Perceived eye region and the processing of fearful expressions in mild cognitive impairment patients

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the possibility of compensating early facial expression recognition impairments in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (a-MCI) patients. Methods: Twelve patients with a-MCI and 17 healthy participants matched according to age and education participated in the study. The originality of the present study was to cue the recognition of facial expressions (happiness, anger, fear, and neutral) by comparing eye region expressions and entire facial expressions. Results: A deficit in the recognition of fearful expressions was observed in a-MCI patients relative to the control group, whereas recognition of all the other emotional expressions was spared. Nevertheless, when eye expressions cued the recognition of fearful facial expressions, the performance of normal controls and a-MCI patients was comparable. Conclusion: The present paper indicates a selective impairment in fear recognition in the prodromal state of Alzheimer’s disease, and the possibility of compensating this deficit by orienting selective attention on specific facial features.