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People With MS Can Have Trouble Reading Emotion From Body Language Posture Cues and It Can Make Them Seem Cold and Unfeeling


I have a friend Cathy whose sister Beth has MS.  Cathy struggles with her relationship her sister. No matter what Cathy does to help Beth, her sister seems selfish and lacks empathy. It is all about Beth and her needs. A new research study on MS and the lack of the ability to read nonverbal cues of emotion may explain all or at least some of her problems with her sister. People with MS may not read body language posture cues of emotions well.
I can see if you can’t read you would have trouble mirroring and empathizing.  Here is the link to the article. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141110083515.htm and below is the actual article.

Recognizing emotions, and what happens when this is interrupted

November 10, 2014
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Sissa Medialab
Recognizing the emotions other people feel is crucial for establishing proper interpersonal relations. To do so, we look at (amongst other things) facial expressions and body posture. Unfortunately, in some neurological disorders this ability is heavily impaired. This happens, for example, in multiple sclerosis where scientific evidence shows that people affected by the disease often have trouble recognizing expressions that communicate emotions. A new study now demonstrates that the same difficulty may also be encountered with emotions conveyed by posture.
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Recognizing the emotions other people feel is crucial for establishing proper interpersonal relations. To do so, we look at (amongst other things) facial expressions and body posture. Unfortunately, in some neurological disorders this ability is heavily impaired. This happens, for example, in multiple sclerosis where scientific evidence shows that people affected by the disease often have trouble recognizing expressions that communicate emotions.
A new study now demonstrates that the same difficulty may also be encountered with emotions conveyed by posture. In addition, the study shows that this difficulty recognizing other people's emotions is unrelated to difficulties identifying one own's emotions, a disorder known as alexithymia, which may be present in patients with multiple sclerosis.
"The finding on posture is new, and even though this symptom is less pronounced than the inability to read facial expressions, it is nonetheless important" explains Marilena Aiello, a SISSA researcher. "Studies on the identification of expressions in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis are important. In this type of disease the relationship between patients and carers is crucial to guarantee the patient the best quality of life. It's thus vital to identify the factors that may influence and improve this relationship."
In addition to Aiello, the other SISSA researchers who participated in the study, published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, are Cinzia Cecchetto (first author) and Raffaella Rumiati, a SISSA neuroscientist who coordinated the research project.

Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Sissa Medialab. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

1.     Cinzia Cecchetto, Marilena Aiello, Delia D’Amico, Daniela Cutuli, Daniela Cargnelutti, Roberto Eleopra, Raffaella Ida Rumiati. Facial and Bodily Emotion Recognition in Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Alexithymia and Other Characteristics of the Disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S1355617714000939

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.