Effect of impaired recognition and expression of emotions on frontocingulate cortices: An fMRI study of men with alexithymia
AJP. 2002-06-01; 159(6): 961-967
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.961
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1. Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Jun;159(6):961-7. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.961.
Effect of impaired recognition and expression of emotions on frontocingulate
cortices: an fMRI study of men with alexithymia.
Berthoz S(1), Artiges E, Van De Moortele PF, Poline JB, Rouquette S, Consoli SM,
Martinot JL.
Author information:
(1)Equipe de Recherche ERM 0205, Imagerie Cérébrale en Psychiatrie, Institut
National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Service Hospitalier Frédéric
Joliot-Commissariat á l’Energie Atomique, Orsay, France.
OBJECTIVE: Although the brain areas involved in emotional response and in the
recognition of others’ emotions have been reported, the neural bases of
individual differences in affective style remain to be elucidated. Alexithymia,
i.e., impairment of the ability to identify and communicate one’s emotional
state, influences how emotions are regulated. Alexithymia has been hypothesized
to involve anterior cingulate dysfunction. Therefore, the authors searched for
differential cerebral regional activation in response to emotional stimuli in
subjects with alexithymia.
METHOD: Two groups of eight men each were selected from 437 healthy subjects on
the basis of high or low scores on the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Using
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the authors compared the two
groups for their regional cerebral activation in response to the presentation of
pictures with validated positive or negative arousal capabilities.
RESULTS: Men with alexithymia demonstrated less cerebral activation in the left
mediofrontal-paracingulate cortex in response to highly negative stimuli and
more activation in the anterior cingulate, mediofrontal cortex, and middle
frontal gyrus in response to highly positive stimuli than men without
alexithymia.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide direct evidence that alexithymia, a
personality trait playing a role in affect regulation, is linked with
differences in anterior cingulate and mediofrontal activity during emotional
stimuli processing.
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.961
PMID: 12042184 [Indexed for MEDLINE]