The contribution of semantic memory to the recognition of basic emotions and emotional valence: Evidence from the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia

ABSTRACT

There is compelling evidence that semantic memory is involved in emotion recognition. However, its contribution to the recognition of emotional valence and basic emotions remains unclear. We compared the performance of 10 participants with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), a clinical model of semantic memory impairment, to that of 33 healthy participants using three experimental tasks assessing the recognition of: 1) emotional valence conveyed by photographic scenes, 2) basic emotions conveyed by facial expressions, and 3) basic emotions conveyed by prosody sounds. Individuals with svPPA showed significant deficits in the recognition of emotional valence and basic emotions (except happiness and surprise conveyed by facial expressions). However, the performance of the two groups was comparable when the performance on tests assessing semantic memory was added as a covariate in the analyses. Altogether, these results suggest that semantic memory contributes to the recognition of emotional valence and basic emotions. By examining the recognition of emotional valence and basic emotions in individuals with selective semantic memory loss, our results contribute to the refinement of current theories on the role of semantic memory in emotion recognition.

KEYWORDS:

• Semantic memory
• emotion recognition
• basic emotions
• emotional valence
• semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the patients and families who participated in this study. They also thank Nathalie Bier, PhD., from the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CR-IUGM), who helped our team in recruiting individuals with svPPA. The authors also thank Noémie Auclair-Ouellet and Ariane Tosti, from the Centre de recherche CERVO – Brain Research Centre, for their contribution in the neuropsychological assessment of individuals with svPPA. Finally, we thank Gabrielle Couturier for her significant contribution in the administration of experimental tasks to control participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

C.H. was supported by a salary award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (26809). M-P.T. was supported by a scholarship from the Centre thématique de recherche en neurosciences (CTRN). Data collection and participant testing were partially supported by funds granted to M.A.W. by the Fonds de recherche du Québec- Société et culture (FRQ-SC), grant number: FRQ-SC 2013-NP-168556, and the Quebec Network for Research on Aging (RQRV).