Differential modulation of valence and arousal in high-alexithymic and low-alexithymic individualsHeinzel, Alexandera; Schäfer, Ralfb; Müller, Hans-Wilhelma; Schieffer, Andrea; Ingenhag, Arianea; Northoff, Georgc; Franz, Matthiasb; Hautzel, HubertusaNeuroReport: October 27th, 2010 - Volume 21 - Issue 15 - p 998-1002 doi: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e32833f38e0 MOTIVATION, EMOTION, FEEDING,DRINKING Buy Abstract Author InformationAuthors Article MetricsMetrics High-alexithymic individuals are characterized by an impaired ability to identify and communicate emotions whereas low-alexithymic individuals have a wide-ranging ability to deal with emotions. This study examined the hypothesis that valence and arousal modifications of emotional stimuli differentially modulate cortical regions in high-alexithymic and low-alexithymic individuals. To this end, 28 high-alexithymic and 25 low-alexithymic individuals were investigated with event-related fMRI using visual emotional stimuli. We found differential neural activations in the dorsal anterior cingulate, the insula and the amygdala. We suggest that these differences may account for the impaired ability of high-alexithymic individuals to appropriately handle emotional stimuli. aDepartment of Nuclear Medicine bClinical Institute of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Düsseldorf, Germany cCanada Research Chair in Neuropsychiatry, Ottawa University, Canada Correspondence to Dr Alexander Heinzel, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Düsseldorf at Forschungszentrum Jülich, D- 52425 Jülich, Germany Tel: +49 2461 6347; fax: +49 2461 618044; e-mail: a.heinzel@fz-juelich.de Received 6 August 2010 accepted 9 August 2010 © 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
