Emotional categorization: Individual emotional differences and laterality effects in healthy and persons with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

A study examining affective information processing in persons with Multiple Sclerosis and healthy adults was carried out. It was hypothesized that individual characteristics could modulate participants’ emotional categorization and reaction times for categorization decisions. For example, individuals with negative valenced emotional profile (e.g. anxious) should choose negative emotional alternatives faster and more frequently. Participants consisted of two different populations: 80 right-handed healthy French-speakers, and 40 right-handed French- speakers with multiple sclerosis. The results showed a positive correlation between high- level of negative emotional sensibility and emotional categorization (decision and decision speed) for affective information presented on the right-side of the screen. For all participants there were more frequent emotional choices and faster decisions for left-side presented emotional alternatives. It seems individuals’ emotional differences in general and in MS populations modulate hemispheric asymmetry of processing emotional judgments.