Processing of Dynamic Affective Information in Adults With ADHD

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: ADHD has been repeatedly linked to problems in social functioning. Although some theories assume that the emotion recognition deficits are explained by general attentional deficits, mounting evidence suggests that they may actually constitute a distinct impairment. However, it remains unclear whether the deficient processing affects specific emotional categories or may generalize to all basic emotions. The present study aims to investigate these questions by assessing the sensitivity to all six basic emotions in adults with ADHD. METHOD: The participants judged the emotion onset in animated morph clips displaying facial expressions that slowly changed from neutral to emotional. RESULTS: ADHD participants exhibited an impaired recognition of sad and fearful facial expressions. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that ADHD is possibly associated with a specific deficit in the recognition of facial emotions signaling negative social feedback.