TY - JOUR
T1 - Neural correlates of alexithymia
T2 - A meta-analysis of emotion processing studies
AU - van der Velde, Jorien
AU - Servaas, Michelle N
AU - Goerlich, Katharina S
AU - Bruggeman, Richard
AU - Horton, Paul
AU - Costafreda, Sergi G
AU - Aleman, André
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties in the experience and cognitive processing of emotions. It is considered a risk factor for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Functional neuroimaging studies investigating the neural correlates of alexithymia have reported inconsistent results. To integrate previous findings, we conducted a parametric coordinate-based meta-analysis including fifteen neuroimaging studies on emotion processing in alexithymia. During the processing of negative emotional stimuli, alexithymia was associated with a diminished response of the amygdala, suggesting decreased attention to such stimuli. Negative stimuli additionally elicited decreased activity in supplementary motor and premotor brain areas and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, possibly underlying poor empathic abilities and difficulties in emotion regulation associated with alexithymia. Positive stimuli elicited decreased activation in the right insula and precuneus, suggesting reduced emotional awareness in alexithymia regarding positive affect. Independent of valence, higher (presumably compensatory) activation was found in the dorsal anterior cingulate possibly indicating increased cognitive demand. These results suggest valence-specific as well as valence-independent effects of alexithymia on the neural processing of emotions.
AB - Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties in the experience and cognitive processing of emotions. It is considered a risk factor for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Functional neuroimaging studies investigating the neural correlates of alexithymia have reported inconsistent results. To integrate previous findings, we conducted a parametric coordinate-based meta-analysis including fifteen neuroimaging studies on emotion processing in alexithymia. During the processing of negative emotional stimuli, alexithymia was associated with a diminished response of the amygdala, suggesting decreased attention to such stimuli. Negative stimuli additionally elicited decreased activity in supplementary motor and premotor brain areas and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, possibly underlying poor empathic abilities and difficulties in emotion regulation associated with alexithymia. Positive stimuli elicited decreased activation in the right insula and precuneus, suggesting reduced emotional awareness in alexithymia regarding positive affect. Independent of valence, higher (presumably compensatory) activation was found in the dorsal anterior cingulate possibly indicating increased cognitive demand. These results suggest valence-specific as well as valence-independent effects of alexithymia on the neural processing of emotions.
U2 - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.07.008
DO - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.07.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 23886515
SN - 0149-7634
VL - 37
SP - 1774
EP - 1785
JO - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
JF - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
IS - 8
ER -