Management of pain through cerebral activation. An experimental analogue of alexithymia

The present experiment was designed to explore the relationship between pain, language and cerebral functioning in normal subjects, as an analogue to alexithymia. Left hemisphere cerebral activation, as measured by an EEG-alpha ratio score, was found to be associated with a reported increase in painful sensation during painful stimulation. Right hemisphere activation was found to be associated with a decrease in reported pain. The results were interpreted in terms of the mobilization of fantasy processes, following experimental instructions, which seem to be mediated by right hemisphere activation. Uninstructed subjects, lacking a stable visualization, utilize a left-hemisphere, verbal mode to cope with the pain. It is suggested that left-hemisphere mobilization, and a lack of right-hemisphere processing of painful stimulation may be in part responsible for the alexithymic patients' psychosomatic symptoms.