Alexithymia and Impairment of Decoding Positive Affect: An fMRI Study

Abstract

Previous research has implicated alexithymia as a psychological impairment to accurately decode emotional messages. This study attempted to explore potential neurological reasons for this impairment. Using functional brain imaging procedures, an experimental design was undertaken to assess group differences between individuals high and low in alexithymia on brain activation while viewing images of individuals displaying neutral or positive affect. While controlling for activation due to neutral affect images, results showed less activation for alexithymic versus nonalexithymic individuals due to positive affect images in several areas of the brain, including the amygdala and the hippocampus. Several implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Do alexithymia and negative affect predict poor sleep quality? The moderating role of interoceptive sensibility

“…Given the high emphasis on emotion regulation in the case of alexithymia, the difficulty in recognizing negative emotions in alexithymia is strongly embedded in its conceptualization, although this has not been directly referred to in previous literature [ 13 ]. However, relatively little is known about positive emotions, although an association between alexithymia and positive affect-related deficiencies has been found [ 59 , 60 ]. In light of our findings on the differences between IS groups and the relationship between PA, NA, and TAS, the difficulty in recognizing positive emotions in alexithymia is worthy of more attention.…”

Alexithymia, Assertiveness and Psychosocial Functioning in HIV: Implications for Medication Adherence and Disease Severity

“…Recently, it has been suggested that the AL construct be re-conceptualized as a form of affective agnosia, wherein the difficulty observed identifying and communicating feelings may actually reflect paucity in the mental representation of emotions by virtue of a deficit in cognitive awareness [131]. Neuroimaging studies have uncovered paucity in cortical activations associated with the decoding of affect in persons with higher levels of AL [132][133][134][135]. Because altered activity and volumetric reductions within brain structures associated with AL, such as anterior cingulate, are also observed in persons living with HIV [136] including those demonstrating an emotion recognition impairment [137] and patients with high negative affect [138], therapies that target cognitive and emotional functioning will are needed.…”