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Psychometric and FMRI Studies
a Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A SAS, Canada b Department of Psychiatry, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A SAS, Canada c Department of Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A SAS, Canada
Key Words: alexithymia • posttraumatic stress disorder • dissociation • child abuse • child neglect • fMRI
Address for correspondence: Ruth A. Lanius, M.D., Ph.D., London Health Sciences Centre, 339 Windermere Road, PO Box 5339, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5A5. Voice: 519-663-3306; fax: 519-663-3935. e-mail: ruth.lanius{at}lhsc.on.ca
Two studies examined correlates of alexithymia in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In study 1 (n = 77 individuals with PTSD and 45 controls) Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) scores were positively correlated with PTSD symptoms, dissociation, and childhood abuse and neglect. In study 2, TAS-20 scores were examined as correlates of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to trauma script imagery. In 16 controls, TAS-20 scores correlated positively with response in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and negatively with response in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus. In 26 individuals with PTSD, TAS-20 scores correlated positively with response in insula, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and thalamus, and negatively with response in ACC.
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