Sylvie Blairy - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sylvie Blairy

Research paper thumbnail of Validation and Psychometric Properties of the French Versions of the Environmental Reward Observation Scale and of the Reward Probability Index

Psychologica Belgica, 2015

Background: Low levels of environmental rewards have been related to depression on a number of oc... more Background: Low levels of environmental rewards have been related to depression on a number of occasions in the scientific literature. Two scales have been created to assess environmental rewards: the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS) and the Reward Probability Index (RPI). This study aims to validate the French versions of these two scales. Method: 466 non-clinical adults completed an online survey assessing environmental rewards, depression, anxiety, activation, avoidance and behavioural systems. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the factorial structures of the French EROS and RPI. Results: A onefactor solution for the EROS and a two-factor solution for the RPI best fitted the data. High levels of internal consistency were found for both the EROS and the RPI. Convergent validity was also examined, revealing that high environmental rewards appear to be related to activation and behavioural activation system. Conclusion: The French versions of the EROS and the RPI appear to be reliable assessments of environmental rewards.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the French translation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale–Short Form (BADS-SF) in non-clinical adults

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2015

A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed... more A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed in major depressive disorder. Because behavioral treatments of depression aim to counteract that mechanism, assessing changes in behavioral activation during treatment is of great interest. Therefore, Manos et al. (2011) developed a scale that assesses these changes, which was called the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF). The aim of this study is to present a French version of this scale and to discuss its psychometric properties. The BADS-SF was translated into French, and 504 non-clinical adults completed an online survey that was composed of that scale and convergent measures. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed in two independent samples, and a two-factor solution was recommended, which references two functions of the engagement in activities (i.e., "activation" and "avoidance"). The results showed high levels of internal consistency and satisfying scores in terms of skewness and kurtosis. Moreover, relationships with measures of depression and behavioral systems indicated a good convergent validity. Therefore, the French BADS-SF can be seen as a reliable and valid instrument.

Research paper thumbnail of GUNSHOT WOUNDS OF THE SPLEEN

Research paper thumbnail of Deficits in recognition of emotional facial expression are still present in alcoholics after mid- to long-term abstinence

Journal of studies on alcohol, 2001

Emotional facial expression (EFE) decoding skills play a key role in interpersonal relationships.... more Emotional facial expression (EFE) decoding skills play a key role in interpersonal relationships. Decoding errors have been described in several pathological conditions, including alcoholism. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EFE decoding skill deficits persist after abstention from alcohol of at least 2 months. Alcoholic patients abstinent for at least 2 months (n = 25) were compared with 25 recently detoxified patients and with 25 normal controls matched for age, gender and educational level. Subjects were presented with 40 photographs of facial expressions portraying happiness, anger, sadness, disgust and fear. Each emotion was displayed with neutral, mild, moderate and strong emotional intensity. Each facial expression was judged successively on eight scales labeled happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, shame and contempt. For each scale, subjects rated the estimated intensity level. A complementary scale assessed the self-estimated difficulty in per...

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the French translation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale–Short Form (BADS-SF) in non-clinical adults

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2015

A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed... more A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed in major depressive disorder. Because behavioral treatments of depression aim to counteract that mechanism, assessing changes in behavioral activation during treatment is of great interest. Therefore, developed a scale that assesses these changes, which was called the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale -Short Form (BADS-SF).

Research paper thumbnail of Improvements in Autobiographical Memory in Schizophrenia Patients after a Cognitive Intervention

Psychopathology, 2008

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduction in accessing specific autobiographical i... more Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduction in accessing specific autobiographical information. This is consistent with the abnormal development of the personal identity characterizing this mental disorder. The present study evaluates the effect of a cognitive intervention on autobiographical memory and on the capacity to project oneself in the future in people suffering from schizophrenia.

Research paper thumbnail of “Capacity for cognitive and emotional empathy in alcohol-dependent patients”: Correction to Dethier and Blairy (2012)

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2012

This study assessed two previously unexplored facets of empathy in alcohol-dependent patients (AD... more This study assessed two previously unexplored facets of empathy in alcohol-dependent patients (ADs) divided into two groups according to Cloninger's alcoholism typology: the attribution of intentions according to emotional facial expressions (EFEs) and emotional contagion in reaction to EFEs. Twenty-three male Type-I ADs, 21 male Type-II ADs, and 24 male control participants were compared in two computerized tasks. First, participants rated the extent to which an adjective descriptive of personality weighted on interpersonal dimensions (of rejection, aggressiveness, dominance, and affiliation) corresponded with a video of a neutral EFE that changed to an intense EFE. Second, participants evaluated their own emotional states after watching a series of videos that depicted EFEs while their own face was being filmed. The results showed that Type-I ADs attributed more rejection intentions and fewer affiliation intentions to EFEs compared with controls; however, depression might better explain this biased attribution. Furthermore, AD subtypes showed a different pattern of intention attribution according to the emotions that were portrayed and the sex of the stimulus. In addition, angry EFE mimicry was stronger in Type-II ADs than other participants. Finally, ADs expressed fewer positive emotions and more negative emotions than controls when watching EFEs. These findings emphasize the importance of differentiating alcoholism subtypes and contribute to the understanding of AD interpersonal behaviors.

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic association between the phospholipase A2 gene and unipolar affective disorder: a multicentre case???control study

Psychiatric Genetics, 2003

The co-segregation in one pedigree of bipolar affective disorder with Darier&... more The co-segregation in one pedigree of bipolar affective disorder with Darier's disease whose gene is on chromosome 12q23-q24.1, and findings from linkage and association studies with the neighbouring gene of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) indicate that PLA2 may be considered as a candidate gene for affective disorders. All relevant genetic association studies, however, were conducted on bipolar patients. In the present study, the possible association between the PLA2 gene and unipolar affective disorder was examined on 321 unipolar patients and 604 controls (all personally interviewed), recruited from six countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, and Italy) participating in the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders. After controlling for population group and gender, one of the eight alleles of the investigated marker (allele 7) was found to be more frequent among unipolar patients with more than three major depressive episodes than among controls (P<0.01); genotypic association was also observed, under the dominant model of genetic transmission (P<0.02). In addition, presence of allele 7 was correlated with a higher frequency of depressive episodes (P<0.02). These findings suggest that structural variations at the PLA2 gene or the chromosomal region around it may confer susceptibility for unipolar affective disorder.

Research paper thumbnail of Deficits in decoding emotional facial expressions in Parkinson's disease

Neuropsychologia, 2004

The basal ganglia have numerous connections not only with the motor cortex but also with the pref... more The basal ganglia have numerous connections not only with the motor cortex but also with the prefrontal and limbic cortical areas. Therefore, basal ganglia lesions can disturb motor function but also cognitive function and emotion processing. The aim of the present study was to assess the consequences of Parkinson's disease (PD) on ability to decode emotional facial expressions (EFEs)-a method commonly used to investigate non-verbal emotion processing.

Research paper thumbnail of Variability of 5-HT2C receptor cys23ser polymorphism among European populations and vulnerability to affective disorder

Molecular Psychiatry, 2001

Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems in the ... more Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder, both unipolar (recurrent major depression) and bipolar. 1 Modification of serotonergic neurotransmission is pivotally implicated in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs 2 and also in the action of mood stabilizing agents, particularly lithium carbonate. 3 Accordingly, genes that code for the multiple subtypes of serotonin receptors that have been cloned and are expressed in brain, 4 are strong candidates for a role in the genetic etiology of affective illness. We examined a structural variant of the serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptor gene (HTR2C) that gives rise to a cysteine to serine substitution in the N terminal extracellular domain of the receptor protein (cys23ser), 5 in 513 patients with recurrent major depression (MDD-R), 649 patients with bipolar (BP) affective disorder and 901 normal controls. The subjects were drawn from nine European countries participating in the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders. There was significant variation in the frequency of the HT2CR ser23 allele among the 10 population groups included in the sample (from 24.6% in Greek control subjects to 9.2% in Scots, 2 = 20.9, df 9, P = 0.01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that over and above this interpopulation variability, there was a significant excess of HT2CR ser23 allele carriers in patients compared to normal controls that was demonstrable for both the MDD ( 2 = 7.34, df 1, P = 0.006) and BP ( 2 = 5.45, df 1, P = 0.02) patients. These findings support a possible role for genetically based structural variation in 5-HT2C receptors in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder. Molecular Psychiatry (2001) 6, 579-585.

Research paper thumbnail of Marital Satisfaction in Couples with an Alcoholic Husband

Journal of Family Violence, 2011

... Marie Dethier & Christelle Counerotte & Sylvie Blairy ... The questionnaire contains ... more ... Marie Dethier & Christelle Counerotte & Sylvie Blairy ... The questionnaire contains four categories of questions related to the category of experienced emotions in general (shame, joy, fear, guilt, affection, jealousy, sadness, anguish, and anger), the intensity, the frequency, and ...

Research paper thumbnail of Spontaneous and posed emotional facial expressions following severe traumatic brain injury

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2012

The current study aimed to test the intensity of spontaneous emotional expressions and the accura... more The current study aimed to test the intensity of spontaneous emotional expressions and the accuracy of posed emotional expressions in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Twenty-three participants with TBI and 27 matched control participants were asked to relate personal angry, happy, and sad events (spontaneous expressivity) and to pose angry, happy, and sad expressions in response to a photo or word cue (posed expressivity). Their emotional facial expressions were coded via judges' ratings. Participants with TBI had less intense sad expressions when relating a sad event than did control participants. No group difference emerged in the happy and angry events, the latter possibly due to differentially low interrater reliability for anger ratings. Participants with TBI were impaired in their ability to pose sad emotions. These preliminary findings suggest that patients with TBI are impaired at expressing sad expressions either spontaneously or deliberately. This may reflect difficulties in the initiation or suppression of facial expression as well as an impaired semantic knowledge of the facial configuration of sad expression.

Research paper thumbnail of Social adjustment and self-esteem of bipolar patients: a multicentric study

Journal of Affective Disorders, 2004

The aim of the present study was to investigate impairment in social adjustment and self-esteem o... more The aim of the present study was to investigate impairment in social adjustment and self-esteem of bipolar patients (n=144) in remission for at least 3 months. Patients were recruited among four different centres: Sofia, Athens, Jerusalem and Milan, and were individually matched to control subjects in relation to sex, age and geographical origin. Subjects completed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (SES) and the self-report version of the social adjustment scale (SAS). Bipolar patients reported to experience more difficulties in social adjustment than controls, specifically for leisure and work activities. Further, our results show that bipolar patients have significantly lower self-esteem compared to controls, even after remission. D

Research paper thumbnail of Facial mimicry and emotional contagion to dynamic emotional facial expressions and their influence on decoding accuracy

International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2001

The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion i... more The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion in response to relatively weak and idiosyncratic dynamic facial expressions of emotions similar to those encountered in everyday life. Furthermore, the question of whether mimicry leads to emotional contagion and in turn facilitates emotion recognition was addressed. Forty-one female participants rated a series of short video clips of stimulus persons expressing anger, sadness, disgust, and happiness regarding the emotions expressed. An unobtrusive measure of emotional contagion was taken. Evidence for mimicry was found for all types of expressions. Furthermore, evidence for emotional contagion of happiness and sadness was found. Mediational analyses could not confirm any relation between mimicry and emotional contagion nor between mimicry and emotion recognition. ᮊ

Research paper thumbnail of Self-esteem, social adjustment and suicidality in affective disorders

European Psychiatry, 2002

Self-esteem (SE) and social adjustment (SA) are often impaired during the course of affective dis... more Self-esteem (SE) and social adjustment (SA) are often impaired during the course of affective disorders; this impairment is associated with suicidal behaviour. The aim of the present study was to investigate SE and SA in unipolar or bipolar patients in relation to demographic and clinical characteristics, especially the presence of suicidality (ideation and/or attempt). Forty-four patients, 28 bipolar and 16 unipolar, in remission for at least 3 months, and 50 healthy individuals were examined through a structured clinical interview. SE and SA were assessed by the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the social adjustment scale, respectively. The results have shown that bipolar patients did not differ from controls in terms of SE, while unipolar patients had lower SE than bipolars and controls. No significant differences in the mean SA scores were found between the three groups. Suicidality during depression was associated only in bipolar patients with lower SE at remission; similar but not as pronounced was the association of suicidality with SA. It is concluded that low SE lasting into remission seems to be related to the expression of suicidality during depressive episodes of bipolar patients, while no similar pattern is evident in unipolar patients.

Research paper thumbnail of Specificity of autobiographical memory in schizophrenia: Retrospective and prospective deficits

European Psychiatry, 2007

with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. For the facial expression recognition task, 56 fac... more with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. For the facial expression recognition task, 56 faces were taken from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF; Lundqvist et al., 1998), which included 4 pictures of faces (2 male and 2 female) for each of the six basic emotions (sadness, anger, happiness, fear, disgust, surprise), in addition to 4 photos of faces with neutral expressions. Participants were asked to choose the emotion that corresponded with the face.

Research paper thumbnail of P.3.e.007 Specificity of autobiographical memory in a group of stabilized schizophrenic patients

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of P.2.044 The specificity of autobiographical memory and emotional disturbance in schizophrenia

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Specificity deficit in the recollection of emotional memories in schizophrenia

Consciousness and Cognition, 2007

The influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia was investigate... more The influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia was investigated. Using an experiential approach, the states of awareness accompanying recollection of pictures from the IAPS and of associated autobiographical memories was recorded. Results show that schizophrenia impairs episodic and autobiographical memories in their critical feature: autonoetic awareness, i.e., the type of awareness experienced when mentally reliving events from one's past. Schizophrenia was also associated with a reduction of specific autobiographical memories. The impact of stimulus valence on memory performance was moderated by clinical status. Patients with schizophrenia recognized more positive than negative pictures, and recalled more positive than negative autobiographical memories while controls displayed the opposite pattern. A hypothesis in terms of a fundamental executive deficit underlying these impairments is proposed.

Research paper thumbnail of Facial Reactions to Emotional Facial Expressions: Affect or Cognition?

Cognition & Emotion, 1998

This study investigated whether observers' facial reactions to the emotional facial expressions o... more This study investigated whether observers' facial reactions to the emotional facial expressions of others represent an affective or a cognitive response to these emotional expressions. Three hypotheses w ere contrasted: (1) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are due to mimicry as part of an affective empathic reaction; (2) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are a re¯ection of shared affect due to emotion induction; and (3) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are determined by cognitive load depending on task dif® culty. Two experiments were conducted varying type of task, presentation of stimuli, and task dif® culty. The results show that depending on the nature of the rating task, facial reactions to facial expressions may be either affective or cognitive. Speci® cally, evidence for facial mimicry w as only found when individuals made judgements regarding the valence of an emotional facial expression. Other types of judgements regarding facial expressions did not seem to elicit mimicry but may lead to facial responses related to cognitive load.

Research paper thumbnail of Validation and Psychometric Properties of the French Versions of the Environmental Reward Observation Scale and of the Reward Probability Index

Psychologica Belgica, 2015

Background: Low levels of environmental rewards have been related to depression on a number of oc... more Background: Low levels of environmental rewards have been related to depression on a number of occasions in the scientific literature. Two scales have been created to assess environmental rewards: the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS) and the Reward Probability Index (RPI). This study aims to validate the French versions of these two scales. Method: 466 non-clinical adults completed an online survey assessing environmental rewards, depression, anxiety, activation, avoidance and behavioural systems. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the factorial structures of the French EROS and RPI. Results: A onefactor solution for the EROS and a two-factor solution for the RPI best fitted the data. High levels of internal consistency were found for both the EROS and the RPI. Convergent validity was also examined, revealing that high environmental rewards appear to be related to activation and behavioural activation system. Conclusion: The French versions of the EROS and the RPI appear to be reliable assessments of environmental rewards.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the French translation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale–Short Form (BADS-SF) in non-clinical adults

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2015

A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed... more A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed in major depressive disorder. Because behavioral treatments of depression aim to counteract that mechanism, assessing changes in behavioral activation during treatment is of great interest. Therefore, Manos et al. (2011) developed a scale that assesses these changes, which was called the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF). The aim of this study is to present a French version of this scale and to discuss its psychometric properties. The BADS-SF was translated into French, and 504 non-clinical adults completed an online survey that was composed of that scale and convergent measures. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed in two independent samples, and a two-factor solution was recommended, which references two functions of the engagement in activities (i.e., "activation" and "avoidance"). The results showed high levels of internal consistency and satisfying scores in terms of skewness and kurtosis. Moreover, relationships with measures of depression and behavioral systems indicated a good convergent validity. Therefore, the French BADS-SF can be seen as a reliable and valid instrument.

Research paper thumbnail of GUNSHOT WOUNDS OF THE SPLEEN

Research paper thumbnail of Deficits in recognition of emotional facial expression are still present in alcoholics after mid- to long-term abstinence

Journal of studies on alcohol, 2001

Emotional facial expression (EFE) decoding skills play a key role in interpersonal relationships.... more Emotional facial expression (EFE) decoding skills play a key role in interpersonal relationships. Decoding errors have been described in several pathological conditions, including alcoholism. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EFE decoding skill deficits persist after abstention from alcohol of at least 2 months. Alcoholic patients abstinent for at least 2 months (n = 25) were compared with 25 recently detoxified patients and with 25 normal controls matched for age, gender and educational level. Subjects were presented with 40 photographs of facial expressions portraying happiness, anger, sadness, disgust and fear. Each emotion was displayed with neutral, mild, moderate and strong emotional intensity. Each facial expression was judged successively on eight scales labeled happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, shame and contempt. For each scale, subjects rated the estimated intensity level. A complementary scale assessed the self-estimated difficulty in per...

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the French translation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale–Short Form (BADS-SF) in non-clinical adults

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2015

A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed... more A decrease in the level of engagement in activities ("behavioral activation") is usually observed in major depressive disorder. Because behavioral treatments of depression aim to counteract that mechanism, assessing changes in behavioral activation during treatment is of great interest. Therefore, developed a scale that assesses these changes, which was called the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale -Short Form (BADS-SF).

Research paper thumbnail of Improvements in Autobiographical Memory in Schizophrenia Patients after a Cognitive Intervention

Psychopathology, 2008

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduction in accessing specific autobiographical i... more Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduction in accessing specific autobiographical information. This is consistent with the abnormal development of the personal identity characterizing this mental disorder. The present study evaluates the effect of a cognitive intervention on autobiographical memory and on the capacity to project oneself in the future in people suffering from schizophrenia.

Research paper thumbnail of “Capacity for cognitive and emotional empathy in alcohol-dependent patients”: Correction to Dethier and Blairy (2012)

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2012

This study assessed two previously unexplored facets of empathy in alcohol-dependent patients (AD... more This study assessed two previously unexplored facets of empathy in alcohol-dependent patients (ADs) divided into two groups according to Cloninger's alcoholism typology: the attribution of intentions according to emotional facial expressions (EFEs) and emotional contagion in reaction to EFEs. Twenty-three male Type-I ADs, 21 male Type-II ADs, and 24 male control participants were compared in two computerized tasks. First, participants rated the extent to which an adjective descriptive of personality weighted on interpersonal dimensions (of rejection, aggressiveness, dominance, and affiliation) corresponded with a video of a neutral EFE that changed to an intense EFE. Second, participants evaluated their own emotional states after watching a series of videos that depicted EFEs while their own face was being filmed. The results showed that Type-I ADs attributed more rejection intentions and fewer affiliation intentions to EFEs compared with controls; however, depression might better explain this biased attribution. Furthermore, AD subtypes showed a different pattern of intention attribution according to the emotions that were portrayed and the sex of the stimulus. In addition, angry EFE mimicry was stronger in Type-II ADs than other participants. Finally, ADs expressed fewer positive emotions and more negative emotions than controls when watching EFEs. These findings emphasize the importance of differentiating alcoholism subtypes and contribute to the understanding of AD interpersonal behaviors.

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic association between the phospholipase A2 gene and unipolar affective disorder: a multicentre case???control study

Psychiatric Genetics, 2003

The co-segregation in one pedigree of bipolar affective disorder with Darier&... more The co-segregation in one pedigree of bipolar affective disorder with Darier's disease whose gene is on chromosome 12q23-q24.1, and findings from linkage and association studies with the neighbouring gene of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) indicate that PLA2 may be considered as a candidate gene for affective disorders. All relevant genetic association studies, however, were conducted on bipolar patients. In the present study, the possible association between the PLA2 gene and unipolar affective disorder was examined on 321 unipolar patients and 604 controls (all personally interviewed), recruited from six countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, and Italy) participating in the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders. After controlling for population group and gender, one of the eight alleles of the investigated marker (allele 7) was found to be more frequent among unipolar patients with more than three major depressive episodes than among controls (P<0.01); genotypic association was also observed, under the dominant model of genetic transmission (P<0.02). In addition, presence of allele 7 was correlated with a higher frequency of depressive episodes (P<0.02). These findings suggest that structural variations at the PLA2 gene or the chromosomal region around it may confer susceptibility for unipolar affective disorder.

Research paper thumbnail of Deficits in decoding emotional facial expressions in Parkinson's disease

Neuropsychologia, 2004

The basal ganglia have numerous connections not only with the motor cortex but also with the pref... more The basal ganglia have numerous connections not only with the motor cortex but also with the prefrontal and limbic cortical areas. Therefore, basal ganglia lesions can disturb motor function but also cognitive function and emotion processing. The aim of the present study was to assess the consequences of Parkinson's disease (PD) on ability to decode emotional facial expressions (EFEs)-a method commonly used to investigate non-verbal emotion processing.

Research paper thumbnail of Variability of 5-HT2C receptor cys23ser polymorphism among European populations and vulnerability to affective disorder

Molecular Psychiatry, 2001

Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems in the ... more Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder, both unipolar (recurrent major depression) and bipolar. 1 Modification of serotonergic neurotransmission is pivotally implicated in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs 2 and also in the action of mood stabilizing agents, particularly lithium carbonate. 3 Accordingly, genes that code for the multiple subtypes of serotonin receptors that have been cloned and are expressed in brain, 4 are strong candidates for a role in the genetic etiology of affective illness. We examined a structural variant of the serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptor gene (HTR2C) that gives rise to a cysteine to serine substitution in the N terminal extracellular domain of the receptor protein (cys23ser), 5 in 513 patients with recurrent major depression (MDD-R), 649 patients with bipolar (BP) affective disorder and 901 normal controls. The subjects were drawn from nine European countries participating in the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders. There was significant variation in the frequency of the HT2CR ser23 allele among the 10 population groups included in the sample (from 24.6% in Greek control subjects to 9.2% in Scots, 2 = 20.9, df 9, P = 0.01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that over and above this interpopulation variability, there was a significant excess of HT2CR ser23 allele carriers in patients compared to normal controls that was demonstrable for both the MDD ( 2 = 7.34, df 1, P = 0.006) and BP ( 2 = 5.45, df 1, P = 0.02) patients. These findings support a possible role for genetically based structural variation in 5-HT2C receptors in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder. Molecular Psychiatry (2001) 6, 579-585.

Research paper thumbnail of Marital Satisfaction in Couples with an Alcoholic Husband

Journal of Family Violence, 2011

... Marie Dethier & Christelle Counerotte & Sylvie Blairy ... The questionnaire contains ... more ... Marie Dethier & Christelle Counerotte & Sylvie Blairy ... The questionnaire contains four categories of questions related to the category of experienced emotions in general (shame, joy, fear, guilt, affection, jealousy, sadness, anguish, and anger), the intensity, the frequency, and ...

Research paper thumbnail of Spontaneous and posed emotional facial expressions following severe traumatic brain injury

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2012

The current study aimed to test the intensity of spontaneous emotional expressions and the accura... more The current study aimed to test the intensity of spontaneous emotional expressions and the accuracy of posed emotional expressions in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Twenty-three participants with TBI and 27 matched control participants were asked to relate personal angry, happy, and sad events (spontaneous expressivity) and to pose angry, happy, and sad expressions in response to a photo or word cue (posed expressivity). Their emotional facial expressions were coded via judges' ratings. Participants with TBI had less intense sad expressions when relating a sad event than did control participants. No group difference emerged in the happy and angry events, the latter possibly due to differentially low interrater reliability for anger ratings. Participants with TBI were impaired in their ability to pose sad emotions. These preliminary findings suggest that patients with TBI are impaired at expressing sad expressions either spontaneously or deliberately. This may reflect difficulties in the initiation or suppression of facial expression as well as an impaired semantic knowledge of the facial configuration of sad expression.

Research paper thumbnail of Social adjustment and self-esteem of bipolar patients: a multicentric study

Journal of Affective Disorders, 2004

The aim of the present study was to investigate impairment in social adjustment and self-esteem o... more The aim of the present study was to investigate impairment in social adjustment and self-esteem of bipolar patients (n=144) in remission for at least 3 months. Patients were recruited among four different centres: Sofia, Athens, Jerusalem and Milan, and were individually matched to control subjects in relation to sex, age and geographical origin. Subjects completed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (SES) and the self-report version of the social adjustment scale (SAS). Bipolar patients reported to experience more difficulties in social adjustment than controls, specifically for leisure and work activities. Further, our results show that bipolar patients have significantly lower self-esteem compared to controls, even after remission. D

Research paper thumbnail of Facial mimicry and emotional contagion to dynamic emotional facial expressions and their influence on decoding accuracy

International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2001

The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion i... more The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion in response to relatively weak and idiosyncratic dynamic facial expressions of emotions similar to those encountered in everyday life. Furthermore, the question of whether mimicry leads to emotional contagion and in turn facilitates emotion recognition was addressed. Forty-one female participants rated a series of short video clips of stimulus persons expressing anger, sadness, disgust, and happiness regarding the emotions expressed. An unobtrusive measure of emotional contagion was taken. Evidence for mimicry was found for all types of expressions. Furthermore, evidence for emotional contagion of happiness and sadness was found. Mediational analyses could not confirm any relation between mimicry and emotional contagion nor between mimicry and emotion recognition. ᮊ

Research paper thumbnail of Self-esteem, social adjustment and suicidality in affective disorders

European Psychiatry, 2002

Self-esteem (SE) and social adjustment (SA) are often impaired during the course of affective dis... more Self-esteem (SE) and social adjustment (SA) are often impaired during the course of affective disorders; this impairment is associated with suicidal behaviour. The aim of the present study was to investigate SE and SA in unipolar or bipolar patients in relation to demographic and clinical characteristics, especially the presence of suicidality (ideation and/or attempt). Forty-four patients, 28 bipolar and 16 unipolar, in remission for at least 3 months, and 50 healthy individuals were examined through a structured clinical interview. SE and SA were assessed by the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the social adjustment scale, respectively. The results have shown that bipolar patients did not differ from controls in terms of SE, while unipolar patients had lower SE than bipolars and controls. No significant differences in the mean SA scores were found between the three groups. Suicidality during depression was associated only in bipolar patients with lower SE at remission; similar but not as pronounced was the association of suicidality with SA. It is concluded that low SE lasting into remission seems to be related to the expression of suicidality during depressive episodes of bipolar patients, while no similar pattern is evident in unipolar patients.

Research paper thumbnail of Specificity of autobiographical memory in schizophrenia: Retrospective and prospective deficits

European Psychiatry, 2007

with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. For the facial expression recognition task, 56 fac... more with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. For the facial expression recognition task, 56 faces were taken from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF; Lundqvist et al., 1998), which included 4 pictures of faces (2 male and 2 female) for each of the six basic emotions (sadness, anger, happiness, fear, disgust, surprise), in addition to 4 photos of faces with neutral expressions. Participants were asked to choose the emotion that corresponded with the face.

Research paper thumbnail of P.3.e.007 Specificity of autobiographical memory in a group of stabilized schizophrenic patients

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of P.2.044 The specificity of autobiographical memory and emotional disturbance in schizophrenia

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Specificity deficit in the recollection of emotional memories in schizophrenia

Consciousness and Cognition, 2007

The influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia was investigate... more The influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia was investigated. Using an experiential approach, the states of awareness accompanying recollection of pictures from the IAPS and of associated autobiographical memories was recorded. Results show that schizophrenia impairs episodic and autobiographical memories in their critical feature: autonoetic awareness, i.e., the type of awareness experienced when mentally reliving events from one's past. Schizophrenia was also associated with a reduction of specific autobiographical memories. The impact of stimulus valence on memory performance was moderated by clinical status. Patients with schizophrenia recognized more positive than negative pictures, and recalled more positive than negative autobiographical memories while controls displayed the opposite pattern. A hypothesis in terms of a fundamental executive deficit underlying these impairments is proposed.

Research paper thumbnail of Facial Reactions to Emotional Facial Expressions: Affect or Cognition?

Cognition & Emotion, 1998

This study investigated whether observers' facial reactions to the emotional facial expressions o... more This study investigated whether observers' facial reactions to the emotional facial expressions of others represent an affective or a cognitive response to these emotional expressions. Three hypotheses w ere contrasted: (1) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are due to mimicry as part of an affective empathic reaction; (2) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are a re¯ection of shared affect due to emotion induction; and (3) facial reactions to emotional facial expressions are determined by cognitive load depending on task dif® culty. Two experiments were conducted varying type of task, presentation of stimuli, and task dif® culty. The results show that depending on the nature of the rating task, facial reactions to facial expressions may be either affective or cognitive. Speci® cally, evidence for facial mimicry w as only found when individuals made judgements regarding the valence of an emotional facial expression. Other types of judgements regarding facial expressions did not seem to elicit mimicry but may lead to facial responses related to cognitive load.