Reconnaissance des émotions faciales et raisonnement social dans le vieillissement normal, le MCI et la maladie d'Alzheimer

This study aimed to define specific profiles for normally ageing elderly people, for those with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and for those with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) in terms of recognition of emotions from facial expression and social reasoning. In this study, 66 control subjects between 40 and 89 years old, 25 subjects with MCI and 17 with DAT in the early stages were recruited. Recognition of facial expressions of emotions was explored using pictures from the Ekman faces library and emotional items from the Barrow Neurological Institute Screening test. Social reasoning was assessed with the Comprehension subtest on the WAIS. Our results show a gradual deterioration of socio-cognitive abilities through normal ageing, with a more marked decline in case of MCI and DAT.