Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41521787›Full record

SynthesisEuropean psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists2026

Facial emotion recognition deficits in bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Michele De Prisco, Vincenzo Oliva, Chiara Possidente, Giovanna Fico, Laura Montejo, Lydia Fortea, Hanne Lie Kjærstad, Kamilla Woznica Miskowiak, Gerard Anmella, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei and 5 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Moral emotion processing in euthymic bipolar disorder: insights from network analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Michele De PriscoDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-2032-1181
Vincenzo OlivaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-5961-6032
Chiara PossidenteDepartment of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID 0009-0001-6187-0187
Giovanna FicoDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1785-7126
Laura MontejoDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-4407-9454
Lydia ForteaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-6778-2316
Hanne Lie KjærstadNeurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorder Centre (NEAD), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark.
Kamilla Woznica MiskowiakNeurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorder Centre (NEAD), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark.
Gerard AnmellaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-6798-4054
Diego Hidalgo-MazzeiDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Alessandro MiolaDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2513-2718
Michele FornaroSection of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9647-0853
Andrea MurruDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Eduard VietaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-0548-0053
Joaquim RaduaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), University of Barcelona (UB), C. Casanova, 143, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1240-5438

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBipolar disorder (BD) is associated with impairments in facial emotion recognition (FER), affecting social functioning and quality of life. Understanding FER deficits in BD is crucial for tailoring interventions and improving treatment outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate FER differences among individuals with BD, unaffected first-degree relatives (FDRs), and healthy controls (HCs), exploring predictors related to patient and study characteristics.

methodsWe systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases from inception to March 28, 2024. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to explore differences in accuracy and reaction time during FER identification and discrimination tasks.

resultsA total of 100 studies were included, comprising 4920 individuals with BD (females = 56%, mean age = 34.1 ± 9.1), 676 FDRs (females = 55%, mean age = 36.1 ± 12), and 4909 HCs (females = 53.2%, mean age = 32.5 ± 9.5). Compared to HCs, adults with BD exhibited significantly lower accuracy (SMD = -0.47; 95% CIs = -0.56, -0.38) and higher reaction time (SMD = 0.57; 95%CIs = 0.33, 0.81) during facial emotion identification tasks. During facial emotion discrimination tasks, adults with BD had significantly lower accuracy than HCs (SMD = -0.59; 95%CIs = -0.78, -0.4), but similar speed. No significant differences were observed between BD and FDRs. Meta-regressions identified several predictors of FER performance, including manic symptom severity, stimulus duration, and presence of practice before task.

conclusionsFER deficits appear to be a core feature of BD and require specialized, systematic assessment. Identifying these deficits may help guide interventions aimed at improving affective cognition and social outcomes in individuals with BD.

Indexed as

Bipolar DisorderEmotionsFacial ExpressionFacial RecognitionSocial PerceptionAdultHumansaffective cognitionbipolar disorderfacial emotion recognitionmeta-analysisreview

Identifiers

PMID41521787
PMCPMC12925675

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.