Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Department of Neuroscience, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Center for Neuroimaging, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China.
Department of Neuroscience, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 Apr;87:50-55. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.004. Epub 2018 Jan 31.
Alexithymia refers to deficiencies in identifying and expressing emotions. This might be related to changes in structural brain volumes, but its neuroanatomical basis remains uncertain as studies have shown heterogeneous findings. Therefore, we conducted a parametric coordinate-based meta-analysis. We identified seventeen structural neuroimaging studies (including a total of 2586 individuals with different levels of alexithymia) investigating the association between gray matter volume and alexithymia. Volumes of the left insula, left amygdala, orbital frontal cortex and striatum were consistently smaller in people with high levels of alexithymia. These areas are important for emotion perception and emotional experience. Smaller volumes in these areas might lead to deficiencies in appropriately identifying and expressing emotions. These findings provide the first quantitative integration of results pertaining to the structural neuroanatomical basis of alexithymia.
述情障碍是指识别和表达情绪的能力缺陷。这可能与大脑结构体积的变化有关，但由于研究结果存在异质性，其神经解剖学基础仍不确定。因此，我们进行了参数化基于坐标的荟萃分析。我们确定了 17 项结构神经影像学研究（包括 2586 名不同述情障碍水平的个体），这些研究调查了灰质体积与述情障碍之间的关系。在述情障碍水平较高的人群中，左侧脑岛、左侧杏仁核、眶额皮质和纹状体的体积明显较小。这些区域对于情绪感知和情绪体验很重要。这些区域的体积较小可能导致识别和表达情绪的能力缺陷。这些发现提供了关于述情障碍的结构神经解剖学基础的结果的首次定量综合。
