Intact Physiological Response To Arousal with Impaired Emotional Recognition in Alexithymia

• Published in: Psychotherapy and psychosomatics Vol. 70; no. 2; pp. 92 - 102
• Main Authors: Stone, Linda A., Nielson, Kristy A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.03.2001; Karger
• Subjects: Adult; Affect - physiology; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Arousal - physiology; Awareness; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Galvanic Skin Response; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Male; Personality traits; Personality. Affectivity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Regular Article; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Subjective emotion; Electrodermal activity; Stress-related illness; Psychophysiology; Autonomic arousal; Alexithymia; Human; Electrical activity; Self evaluation; Subjective experience; Emotion emotionality; Personality; Experimental study; Stress; Heart rate; Autonomic nervous system; Young adult; Arousal; Skin; Hemodynamics; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0033-3190; 1423-0348
• DOI: 10.1159/000056232

Background: The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between the recognition of emotion and physiological response to emotion (i.e. arousal) in alexithymia. Methods: This study investigated differences in physiological arousal state, as measured by continuous heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA) and self-reported emotional intensity before and after exposure to an emotionally arousing or neutral videotape among 41 high- or low-alexithymic young adult participants. Results: Across subjects, emotionally negative stimuli produced increased physiological arousal. However, high-alexithymic participants exposed to the arousing videotape did not report increased subjective emotional intensity, as did low-alexithymic participants. In addition, the baseline EDA of high-alexithymic participants was significantly higher than that of the low-alexithymic participants. Conclusions: Results support the prediction that alexithymia leads to a decoupling between subjective and physiological arousal when exposed to emotionally negative stimuli. This decoupling may increase alexithymic individuals’ risks for stress-related illness.