Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Mental health, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
22
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Perceptual and emotional processing deficits in severe alcohol use disorder: The role of spatial frequency Coralie Creupelandt, Pierre Maurage, Alice Demesmaeker, Jory Deleuze, Carine Lambot, Philippe de Timary, Christophe Geus, Fabien D'Hondt Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2025 Emotional facial expression decoding deficits are consistently reported in severe Alcohol Use Disorder (sAUD), hampering social interactions and promoting relapse. Individuals with sAUD also exhibit visuo-perceptive deficits, persisting despite abstinence. However, these two key impairments of sAUD have never been considered simultaneously. We explored the role of perception in emotional facial expression processing by directly manipulating the spatial frequency content of emotional faces. Thirty-one patients and 30 matched healthy controls performed emotion detection, discrimination, and labeling tasks involving low-pass, high-pass, and unfiltered faces expressing anger, disgust, fear, and happiness. Results revealed that decoding impairments in sAUD were modulated by spatial frequencies and the perceptual demands of the tasks. They also indicated a predominant role for high spatial frequencies in emotional decoding deficits, suggesting that patients have specific difficulties to process fine emotional facial cues, particularly those conveying disgust and anger. This study highlights the need to reconsider the role of low-level processes, and particularly perception, in the socio-affective profile of patients, and supports a combined perceptual-emotional interpretation of the deficits.
An exploratory study of emotional forecasting and experience disparities in PTSD: insights from a virtual reality paradigm Louise Loisel-Fleuriot, Thomas Fovet, Arnaud Bugnet, Coralie Creupelandt, Marielle Wathelet, Sébastien Szaffarczyk, Stéphane Duhem, Guillaume Vaiva, Mathilde Horn, Fabien D’Hondt European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 2025 These findings reveal critical emotional processing differences in PTSD, both during affective forecasting and emotional experience, supporting cognitive models that emphasize biased processing of emotional information in this psychiatric condition.
A pilot study investigating affective forecasting biases with a novel virtual reality-based paradigm Louise Loisel-Fleuriot, Thomas Fovet, Arnaud Bugnet, Coralie Creupelandt, Marielle Wathelet, Sébastien Szaffarczyk, Stéphane Duhem, Guillaume Vaiva, Mathilde Horn, Fabien D’Hondt Scientific Reports, 2023 A body of research indicates that people are prone to overestimate the affective impact of future events. Here, we developed a novel experimental paradigm to study these affective forecasting biases under laboratory conditions using subjective (arousal and valence) and autonomic measures (skin conductance responses, SCRs, and heart rate). Thirty participants predicted their emotional responses to 15 unpleasant, 15 neutral, and 15 pleasant scenarios (affective forecasting phase) to which they were then exposed in virtual reality (emotional experience phase). Results showed that participants anticipated more extreme arousal and valence scores than they actually experienced for unpleasant and pleasant scenarios. The emotional experience phase was characterized by classic autonomic patterns, i.e., higher SCRs for emotionally arousing scenarios and greater peak cardiac acceleration for pleasant scenarios. During the affective forecasting phase, we found only a moderate association between arousal scores and SCRs and no valence-dependent modulation of cardiac activity. This paradigm opens up new perspectives for investigating affective forecasting abilities under lab-controlled conditions, notably in psychiatric disorders with anxious anticipations.
Persistent physical symptoms after COVID-19 infection and the risk of Somatic Symptom Disorder Mathilde Horn, Marielle Wathelet, Ali Amad, Niels Martignène, Thomas Lathiere, Kamélia Khelfaoui, Margot Rousselle, Oumaïma El Qaoubii, Fanny Vuotto, Karine Faure, Coralie Creupelandt, Guillaume Vaiva, Thomas Fovet, Fabien D'Hondt Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2023 OBJECTIVE: Evidence shows that many patients with COVID-19 present persistent symptoms after the acute infection. Some patients may be at a high risk of developing Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD), in which persistent symptoms are accompanied by excessive and disproportionate health-related thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding these symptoms. This study assessed the frequency of persistent physical symptoms and SSD and their associated factors in patients with confirmed COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study after the first two French lockdowns at the Lille University Hospital (France), including all patients with confirmed COVID-19. Persistent physical symptoms and excessive preoccupations for these symptoms were measured 8 to 10 months after the onset of COVID-19. The combination of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale was used to identify the individuals likely to present with SSD. Two linear regression models were performed to identify sociodemographic and medical risk factors of SSD. RESULTS: Among the 377 patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis, 220 (58.4%) completed the questionnaires. Sixty-five percent of the 220 included patients required hospitalization, 53.6% presented at least one persistent physical symptom and 10.4% were considered to present SSD. Female sex, older age, infection during the second wave and having probable PTSD were significantly associated with the severity of SSD and SSD was associated with a significantly higher healthcare use. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of SSD should encourage clinicians to move beyond the artificial somatic/psychiatric dualism and contribute to a better alliance based on multi-disciplinary care.
Mental Health Symptoms of University Students 15 Months after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in France Marielle Wathelet, Mathilde Horn, Coralie Creupelandt, Thomas Fovet, Thierry Baubet, Enguerrand Habran, Niels Martignène, Guillaume Vaiva, Fabien D’Hondt JAMA Network Open, 2022 ImportanceThe Conséquences de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur la santé mentale des étudiants (COSAMe) survey was conducted among university students in France during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that although there was a slight decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress between the first lockdown (T1) and 1 month after it ended (T2), the prevalence of suicidal ideation had increased between these periods and 1 in 5 students had probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at T2. These results emphasize the need to explore the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.ObjectivesTo measure the prevalence of mental health symptoms among university students in France 15 months after the first lockdown (T3) and to identify factors associated with outcomes.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study reports data from the third measurement time of the repeated COSAMe survey, which took place from July 21 to August 31, 2021, through an online questionnaire sent to all French university students.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe prevalence of suicidal thoughts, PTSD (PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [Fifth Edition] [PCL-5]), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory) at T3 were gender- and degree-standardized and compared with prevalence rates at T1 and T2. Multivariable logistic regression analyses identified risk factors.ResultsA total of 44 898 students completed the questionnaires. They were mainly women (31 728 [70.7%]), and the median (IQR) age was 19 (18-21) years. Standardized prevalence rates of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and PTSD were 20.6% (95% CI, 20.2%-21.0%), 23.7% (95% CI, 23.3%-24.1%), 15.4% (95% CI, 15.1%-15.8%), 13.8% (95% CI, 13.5%-14.2%), and 29.8% (95% CI, 29.4%-30.2%), respectively. Compared with the decreased prevalence rates at T2, there was an increase at T3 for stress (2.5% increase), anxiety (13.9% increase), and depression (22.2% increase). The prevalence of suicidal ideation continued to increase from T1 (10.6%) to T3 (13.8%), and the prevalence of probable PTSD increased from 1 in 5 students to 1 in 3 students between T2 and T3. Female and nonbinary participants; participants without children and living in an urban area; and those with financial difficulties, a chronic condition, psychiatric history, COVID-19 history, social isolation, and low perceived quality of information received were at risk of all poor outcomes at T3 (eg, stress among women: adjusted OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 2.05-2.31; suicidal thoughts among nonbinary respondents: adjusted OR, 5.09; 95% CI, 4.32-5.99; anxiety among students with children: adjusted OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.56-0.81; depression among students living in a rural area: adjusted OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75-0.85).Conclusions and RelevanceThese results suggest severe long-lasting consequences associated with the pandemic on the mental health of students. Prevention and care access should be a priority.
