Clinical Report: e-Motions Tool Validated for Intraoperative Social Cognition Mapping

Overview

The e-Motions test is a novel intraoperative tool designed to map social cognition using dynamic, hyper-realistic avatars. It has been validated across normative Spanish-speaking populations, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) groups, demonstrating its applicability and ecological validity in assessing complex social cognitive functions during brain surgery.

Background

Social cognition, the ability to perceive and interpret others' emotions and thoughts, is often impaired in disorders like schizophrenia and ASD, and can also be affected by brain tumors or their surgical treatment. These impairments significantly impact quality of life and interpersonal functioning. Despite its importance, social cognition mapping during neurosurgery remains underdeveloped due to challenges such as limited understanding of neural substrates, operating room constraints, and lack of ecological assessment tools. Existing tests rely on static images and focus narrowly on facial regions, limiting their intraoperative utility and ecological validity.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• The e-Motions test uses 34 four-second video stimuli featuring dynamic, hyper-realistic avatars generated by AI-based facial motion capture.
• It addresses limitations of previous static and low-resolution social cognition tests by providing ecologically valid, dynamic emotional expressions.
• Triple validation was performed in normative, schizophrenia, and ASD groups, confirming its broad applicability.
• The tool is adapted to operating room constraints, including short stimulus duration and feasibility during awake brain surgery.
• It enables assessment of multiple social cognition components, including low- and high-level mentalizing, social perception, and emotion regulation.

Clinical Implications

The e-Motions test offers neurosurgeons a practical and validated method to intraoperatively map social cognition, potentially reducing long-term socio-cognitive deficits after brain tumor surgery. Its ecological validity and adaptability to the operating room environment support its integration into awake surgery protocols, facilitating preservation of patients' social functioning and quality of life.

Conclusion

The e-Motions tool represents a significant advancement in intraoperative social cognition assessment, validated across diverse populations and tailored to neurosurgical constraints. Its implementation may improve functional outcomes by enabling comprehensive mapping and preservation of social cognitive functions during brain surgery.

References

1. Clinical Study 2024 -- e-Motions: A New Intraoperative Assessment Tool for Mapping Social Cognition