title: Alexithymia and regional gray matter alterations in schizophrenia.
abstract: Alexithymia is characterized by deficits in emotional self-awareness. Although alexithymia refers to a deficit in recognizing one's own emotions, some studies have focused on the relation between alexithymia and impaired social cognition. An association between alexithymia and schizophrenia has been previously reported, but the brain structures involved remain unclear. The present study investigated associations between alexithymia and specific brain structures to determine whether these regions overlapped with key structures underlying social cognition. Twenty-one patients with schizophrenia and 24 age-, gender- and education level-matched healthy controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Alexithymia was assessed using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). We applied voxel-based morphometry to investigate the correlation between TAS-20 scores and regional brain alterations. TAS-20 scores were significantly higher in patients than controls. Bilateral ventral striatum and left ventral premotor cortex volumes were negatively correlated with TAS-20 total scores in controls, while left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) volume was negatively correlated with TAS-20 total scores in patients. These results suggest that schizophrenia is associated with alexithymia, and that gray matter alterations of the left SMG constitute a key pathology underlying alexithymia in schizophrenia. This association may be related to deficits in self-other distinction, self-disturbance, and language processing in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirao
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Ryosaku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawada
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasamoto
authors.forename: Nobukatsu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sawamoto
authors.forename: Hidenao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
authors.forename: Hidehiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*