Alexithymic Trait and Voluntary Control in Healthy Adults |
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| Authors: | Xiaosi Gu Xun Liu Kevin G Guise John Fossella Kai Wang Jin Fan |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.; 2. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.; 3. Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.;James Cook University, Australia |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundAlexithymia is a personality trait characterized by deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions. Recent studies have revealed that alexithymia is associated with less activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region shown to play a role in cognitive and emotional processing. However, few studies have directly investigated the cognitive domain in relation to alexithymia to examine whether alexithymic trait is related to less efficient voluntary control.Methodology/ Principal FindingsWe examined the relationship between alexithymic trait and voluntary control in a group of healthy volunteers. We used the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to measure alexithymic trait. Additionally, we examined state and trait voluntary control using the revised Attention Network Test (ANT-R) and the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ), respectively. Alexithymic trait was positively correlated with the overall reaction time of the ANT-R, and negatively correlated with the Effortful Control factor of the ATQ.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that alexithymic trait is associated with less efficient voluntary control. |
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