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Interhemispheric transfer in alexithymia: a transcallosal inhibition study.

Hans Joergen Grabe1, Bertram Möller, Carsten Willert

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald/Stralsund, Germany. grabeh@uni-greifswald.de

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
|February 10, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Alexithymia in males, not females, shows facilitated interhemispheric communication via the corpus callosum (CC). This finding contrasts with the expected transfer deficit, suggesting enhanced cortical inhibition may be a neurobiological correlate.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing emotions.
  • Previous hypotheses suggested alexithymia might be linked to impaired interhemispheric communication through the corpus callosum (CC).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between alexithymia and interhemispheric transfer deficits via the corpus callosum (CC).
  • To examine gender differences in this potential association.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the transcallosal inhibition paradigm with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyographic recordings.
  • Assessed interhemispheric transfer by measuring transcallosal conduction time (TCT) in individuals with high (alexithymic) and low (control) scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20).

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  • Recruited 20 participants (10 male, 10 female) categorized as either alexithymic or control based on TAS-20 scores.

    • Main Results:

    • A significant interaction between gender and alexithymia was observed, indicating gender-specific effects.
    • Alexithymic males exhibited significantly shorter bidirectional TCTs compared to control males, suggesting facilitated interhemispheric transfer.
    • No significant differences in TCT were found between alexithymic females and control females.

    Conclusions:

    • The study's findings contradict the hypothesis of an interhemispheric transfer deficit in alexithymia.
    • Facilitated bidirectional transcallosal inhibition was associated with alexithymia in males.
    • Enhanced cortical inhibition may represent a neurobiological correlate of alexithymia, particularly in males.