Alexithymia is related to differences in gray matter volume: A voxel-based morphometry study
Alexithymia is related to differences in gray matter volume: A voxel-based morphometry study
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DOI：
10.1016/j.brainres.2012.10.044
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发表时间：
2013-01-23
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Suslow, Thomas
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ihme, Klas;Dannlowski, Udo;Suslow, Thomas
目的：述情障碍的特征是无法识别和描述感觉。功能成像研究表明，述情障碍与大脑中与情绪和面部处理相关区域的反应性变化有关。在这方面，前扣带皮层（ACC），杏仁核，前岛和梭状回（FFG）已被一致报道。然而，述情障碍是否也与结构差异有关仍有待澄清。方法：采用基于体素形态学的t1加权磁共振成像技术，对161名健康志愿者中使用20项多伦多述情量表（Toronto alexithmia Scale）的17名高述情者（HA）和17名性别匹配的低述情者（LA）的脑灰质体积进行研究。将数据作为统计参数图进行分析，比较LA>HA和HA>LA在先验确定的兴趣区（roi），即ACC、杏仁核、前岛和FFG中的差异。此外，还完成了探索性全脑分析。结果：对比LA>HA，在ACC、左杏仁核和左岛前部可见明显的簇状物。此外，全脑分析显示了左颞中回的体积差异。HA与LA比较无显著差异。结论：我们的研究结果表明，与低述情能力相比，高述情能力的人在几个与情绪相关的大脑区域显示出更少的灰质体积。这些结构上的差异可能有助于先前在述情障碍影像学研究中发现的功能改变。(C) 2012 Elsevier B.V.版权所有
Objective: Alexithymia has been characterized as the inability to identify and describe feelings. Functional imaging studies have revealed that alexithymia is linked to reactivity changes in emotion- and face-processing-relevant brain areas. In this respect, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala, anterior insula and fusiform gyrus (FFG) have been consistently reported. However, it remains to be clarified whether alexithymia is also associated with structural differences. Methods: Voxel-based morphometry on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images was used to investigate gray matter volume in 17 high alexithymics (HA) and 17 gender-matched low alexithymics (LA), which were selected from a sample of 161 healthy volunteers on basis of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Data were analyzed as statistic parametric maps for the comparisons LA>HA and HA>LA in a priori determined regions of interests (ROIs), i.e., ACC, amygdala, anterior insula and FFG. Moreover, an exploratory whole brain analysis was accomplished. Results: For the contrast LA>HA, significant clusters were detected in the ACC, left amygdala and left anterior insula. Additionally, the whole brain analysis revealed volume differences in the left middle temporal gyrus. No significant differences were found for the comparison HA>LA. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that high compared to low alexithymics show less gray matter volume in several emotion-relevant brain areas. These structural differences might contribute to the functional alterations found in previous imaging studies in alexithymia. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.