Emotion and Interoception Processing in ALS

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying emotional perception in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) compared to those with other neuromuscular diseases and healthy individuals. The study aims to understand how people with ALS judge happy and angry facial expressions and their awareness of these judgments. It also looks at how their body’s automatic responses differ from others, contributing to knowledge about neuropsychological changes associated with ALS and related conditions. Participants will take part in an Emotion Discrimination Task (EDT), where they decide if faces show happy or angry emotions at varying intensities. The study includes three groups: people diagnosed or suspected of having ALS, people with other neuromuscular diseases that do not affect the central nervous system, and healthy controls. During the task, heart rate and breathing rate are monitored to explore connections between emotional perception and autonomic reactions. Throughout the study, participants will be assessed on how accurately they perceive emotions and their confidence in these judgments using the EDT, which takes about 20 minutes. Researchers will record physiological data such as heart rate and respiration during this task. The study provides insights into socio-emotional aspects of ALS, which may help improve clinical decision-making and support for patients and families. The participation duration and specific assessments are designed to gather detailed emotional and physiological data for comparison across groups.

Emotion Processing Among Patients With ALS