Alexithymia influences brain activation during emotion perception but not regulation.
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.
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 jorien.van.der.velde@umcg.nl.
Jorien
J
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
PM
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
M
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
D
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
L
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
R
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
L
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 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
A
Aleman
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D059906:Neuroimaging; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
alexithymia; amygdala; emotion processing; emotion regulation; neuroimaging