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Telli B, Bilge AR. Literally or prosodically? Recognising emotional discourse in alexithymia. Cogn Emot 2024:1-15. [PMID: 39039748 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2024.2380762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Alexithymia is characterised by difficulties in identifying, recognising, and describing emotions. We studied alexithymia in the context of speech comprehension, specifically investigating the incongruent condition between prosody and the literal meaning of words in emotion-based discourse. In two experiments, participants were categorised as having high or low alexithymia scores based on the TAS-20 scale and listened to three-sentence narratives where the emotional prosody of a key phrase or a keyword was congruent or incongruent with its literal meaning. The incongruent condition resulted in slower reaction times and lower accuracy in recognition of emotions. This incongruence effect was also evident for individuals with high alexithymia, except for anger. They recognised anger as accurately in both congruent and incongruent conditions. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, individuals with high alexithymia did not show an overall difference in emotion recognition compared to the low alexithymia group. These findings highlight the nuanced relationship between emotional prosody and literal meaning, offering insights into how individuals with varying levels of alexithymia process emotional discourse. Understanding these dynamics has implications for both cognitive research and clinical practice, providing valuable perspectives on speech comprehension, especially in situations involving incongruence between prosody and word meaning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - A Reyyan Bilge
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Grigorescu C, Chalah MA, Ayache SS, Palm U. [Alexithymia in Multiple Sclerosis - Narrative Review]. FORTSCHRITTE DER NEUROLOGIE-PSYCHIATRIE 2023; 91:404-413. [PMID: 35948023 DOI: 10.1055/a-1882-6544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Alexithymia is a multidimensional construct of personality implicating difficulties in identifying and describing another's feelings, and externally oriented thinking. It is broadly reported in psychiatric patients but has gained little attention regarding its occurrence and pathophysiology in multiple sclerosis (MS). This narrative review aims to address prevalence, etiology, neurobiological, and clinical findings of alexithymia. The prevalence of alexithymia in MS ranges from 10 to 53%. There seems to be an association with anxiety, depression, fatigue, and some aspects of social cognition, while the relationship with clinical and classical cognitive variables was rarely evaluated. Only a few studies referred to its pathophysiology assuming an aberrant interhemispheric transfer or regional cerebral abnormalities. The prevalence of alexithymia in MS and the potential negative impact on quality of life and interpersonal communication could severely impact clinical MS management and a screnning for these factors should be mandatory. Thus, further evaluation is needed concerning its relationship with clinical, emotional, and cognitive confounders. Large-scale studies employing neuroimaging techniques are needed for a better understanding of the neural underpinnings of this MS feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Grigorescu
- Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Klinikum der Universität München, München
| | - Moussa A Chalah
- EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France
- Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Créteil, France
| | - Samar S Ayache
- EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France
- Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Créteil, France
| | - Ulrich Palm
- Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Klinikum der Universität München, München
- Medical Park Chiemseeblick, Bernau a. Chiemsee
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3
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Laricchiuta D, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Passarello N, Greco F, Piras F, Picerni E, Cutuli D, Marini A, Mandolesi L, Spalletta G, Petrosini L. Only Words Count; the Rest Is Mere Chattering: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Verbal Expression of Emotional Experience. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12080292. [PMID: 36004863 PMCID: PMC9404916 DOI: 10.3390/bs12080292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The analysis of sequences of words and prosody, meter, and rhythm provided in an interview addressing the capacity to identify and describe emotions represents a powerful tool to reveal emotional processing. The ability to express and identify emotions was analyzed by means of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA), and TSIA transcripts were analyzed by Natural Language Processing to shed light on verbal features. The brain correlates of the capacity to translate emotional experience into words were determined through cortical thickness measures. A machine learning methodology proved that individuals with deficits in identifying and describing emotions (n = 7) produced language distortions, frequently used the present tense of auxiliary verbs, and few possessive determiners, as well as scarcely connected the speech, in comparison to individuals without deficits (n = 7). Interestingly, they showed high cortical thickness at left temporal pole and low at isthmus of the right cingulate cortex. Overall, we identified the neuro-linguistic pattern of the expression of emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-065-0170-3077
| | | | | | - Noemi Passarello
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Greco
- Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, 00198 Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
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Samur D, Tops M, Slapšinskaitė R, Koole SL. Getting lost in a story: how narrative engagement emerges from narrative perspective and individual differences in alexithymia. Cogn Emot 2020; 35:576-588. [PMID: 32151217 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1732876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The present research examines how narrative engagement, or the extent to which people immerse themselves into the world of a story, varies as a function of narrative perspective and individual differences in alexithymia. The authors hypothesised that narrative engagement would be higher when people assume a first-person (rather than third-person) perspective and for people lower (rather than higher) on alexithymia. In an online study (N = 541) and a lab study (N = 55), participants with varying levels of alexithymia read first- and/or third-person narrated texts and then rated their narrative engagement. As expected, first-person stories evoked more narrative engagement than third-person stories, and global alexithymia was negatively correlated with narrative engagement. Narrative perspective did not interact with cognitive facets of alexithymia (i.e. difficulties identifying, verbalising, and understanding feelings). However, narrative perspective did interact with affective facets of alexithymia (i.e. emotionalising and fantasising): First-person (rather than third-person) stories elicited more narrative engagement at lower levels of affective alexithymia, but not at higher levels of affective alexithymia. The interaction effect was significant in Study 1; the interaction was significant in Study 2 after controlling for trait absorption. Together, these findings suggest that alexithymia is linked to difficulties in mentally simulating narrative worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalya Samur
- Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Mattie Tops
- Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Sander L Koole
- Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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5
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Martínez-Velázquez ES, Ahuatzin González AL, Chamorro Y, Sequeira H. The Influence of Empathy Trait and Gender on Empathic Responses. A Study With Dynamic Emotional Stimulus and Eye Movement Recordings. Front Psychol 2020; 11:23. [PMID: 32076413 PMCID: PMC7006438 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that empathic process involve several components such as cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and prosocial concern. It has also been reported that gender and empathy trait can influence empathic responses such as emotional recognition, which requires an appropriate scanning of faces. However, the degree to which these factors influence the empathic responses, which include emotion recognition, affective empathy, and cognitive empathy, has not yet been specified. Aim: The aim of the present study was to identify the differences between individuals with high and low level of empathy trait, as well as differences between men and women, in an explicit task in order to evaluate the empathic responses. Methods: With this goal in mind, we recorded eye movements during the presentation of dynamic emotional stimuli (joy, anger, fear, and neutral videos). After watching each video, participants had to rate the valence and arousal dimensions of emotional content and explicit empathy responses were assessed. Thirty participants (15 women) were included in a High Empathy group (HE; mean age = 21.0) and 30 participants (16 women) in the Low Empathy group (LE; mean age = 21.2), according to their scores in the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) scale. Results: As expected, the HE group showed higher scores than the LE group in the explicit empathy responses. These differences, based on global scores, were mainly explained by affective empathy and cognitive empathy responses but not by emotional recognition one. No differences were observed by gender in these measures. Regarding eye movements in the dynamic emotional stimuli, HE group had longer fixation duration on the eyes area than LE group. In addition, women spent more time on the eyes area in comparison to men. Discussion: Our findings suggest that both men and women with high empathy trait are more accurate to empathizing but not on the basis of the emotional recognition response. The fact that women spent more time on the eyes area did not seem to affect the empathic responses to the dynamic emotional stimulus. Overall, empathic responses of both men and women are modulated by their empathic trait. In addition, empathic trait and gender seem to impact strategies to deal with emotional facial information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alma L Ahuatzin González
- Laboratorio de Psicofisiología, Facultad de Psicología, Benemérita Universidad de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Yaira Chamorro
- Laboratorio de Neuropsicología y Neurolingüística, CUCBA, Mexico Institute of Neuroscience, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
| | - Henrique Sequeira
- University of Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France
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6
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Cecchetto C, Rumiati RI, Aiello M. Alexithymia and emotional reactions to odors. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14097. [PMID: 29074970 PMCID: PMC5658372 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14404-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexithymia is a psychological construct characterized by deficits in processing emotional stimuli. However, little is known about the processing of odours in alexithymia, even though there is extensive proof that emotion and olfaction are closely linked. The present study is aimed at investigating how alexithymic individuals process emotions conveyed by odors. Emotional responses to unpleasant, neutral odors and clean air were collected through self-report ratings and psychophysiological measures in a sample of 62 healthy participants with high (HA), medium (MA) and low (LA) levels of alexithymia. Moreover, participants performed tests on odors identification and threshold and completed questionnaires assessing olfactory imagery and awareness. Two main results have been found: first, HA and MA groups showed altered physiological responses to odors, compared to LA, while no differences among the groups were observed in odor ratings; and second, affective and cognitive alexithymia components were differently associated with the performance on olfactory tests, skin conductance response to odors, reaction times in the rating task, and scores on olfactory questionnaires. We conclude that alexithymia is characterized by altered physiological reactions to olfactory stimuli; moreover, we stress the importance of evaluating the different alexithymia components since they affect emotional stimuli processing in different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cinzia Cecchetto
- SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, Neuroscience Area, Via Bonomea, 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy.
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
- BioTechMed, Graz, Austria.
| | - Raffaella Ida Rumiati
- SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, Neuroscience Area, Via Bonomea, 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
- ANVUR - Agenzia Nazionale della Valutazione del Sistema Universitario e della Ricerca, Via Ippolito Nievo, 35 - 00153, Roma, Italy
| | - Marilena Aiello
- SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, Neuroscience Area, Via Bonomea, 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
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7
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Abstract
It is of the utmost importance for an organism to rapidly detect and react to changes in its environment. The oddball paradigm has repeatedly been used to explore the underlying cognitive and neurophysiological components of change detection. It is also used to investigate the special role of emotional content in perception and attention (emotional oddball paradigm; EOP). In this article, the EOP is systematically reviewed. The EOP is, for instance, used as a tool to address questions as to what degree emotional deviant stimuli trigger orientation reactions, which role the emotional context plays in the processing of deviant information, and how the processing of emotional deviant information differs interindividually (including clinical populations). Two main variants with regard to the emotionality of standards and deviants are defined. Most of the identified EOP studies report EEG data but an overview of behavioral data is also provided in this review. We integrate evidence from 99 EOP experiments and shape the EOP's theoretical background under the consideration of other paradigms’ mechanisms and theories.
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8
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Chalah MA, Ayache SS. Alexithymia in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review of literature. Neuropsychologia 2017; 104:31-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Koh MJ, Kang JI, Namkoong K, Lee SY, Kim SJ. Association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met Polymorphism and Alexithymia in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Yonsei Med J 2016; 57:721-7. [PMID: 26996573 PMCID: PMC4800363 DOI: 10.3349/ymj.2016.57.3.721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Revised: 08/06/2015] [Accepted: 08/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Alexithymia, defined as a deficit in the ability to recognize and describe one's own feelings, may be related to the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). MATERIALS AND METHODS We recruited 244 patients with OCD (169 males, 75 females). Alexithymia was assessed using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and genotyping of the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism was evaluated. RESULTS Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher total and "difficulty identifying feelings" (DIF) subdimension scores than those with the Val/Met or Met/Met genotypes. Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher "difficulty describing feelings" (DDF) subdimension scores than those with the COMT Val/Met genotype. However, there were no differences in the scores for the "externally oriented thinking" (EOT) subdimension among the three genotypes. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the high-activity Val allele of the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism is associated with increased alexithymic traits in patients with OCD. The present finding suggests that alexithymia is an endophenotype of OCD that is mediated by the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Jung Koh
- Department of Psychiatry, Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jee In Kang
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Kee Namkoong
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Su Young Lee
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Cheil General Hospital & Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Se Joo Kim
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
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10
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Goerlich-Dobre KS, Votinov M, Habel U, Pripfl J, Lamm C. Neuroanatomical profiles of alexithymia dimensions and subtypes. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3805-18. [PMID: 26094609 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2015] [Revised: 05/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexithymia, a major risk factor for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, has been recognized to comprise two dimensions, a cognitive dimension (difficulties identifying, analyzing, and verbalizing feelings) and an affective one (difficulties emotionalizing and fantasizing). Based on these dimensions, the existence of four distinct alexithymia subtypes has been proposed, but never empirically tested. In this study, 125 participants were assigned to four groups corresponding to the proposed alexithymia subtypes: Type I (impairment on both dimensions), Type II (impairment on the cognitive, but not the affective dimension), Type III (impairment on the affective, but not the cognitive dimension), and Lexithymics (no impairment on either dimension). By means of voxel-based morphometry, associations of the alexithymia dimensions and subtypes with gray and white matter volumes were analyzed. Type I and Type II alexithymia were characterized by gray matter volume reductions in the left amygdala and the thalamus. The cognitive dimension was further linked to volume reductions in the right amygdala, left posterior insula, precuneus, caudate, hippocampus, and parahippocampus. Type III alexithymia was marked by volume reduction in the MCC only, and the affective dimension was further characterized by larger sgACC volume. Moreover, individuals with the intermediate alexithymia Types II and III showed gray matter volume reductions in distinct regions, and had larger corpus callosum volumes compared to Lexithymics. These results substantiate the notion of a differential impact of the cognitive and affective alexithymia dimensions on brain morphology and provide evidence for separable neuroanatomical representations of the different alexithymia subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mikhail Votinov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.,Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.,JARA - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen & Jülich, NorthRhine-Westfalia, Germany
| | - Juergen Pripfl
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Abstract
Maternal interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder (IPV-PTSD) is known to be associated with impairment of a mother's capacity to participate in mutual emotion regulation during her child's first years of life. This study tested the hypothesis that maternal difficulty in identifying feelings in self and other, as an important dimension of the construct of alexithymia, together with maternal IPV-PTSD, would be negatively associated with maternal sensitivity. Maternal sensitivity to child emotional communication is a marker of maternal capacity to engage in mutual regulation of emotion and arousal. Following diagnostic interviews and administration of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, 56 mothers and their toddlers (ages 12-42 months) were filmed during free-play and separation/novelty-exposure. Observed maternal sensitivity was coded via the CARE-Index. Maternal IPV-PTSD severity, difficulty in identifying emotions, and lower socio-economic status were all associated with less maternal sensitivity, and also with more maternal controlling and unresponsive behavior on the CARE-Index.
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12
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Bayot M, Pleyers G, Kotsou I, Lefèvre N, Sauter DA, Vermeulen N. Joint effect of alexithymia and mood on the categorization of nonverbal emotional vocalizations. Psychiatry Res 2014; 216:242-7. [PMID: 24564998 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2013] [Revised: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 12/04/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The role of stable factors, such as alexithymia (i.e., difficulties identifying and expressing feelings, externally oriented cognitive style), or temporary factors, such as affective states (mood), on emotion perception has been widely investigated in the literature. However, little is known about the separate or joint effect of the alexithymia level and affective states (positive affectivity, negative affectivity) on the recognition of nonverbal emotional vocalizations (NEV) (e.g., laughs, cries, or sighs). In this study, participants had to categorize NEV communicating 10 emotions by selecting the correct verbal emotional label. Results show that the level of alexithymia is negatively correlated to the capacity to accurately categorize negative vocalizations, and more particularly sad NEV. On the other hand, negative affectivity appeared negatively correlated with the ability to accurately categorize NEV in general, and negative vocalizations in particular. After splitting the results by the alexithymia level (high vs. low scorers), significant associations between mood and accuracy rates were found in the group of high alexithymia scorers only. These findings support the idea that alexithymic features act across sensory modalities and suggest a mood-interference effect that would be stronger in those individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Bayot
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-F.N.R.S.), Belgium.
| | - Gordy Pleyers
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ilios Kotsou
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Lefèvre
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Louvain School of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences, Voie du Roman Pays 20, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Disa A Sauter
- University of Amsterdam, Department of Social Psychology, Weesperplein 4, 1018 XA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nicolas Vermeulen
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-F.N.R.S.), Belgium.
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13
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Dissociable morphometric profiles of the affective and cognitive dimensions of alexithymia. Cortex 2014; 54:190-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2013] [Revised: 01/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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14
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van der Velde J, Gromann PM, Swart M, Wiersma D, de Haan L, Bruggeman R, Krabbendam L, Aleman A. Alexithymia influences brain activation during emotion perception but not regulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:285-93. [PMID: 24760016 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexithymia is a psychological construct that can be divided into a cognitive and affective dimension. The cognitive dimension is characterized by difficulties in identifying, verbalizing and analysing feelings. The affective dimension comprises reduced levels of emotional experience and imagination. Alexithymia is widely regarded to arise from an impairment of emotion regulation. This is the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to critically evaluate this by investigating the neural correlates of emotion regulation as a function of alexithymia levels. The aim of the current study was to investigate the neural correlates underlying the two alexithymia dimensions during emotion perception and emotion regulation. Using fMRI, we scanned 51 healthy subjects while viewing, reappraising or suppressing negative emotional pictures. The results support the idea that cognitive alexithymia, but not affective alexithymia, is associated with lower activation in emotional attention and recognition networks during emotion perception. However, in contrast with several theories, no alexithymia-related differences were found during emotion regulation (neither reappraisal nor suppression). These findings suggest that alexithymia may result from an early emotion processing deficit rather than compromised frontal circuits subserving higher-order emotion regulation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorien van der Velde
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paula M Gromann
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marte Swart
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Durk Wiersma
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lieuwe de Haan
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Richard Bruggeman
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lydia Krabbendam
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - André Aleman
- Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands Neuroimaging Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Lentis, Center for Mental Healthcare, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry & Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
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Delle-Vigne D, Kornreich C, Verbanck P, Campanella S. Subclinical alexithymia modulates early audio-visual perceptive and attentional event-related potentials. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:106. [PMID: 24624070 PMCID: PMC3939621 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Accepted: 02/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Previous studies have highlighted the advantage of using audio-visual oddball tasks (instead of unimodal ones) in order to electrophysiologically index subclinical behavioral differences. Since alexithymia is highly prevalent in the general population, we investigated whether the use of various bimodal tasks could elicit emotional effects in low- vs. high-alexithymic scorers. METHODS Fifty students (33 females and 17 males) were split into groups based on low and high scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). During event-related potential (ERP) recordings, they were exposed to three kinds of audio-visual oddball tasks: neutral-AVN-(geometrical forms and bips), animal-AVA-(dog and cock with their respective shouts), or emotional-AVE-(faces and voices) stimuli. In each condition, participants were asked to quickly detect deviant events occurring amongst a train of repeated and frequent matching stimuli (e.g., push a button when a sad face-voice pair appeared amongst a train of neutral face-voice pairs). P100, N100, and P300 components were analyzed: P100 refers to visual perceptive and attentional processing, N100 to auditory ones, and the P300 relates to response-related stages, involving memory processes. RESULTS High-alexithymic scorers presented a particular pattern of results when processing the emotional stimulations, reflected in early ERP components by increased P100 and N100 amplitudes in the emotional oddball tasks [P100: F (2, 48) = 20,319, p < 0.001; N100: F (2, 96) = 8,807, p = 0.001] as compared to the animal or neutral ones. Indeed, regarding the P100, subjects exhibited a higher amplitude in the AVE condition (8.717 μV), which was significantly different from that observed during the AVN condition (4.382 μV, p < 0.001). For the N100, the highest amplitude was found in the AVE condition (-4.035 μV) and the lowest was observed in the AVN condition (-2.687 μV, p = 0.003). However, no effect was found on the later P300 component. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that high-alexithymic scorers require heightened early attentional resources in comparison to low scorers, particularly when confronted with emotional bimodal stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Salvatore Campanella
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Médicale et d'Addictologie, ULB Neuroscience Institute, CHU Brugmann-Université Libre de BruxellesBrussels, Belgium
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Goerlich-Dobre KS, Bruce L, Martens S, Aleman A, Hooker CI. Distinct associations of insula and cingulate volume with the cognitive and affective dimensions of alexithymia. Neuropsychologia 2014; 53:284-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2013] [Revised: 11/16/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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van der Velde J, Servaas MN, Goerlich KS, Bruggeman R, Horton P, Costafreda SG, Aleman A. Neural correlates of alexithymia: A meta-analysis of emotion processing studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:1774-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2013] [Revised: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Goerlich-Dobre KS, Witteman J, Schiller NO, van Heuven VJP, Aleman A, Martens S. Blunted feelings: alexithymia is associated with a diminished neural response to speech prosody. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:1108-17. [PMID: 23681887 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
How we perceive emotional signals from our environment depends on our personality. Alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation has been linked to aberrant brain activity for visual emotional processing. Whether alexithymia also affects the brain's perception of emotional speech prosody is currently unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the impact of alexithymia on hemodynamic activity of three a priori regions of the prosody network: the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the inferior frontal gyrus and the amygdala. Twenty-two subjects performed an explicit task (emotional prosody categorization) and an implicit task (metrical stress evaluation) on the same prosodic stimuli. Irrespective of task, alexithymia was associated with a blunted response of the right STG and the bilateral amygdalae to angry, surprised and neutral prosody. Individuals with difficulty describing feelings deactivated the left STG and the bilateral amygdalae to a lesser extent in response to angry compared with neutral prosody, suggesting that they perceived angry prosody as relatively more salient than neutral prosody. In conclusion, alexithymia may be associated with a generally blunted neural response to speech prosody. Such restricted prosodic processing may contribute to problems in social communication associated with this personality trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Sophia Goerlich-Dobre
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsNeuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jurriaan Witteman
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsNeuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Niels O Schiller
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsNeuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent J P van Heuven
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsNeuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - André Aleman
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsNeuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sander Martens
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, LUCL Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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