title: Alexithymia: the story of a survivor of childhood traumatic brain injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Affective abnormalities resulting from traumatic brain injuries can pose major threats to the long-term outcomes of neurorehabilitation, especially when they have gone unattended in the process of rehabilitation. This study reports a case of a 46-year-old woman who survived a severe traumatic brain injury to the right occipital cortex (BA18/19) at the age of 10. While her cognitive recovery was remarkable, she has been living with a significant affective disturbance: difficulty with feeling others' feelings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neuropsychological tests and self-reported questionnaires capturing the patient's neuropsychological profile, social cognitive abilities, emotional responses, affective awareness and visual imager were administered to the patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While cognitive functioning beside attention has recovered well, findings clearly indicate that she is indeed suffering from a high level of alexithymia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is speculated that the alexithymia observed may relate to the damage to the visual cortex, which is an important neural substrate for visual imagery and/or damage to the bottom-up stimulus-driven attention system in the right hemisphere. This case exemplified a possible organic basis of social affective disturbance, which may be overlooked in the process of neurorehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Nerissa S P
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Tatia M C
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017668:Age of Onset; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology*