Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. Molecular genetic research into alexithymia remains minimal, but promising candidates have been identified from studies examining connections between certain genes and alexithymia among those with psychiatric conditions as well as the general population. It can take time to receive the right diagnosis. These studies indicate the importance of intact emotional awareness for making adaptive value-based decisions. There's a possibility it may be genetic. pathological gambling and excessive mobile phone and internet use (Elmas et al., 2016; Schimmenti et al., 2017; Gao et al., 2018) and substance addiction (Stasiewicz et al., 2012; Betka et al., 2018). Dagegen sind die „Fische" durch eine Alexithymie gekennzeichnet, . [107] This treatment is relational, and it focuses on gaining a better understanding and use of mentalising skills. The condition may also be a result of brain damage to the insula. Verstärken Groupies die Macht oder den Narzissmus von Musikstars? Mosaic EY. In contrast, several studies have provided evidence that adverse childhood experiences and associated emotional trauma–which increase risk for anxiety and mood disorders (Deng et al., 2006; Sareen et al., 2013)–are associated with increased levels of alexithymia that continue into adulthood (Kench and Irwin, 2000; Kooiman et al., 2004; Bermond et al., 2008; Aust et al., 2013). The association between alexithymia as assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and depression: A meta-analysis, The role of language in emotion: existing evidence and future directions, Lindquist KA, Wager TD, Kober H, Bliss-Moreau E, Barrett LF (2012), The brain basis of emotion: A meta-analytic review, Understanding of emotional experience in autism: Insights from the personal accounts of high-functioning children with autism, An Evaluation of the Absolute and Relative Stability of Alexithymia in Patients with Major Depression, Alexithymia and negative emotional conditions, Maisel ME, Stephenson KG, South M, Rodgers J, Freeston MH, Gaigg SB (2016), Modeling the cognitive mechanisms linking autism symptoms and anxiety in adults, Marchesi C, Brusamonti E, Maggini C (2000). Several studies have found impaired emotion regulation abilities in individuals with elevated alexithymia (Barrett et al., 2001; Swart et al., 2009). Further complicating the picture, it has also been suggested that these modules themselves can change between positive/negative affective modes depending on their inputs (Berridge, 2019). heartbeat tracking) have reliably evoked activation in the aINS. Careers, Unable to load your collection due to an error. Correspondingly, alexithymia has been found to have a negative impact on outcomes of therapy for anxiety and mood disorders (Kosten et al., 1992; Leweke et al., 2009; Ogrodniczuk et al., 2011). Structural imaging findings have been less consistent for ACC, with some studies finding increased (Gündel et al., 2004; Goerlich-Dobre et al., 2015) and others finding decreased (van der Velde et al., 2014) pregenual and supragenual ACC volumes in patients with high alexithymia. [2][3][4] It is associated with difficulties in attachment theory and interpersonal relations. Alexithymia, not autism, is associated with impaired interoception. nalisieren und zu einem Standardmeßverfahren zu gelangen. As a result, total reliance on self-report measures limits our ability to gain insight into the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying emotional awareness and its disruption in alexithymia. [26], Traditionally, alexithymia has been conceptually defined by four components:[27], However, there is no consensus on the definition of alexithymia. Here's what you need to know, including how to identify symptoms and plan for treatment. In: The Amygdala: Neurobiological Aspects of Emotion, Memory, and Mental Dysfunction, Expression without recognition: Contributions of the human amygdala to emotional communication, Ang Y-S, Lockwood PL, Kienast A, Plant O, Drew D, Slavkova E, Tamm M, Husain M (2018), Differential impact of behavioral, social, and emotional apathy on Parkinson’s disease, Assogna F, Cravello L, Orfei MD, Cellupica N, Caltagirone C, Spalletta G (2016), Alexithymia in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review of the literature, Aust S, Härtwig EA, Heuser I, Bajbouj M (2013), The role of early emotional neglect in alexithymia, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Averbeck BB, Djamshidian A, O’Sullivan SS, Housden CR, Roiser JP, Lees AJ (2013), Uncertainty about mapping future actions into rewards may underlie performance on multiple measures of impulsivity in behavioral addiction: Evidence from Parkinson’s disease, Toronto Alexithymia Scale: Relationship with Personality and Psychopathology Measures, The twenty-item Toronto alexithymia scale--I. Furthermore, difficulties with emotion regulation that are associated with alexithymia appear to be associated with increased rates of addictive behaviors, e.g. Alexithymia was first described in patients seeking treatment for psychosomatic symptoms. Alexithymia isn’t widely known, but this condition has been studied for more than four decades. © 2023 Healthline Media LLC. In: A handbook of general experimental psychology, The Empathy Quotient: An Investigation of Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and Normal Sex Differences, The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization, Barrett LF, Gross J, Christensen TC, Benvenuto M (2001), Knowing what you’re feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation, The valuation system: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of BOLD fMRI experiments examining neural correlates of subjective value, Bauernfeind AL, de Sousa AA, Avasthi T, Dobson SD, Raghanti MA, Lewandowski AH, Zilles K, Semendeferi K, Allman JM, Craig AD (Bud), Hof PR, Sherwood CC (2013), A volumetric comparison of the insular cortex and its subregions in primates, Characterization of the decision-making deficit of patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions, Bellebaum C, Koch B, Schwarz M, Daum I (2008), Focal basal ganglia lesions are associated with impairments in reward-based reversal learning, Insular cortex: Functional complexity and clinical correlations, Culture and Alexithymia : Mean Levels, Correlates, and the Role of Parental Socialization of Emotions, Bermond B, Moormann PP, Albach F, van Dijke A (2008), Impact of Severe Childhood Sexual Abuse on the Development of Alexithymia in Adulthood, Bernhardt BC, Valk SL, Silani G, Bird G, Frith U, Singer T (2014), Selective Disruption of Sociocognitive Structural Brain Networks in Autism and Alexithymia. Unter Psychologen gilt Narzissmus als ein Persönlichkeitsmerkmal, das in der Bevölkerung ähnlich wie Körpergröße oder Intelligenz normalverteilt ist. Die meisten Menschen liegen im Mittelfeld, extrem hohe und extrem niedrige Ausprägungen kommen selten vor. Silani et al., 2008; Bird et al., 2010). First, we review the transdiagnostic1 presence of alexithymia across affective, developmental, and neurological disorders, and – by extension – argue for the functional importance of emotional awareness for shaping adaptive functioning. The majority of experimental paradigms in human affective science have focused on subcortical and autonomic reactivity to emotional stimuli and fewer studies have been conducted that attempt to better understand the biology and function of conscious feelings. This line of work has led to the suggestion that aINS has a necessary role in integrating ascending visceral sensory data to generate interoceptive awareness, while pACC is critical for coordinating appropriate motor and non-motor responses to interoceptive events and plays a role in the formation and regulation of interoceptive experience (Medford and Critchley, 2010). The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the In humans, meta-analytic functional neuroimaging evidence suggests that stimulus value is encoded in vmPFC during decision making (Bartra et al., 2013; Clithero and Rangel, 2014) and evidence from patients with focal lesions suggests that damage to this circuit causes patients to make pathological value-based decisions (Bechara et al., 2000; Hogeveen et al., 2017; Reber et al., 2017). (2018). 2.Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. Background: Alexithymia is a multifaceted personality construct defined by marked difficulties in identifying and describing feelings and in externally oriented thinking. Alexithymia isn’t well understood. PD–a neurodegenerative disorder associated with profound loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (Dickson, 2012)–was originally characterized by a cluster of motor symptoms, but more recently there has been a surge in research directed at understanding the range of social and emotional impairments that progress over the course of PD. Similarly, recognition of fearful facial expressions, or the experience of fear in response to negatively valenced visual stimuli, are both disrupted in Urbach-Wiethe Disease (UWD) patients with bilateral amygdala lesions (Adolphs, 2008; Feinstein et al., 2011). Effects of comprehensive nursing intervention based on self-disclosure on improving alexithymia in elder patients with coronary heart disease. The parent's emotional state is important for determining how any child might develop. We avoid using tertiary references. Introduction. Benutzt werden auch die Bezeichnungen Gefühlskälte, seltener Gefühlslegasthenie oder in der internationalen Literatur Alexithymia.. Der Begriff wurde 1973 von den US-amerikanischen Psychiatern John Case Nemiah (1918-2009) und Peter Emanuel Sifneos (1920-2008) geprägt. via a motor vehicle accident or contact sports injury–is the most common form of brain injury and the most well-studied with respect to acquired alexithymia. [5], The term alexithymia was introduced by psychotherapists John Case Nemiah and Peter Sifneos in 1973 to describe a particular psychological phenomenon. Sie haben beispielsweise Herzkrankheiten oder chronische Kopf-, Rücken oder Magenschmerzen. A study recruiting a test population of Japanese males found higher scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale among those with the 5-HTTLPR homozygous long (L) allele. Neglect or indifference to varying changes in a child's facial expressions without proper feedback can promote an invalidation of the facial expressions manifested by the child. All rights reserved. Lane RD, Weihs KL, Herring A, Hishaw A, Smith R. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. "[15] This label reflects the difficulty experienced by individuals with this condition in recognizing, expressing, and articulating their emotional experiences. Taylor GJ & Taylor HS (1997). [59] This latter study suggested that when treating adult PTSD patients who are parents, alexithymia should be assessed and addressed also with attention to the parent-child relationship and the child's social-emotional development. [96] Inadequate "differentiation" between self and others by alexithymic individuals has also been observed. Multiple theoretical models of the alexithymia construct exist (Preece et al., 2017) but here we focus on the dominant Toronto model wherein alexithymia can be subdivided into an externally-oriented cognitive style (i.e., a tendency to focus on superficial information and avoid internal, affect-related thought), difficulty identifying feelings (i.e., diminished emotional awareness), and difficulty describing feelings (i.e., impaired expression of emotions through words; Bagby et al., 1994a). [90] Another study examining the 5-HT1A receptor, a receptor that binds serotonin, found higher levels of alexithymia among those with the G allele of the Rs6295 polymorphism within the HTR1A gene. Structure and function of the human insula. [28][29][30] In empirical research, it is often observed that constricted imaginal processes, defined as a lack of spontaneous imagining, when measured, do not statistically correlate with the other components of alexithymia. [13][14][15] Its etymology comes from Ancient Greek. However, some scholars find twin studies and the entire field of behavior genetics to be controversial. The current chapter focuses on alexithymia, a construct that provides a unique opportunity to better understand the neural mechanisms and functions of emotional awareness and expression. It’s not officially recognized by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). At the same time, some research indicates that up to half of people with autism also experience alexithymia. In 2017, based on their attention-appraisal model of alexithymia, Preece and colleagues recommended that alexithymia treatment should target trying to improve the developmental level of people's emotion schemas and reduce people's use of experiential avoidance of emotions as an emotion regulation strategy (i.e., the mechanisms hypothesized to underlie alexithymia difficulties in the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia).[4][29]. individuals with intellectual disability). Mentalisation is the ability to understand the mental state of oneself or others that underlies overt behavior, and mentalisation-based treatment helps patients separate their own thoughts and feelings from those around them. National Library of Medicine Ricciardi L, et al. Learning how to identify these emotions and work with them (not against them) can help you lead a more fulfilling life. Im Fachbuch „Alexithymie: Eine Störung der Affektregulation" vermitteln Experten die wissenschaftliche Entwicklung des Alexithymiekonstrukts, dessen psychometrische Erfassung, die entwicklungspsychologischen Hintergründe der Affektdifferenzierung und die pathopsychologischen Prozesse, die zu einem Störungsbild im Sinne der Alexithymie führen. Warum soll „anders sein" immer ein Makel sein, nein . Another approach for moving beyond pure reliance on self-report in the field is to quantify the magnitude of the correlation between subjective and objective assays. Nonmedical terminology, such as "emotionless" and "impassive," has also been employed to describe similar states. [65][95], Alexithymia can create interpersonal problems because these individuals tend to avoid emotionally close relationships, or if they do form relationships with others they usually position themselves as either dependent, dominant, or impersonal, "such that the relationship remains superficial". Accessibility In 2018, Löf, Clinton, Kaldo, and Rydén found that mentalisation-based treatment is also an effective method for treating alexithymia. In M. McCallum & W.E. Next, we will summarize extant evidence on the neural substrates of alexithymia and related constructs, summarizing how this work can provide insight into the neurobiology of emotional awareness. Fragliche Validität von Selbstbeurteilungsverfahren zur Erfassung von Alexithymie : Die Toronto-Alexithymie- Skalen Die weite Verbreitung und häufige Nutzung der Toronto-Alexithymie Skalen ist in ihrem geringen Aufwand begründet. Unfähigkeit einer Person, ihre Gefühle wahrzunehmen und zu beschreiben. Research also indicates that this condition may be present in certain neurological diseases and injuries. Steklis HD, Lane RD (2013) The Unique Human Capacity for Emotional Awareness: Psychological, Neuroanatomical, Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives. individuals who experience parental neglect in childhood may have diminished social learning of emotion categories), and reduced emotional metacognition (e.g., individuals with an externally-oriented cognitive style may conceptually understand emotions, but may ignore the presence of their own emotional states and focus more on external events; Smith et al., 2019). [102] Individuals high on the alexithymia spectrum also report less distress at seeing others in pain and behave less altruistically toward others. "[96], Chaotic interpersonal relations have also been observed by Sifneos. Is Alexithymia Associated with Specific Mental Disorders? Predicting depression and anxiety of Chinese population during COVID-19 in psychological evaluation data by XGBoost. Given the diffuse nature of the brain injury of cTBI, these studies have not enabled the identification of candidate brain regions or circuits that–if damaged–might cause acquired alexithymia symptoms. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Die Strategie der Neu- As a result, the prevalence of affective disorders is increased in this population (Lumley, 2000; Honkalampi et al., 2018). Alexithymia and depression: Distinct or overlapping constructs? The development of adaptive regulation strategies for modulating the trajectory of ongoing emotions is central to many treatments for emotional disorders (Campbell-Sills and Barlow, 2007). Narzissmus (Krankheitsbild): Narzisstische Persönlichkeitsstörung. These include: As a condition marked by lack of feelings, it can be difficult to recognize the symptoms of alexithymia. Accessibility Affective valence in the brain: modules or modes? The symptoms of autism spectrum disorder are wide-ranging, but there are still some stereotypes associated with this condition. Notice whether your heart rate goes up in certain situations, and explore the possibilities of why this could be. For example, when presenting a visual stimulus selectively to the left hemifield, split-brain patients verbally reported that they did not see the stimulus, despite an intact ability to perform other types of manual or nonverbal responses that demonstrated that the stimulus had in fact been seen (Sperry et al., 1969). HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. 2016 Aug;81:215-20. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.03.021. Trauma and neglect at this stage may cause changes in the brain that can make it difficult to feel and identify emotions later in life. Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. But we've got some tips to make the process of picking up the pieces a little easier. Keywords: However, this does not mean that everyone with these conditions has problems expressing with and identifying emotions. People who do have alexithymia may describe themselves as having difficulties with expressing emotions that are deemed socially appropriate, such as happiness on a joyous occasion. [49], Alexithymia frequently co-occurs with other disorders. [89] Based on this fact McDougall proposed in 1985 that the alexithymic part of an adult personality could be "an extremely arrested and infantile psychic structure". One possible mechanism by which aINS and pACC aberrations drive alexithymia is via impaired ‘interoceptive awareness.’ Functional neuroimaging tasks designed to probe interoceptive awareness (e.g. The disruptive impact of alexithymia on emotional empathy in cTBI has been replicated by an independent group (Neumann et al., 2014).