Alexithymia and Addiction: A Review and Preliminary Data Suggesting Neurobiological Links to Reward/Loss Processing.
Alexithymia, characterized by impairments in emotional awareness, is common among individuals with substance use disorders. Research on alexithymia suggests that it is a trait that may contribute to substance dependence. This paper will review alexithymia as it relates to substance use and substance use disorders, considering its potential role in the maintenance and treatment of these disorders. We will then describe how neural correlates associated with alexithymia may shed light on how alexithymia relates to addiction. Finally, we present preliminary fMRI data that examines how alexithymia may relate to the neurobiological correlates of reward/loss processing in individuals with cocaine dependence. While preliminary, these findings suggest a role of alexithymia in reward anticipation in cocaine-dependent individuals.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Kristen P
KP
Morie
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; CASAColumbia, New York, NY, USA.
Sarah W
SW
Yip
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Charla
C
Nich
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Karen
K
Hunkele
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Kathleen M
KM
Carroll
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; CASAColumbia, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
Marc N
MN
Potenza
Addiction; Alexithymia; Emotion; Reward processing; Substance abuse; fMRI
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