Emotion Processing Among Patients With ALS

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF AARHUS · Aug 20, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial, titled "Emotion Processing Among Patients With ALS," is investigating how people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) understand and judge emotions, specifically happy and angry faces. The researchers want to find out if individuals with ALS perceive emotions differently compared to people with other neuromuscular diseases and healthy individuals. Participants will be asked to look at various faces and determine if they are expressing happiness or anger. By comparing the responses from these three groups, the study hopes to learn more about emotional processing in ALS patients.

To participate in this study, individuals must be diagnosed with ALS or a similar neuromuscular disease, or be healthy controls matched by age and gender. Participants should be able to provide informed consent and not have other serious medical or psychiatric conditions that would affect their ability to take part in the study. Those who join can expect to take part in tasks that involve viewing and judging facial expressions, contributing to important research that may help improve understanding of emotional health in ALS.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • ALS patients, ambulant and hospitalized
• • Able to give informed consent
• • Diagnosed with ALS or probable ALS according to the existing revision of the El Escorial Criteria 21,22.
• • Patients with a peripheral neuromuscular disease, ambulant and hospitalized
• • Able to give informed consent
• • Diagnosed with a peripheral neuromuscular disease, that does not affect CNS, including but not limited to Myasthenia Gravis and polyneuropathy
• • Healthy controls
• • Able to give informed consent
• • Age and gender matched to ALS patients
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • All Participants
• • Other severe medical, neurological, or psychiatric disorders
• • Visual impairment to an extent that interferes with the ability to perform of the test
• • Severe motor or cognitive deficits, to the extent that the test-task cannot be performed
• • Alcohol or drug abuse to an extent the interferes with task performance
• • Patients with a peripheral neuromuscular disease
• • ● Familial predisposition to ALS
• • Healthy controls
• • Familial predisposition to ALS (first degree relatives)
• • Medical treatment that affects the central nervous system (e.g., antidepressants)