Sixty-five participants (65-91 years old, 72% White, and 66% female) with depression completed 12 sessions of problem solving therapy (PST) and completed measures of disability (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0) and suicide ideation (Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale [GSIS]) at baseline and post-treatment.

Results

Hierarchical linear regressions found that reductions in functional disability were associated with overall reductions in suicide ideation on the GSIS (F[4,60] = 4.06, p < 0.01), particularly with the Loss of Worth GSIS subscale (F[4,60] = 7.86, p < 0.001, ΔR² = 0.140).

Conclusions

Results suggest decreased functional disability following depression treatment is associated with decreased suicide ideation, especially thoughts regarding loss of worth. These results highlight the potential for treatments that reduce functional disability (e.g., PST) to reduce risk of suicide among older adults.

Motivated by collective emotions theories that propose emotions shared between individuals predict group-level qualities, we hypothesized that co-experienced affect during interactions is associated with relationship quality, above and beyond the effects of individually experienced affect. Consistent with positivity resonance theory, we also hypothesized that co-experienced positive affect would have a stronger association with relationship quality than would co-experienced negative affect. We tested these hypotheses in 150 married couples across 3 conversational interactions: a conflict, a neutral topic, and a pleasant topic. Spouses continuously rated their individual affective experience during each conversation while watching video-recordings of their interactions. These individual affect ratings were used to determine, for positive and negative affect separately, the number of seconds of co-experienced affect and individually experienced affect during each conversation. In line with hypotheses, results from all 3 conversational topics suggest that more co-experienced positive affect is associated with greater marital quality, whereas more co-experienced negative affect is associated with worse marital quality. Individual level affect factors added little explanatory value beyond co-experienced affect. Comparing co-experienced positive affect and co-experienced negative affect, we found that co-experienced positive affect generally outperformed co-experienced negative affect, although co-experienced negative affect was especially diagnostic during the pleasant conversational topic. Findings suggest that co-experienced positive affect may be an integral component of high-quality relationships and highlight the power of co-experienced affect for individual perceptions of relationship quality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).