Scholarship 7

7th Annual Scholarship (April 2006)


​             made to  Dr. Wei Wang from China

on the subject of Event-related potentials elicited by facial emotions in personalty disorder patients



Report Abstract (528 words):


Facial emotions affect the event-related potentials (ERPs) from early to late-latency components, and managing emotions are connected with personality traits. We hypothesised that the cerebral information processing of the facial expression of anger, happiness, sadness would be different among various types of personality disorders. We therefore conducted a study of these facial emotions and elicited ERPs in 38 healthy volunteers as well as in 135 outpatients with either the paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, or obsessive-compulsive subtype.


Their disordered personality traits were measured using the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP). Compared to the healthy control group, each patient group scored significantly different on the DAPP traits, except the schizoid group. The schizoid group scored similar to the healthy controls but significantly lower than other personality disorder groups on most of the DAPP traits. When referring to the topology of a given facial stimulus eliciting ERPs over the three midline electrode sites, the healthy control group displayed longer N1 (N170) and P2 components at Fz than those at Cz and Pz, the N2 amplitude was maximal at the Cz, the P3a and P3b amplitudes were maximal at Pz. Similar topological patterns were found for personality disorder groups.


When referring to the facial emotion effect on the ERPs in each group, neutral faces elicited longer P2 latencies in the schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline and obsessive-compulsive groups; longer N2 and P3b latencies in the borderline group, but shorter N2 latencies in the obsessive-compulsive group; and lower P2 in the obsessive-compulsive group. Angry faces elicited significantly shorter P2, P3a and P3b latencies in the healthy control group; shorter N2, P3a and P3b latencies in the paranoid group; shorter P3a latencies in the schizoid, schizotypal, and borderline groups; shorter N2 latencies in the histrionic group, but longer N2 latencies in the avoidant group; longer P3b latencies in the narcissistic and the dependent groups; higher N1 (N170) amplitudes in the avoidant group; lower P2 amplitudes in the histrionic group; and higher P3b amplitudes in the antisocial group. Happy faces elicited longer P3a latencies in the antisocial group. Sad faces on the other hand, elicited longer P2 latencies in the borderline and histrionic groups; longer N2 and P3b latencies in the borderline group.



When referring to the facial emotion effect on the ERPs in all subjects, neutral faces elicited higher N2 amplitudes in the schizotypal and the dependent groups than those in the healthy control group. Angry faces elicited shorter P3b latencies in the borderline group than those in the healthy control group. Happy faces elicited longer P3b latencies in the schizotypal group than those in the healthy control group. Sad faces elicited shorter P3a in the narcissistic group, but longer P3b in the schizotypal group than those in the healthy controls. Moreover, the healthy subjects used longer reaction times to elicit anger than other emotions, and the narcissistic patients used less reaction time to elicit sadness than other emotions. In addition, some ERP component latencies and amplitudes were correlated with DAPP traits. Our findings have shown that facial emotions (especially anger) affect both early and late ERPs, and the effects were different as to the different personality disorder types.

​​