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Brain correlates of alexithymia in eating disorders: A voxel‐based morphometry study
Author(s) -
D'Agata Federico,
Caroppo Paola,
Amianto Federico,
Spalatro Angela,
Caglio Marcella M.,
Bergui Mauro,
Lavagnino Luca,
Righi Dorico,
AbbateDaga Giovanni,
Pinessi Lorenzo,
Mortara Paolo,
Fassino Secondo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/pcn.12318
Subject(s) - alexithymia , psychology , voxel based morphometry , toronto alexithymia scale , eating disorders , trait , feeling , clinical psychology , anorexia nervosa , developmental psychology , medicine , white matter , magnetic resonance imaging , social psychology , computer science , radiology , programming language
Aims Alexithymia is a personality trait that consists of difficulty in identifying and acknowledging one's own and others' feelings. Recent studies reported that alexithymia is present in both anorexia ( AN ) and bulimia nervosa ( BN ). Brain morphological studies on healthy subjects showed that alexithymia correlates with several brain regions involved in emotions processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomical correlates of alexithymia in AN and BN . Methods We performed a voxel‐based morphometry study on 21 patients with AN and 18 with BN . Seventeen healthy subjects were used as a control group. Alexithymia, depression and anxiety were assessed with self‐administered questionnaires and correlated to gray matter ( GM ) density in each group. Results In BN , alexithymia was correlated with the GM of the parietal lobe, in particular of the right angular gyrus. The correlation was predominantly linked with Difficulty Describing Feelings. In AN , we did not find correlations between GM and alexithymia. Conclusions In BN , our results support the hypothesis that this trait may represent a relevant pathogenic or maintenance factor that contributes to relational difficulties, present in this pathology. In AN , the lack of correlation between GM volume and alexithymia may be influenced by atrophy in several brain regions that in turn can be, as previously reported, a consequence of caloric restriction. Also, the nature of alexithymia may be different from that of BN and controls and this trait could be secondary to a psychopathologic process specific to AN .