Department of Behavioral Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Neuropsychobiology. 2012;65(2):76-82. doi: 10.1159/000329554. Epub 2012 Jan 5.
Recent neurobiological studies have reported that alexithymia may result from altered brain function related to emotional processing. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) has been shown to regulate central nervous system development associated with psychological processing. We investigated the possibility that polymorphism of the 5-HT transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with alexithymia.
This study included 304 healthy Japanese volunteers (148 males, 156 females). The subjects were categorized according to genotype (L/L, L/S, S/S) and results of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS).
Subjects with the L/L genotype showed significantly higher TAS-20 scores, as well as significantly higher scores on the difficulty identifying feeling (DIF) subscale, than those with the L/S or S/S genotype (p < 0.05). There was a gender difference in the association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and DIF score. Female subjects with the L/L genotype showed significantly higher DIF scores than those with the L/S or S/S genotype (p ≤ 0.001). Neither STAI nor SDS was significantly associated with the 5-HTTLPR genotype.
These results suggest a link between low synaptic 5-HT and alexithymia.
最近的神经生物学研究报告称，述情障碍可能是由于与情绪处理相关的大脑功能改变所致。5-羟色胺（5-羟色胺，5-HT）已被证明可调节与心理处理相关的中枢神经系统发育。我们研究了 5-羟色胺转运体连接启动子区域（5-HTTLPR）多态性与述情障碍之间的关联的可能性。
本研究纳入了 304 名健康的日本志愿者（148 名男性，156 名女性）。根据基因型（L/L、L/S、S/S）和多伦多述情障碍量表（TAS-20）、状态-特质焦虑量表（STAI）和自评抑郁量表（SDS）的 20 项结果对受试者进行分类。
L/L 基因型受试者的 TAS-20 评分显著较高，且在难以识别感觉（DIF）分量表上的评分也显著较高，与 L/S 或 S/S 基因型受试者相比（p < 0.05）。5-HTTLPR 基因型与 DIF 评分之间的关联存在性别差异。L/L 基因型的女性受试者的 DIF 评分显著高于 L/S 或 S/S 基因型的受试者（p ≤ 0.001）。STAI 和 SDS 均与 5-HTTLPR 基因型无显著相关性。
这些结果表明低突触 5-HT 与述情障碍之间存在关联。
