Interhemispheric transfer deficit in alexithymia: an experimental study.

OBJECTIVE

Previous research has demonstrated an association between alexithymia and a deficit in interhemispheric communication in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this association in a nonclinical sample.

METHODS

The efficiency of interhemispheric transfer was assessed in 14 alexithymic and 15 nonalexithymic right-handed, male, undergraduate university students using a tactile finger localization task.

RESULTS

The nonalexithymic subjects were significantly more efficient at transferring information between the cerebral hemispheres than the alexithymic subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

This finding provides further evidence of an interhemispheric transfer deficit in alexithymia and suggests that an alexithymic cognitive style reflects poor integration of the information processing of the two cerebral hemispheres.