TY - JOUR
T1 - How does it feel? An exploration of neurobiological and clinical correlates of alexithymia in trauma-exposed police-officers with and without PTSD
AU - van Sleeuwen, Cindy
AU - van Zuiden, Mirjam
AU - Koch, Saskia B. J.
AU - Frijling, Jessie L.
AU - Veltman, Dick J.
AU - Olff, Miranda
AU - Nawijn, Laura
N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by grants from the Netherlands organisation for Health research and Development [ZonMw, grant number 91210041] and from the Academic Medical Center Research Council [grant number 110614]. The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. We express our sincere gratitude to the participants of this study. We would furthermore like to thank Renée Hutter, Gré Westerveld, Marthe Hoofwijk and colleagues of the PDC police outpatient clinic for their assistance in participant recruitment and data collection; Emma Kappeyne van de Coppello for her help in the initial curation of alexithymia data; and Inga Neumann for her support regarding analyses of the salivary oxytocin assays. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background: Alexithymia, an inability to recognise one’s emotions, has been associated with trauma-exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research suggests involvement of the oxytocin system, and socio-emotional neural processes. However, the paucity of neurobiological research on alexithymia, particularly in trauma-exposed populations, warrants further investigation. Objective: Explore associations between alexithymia, endogenous oxytocin levels, and socio-emotional brain function and morphometry in a trauma-exposed sample. Method: Dutch trauma-exposed police officers with (n = 38; 18 females) and without PTSD (n = 40; 20 females) were included. Alexithymia was assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Endogenous salivary oxytocin was assessed during rest, using radioimmunoassay. Amygdala and insula reactivity to socio-emotional stimuli were assessed with functional MRI, amygdala and insula grey matter volume were derived using Freesurfer. Results: Alexithymia was higher in PTSD patients compared to trauma-exposed controls (F(1,70) = 54.031, p <.001). Within PTSD patients, alexithymia was positively associated with PTSD severity (ρ(36) = 0.497, p =.002). Alexithymia was not associated with childhood trauma exposure (β = 0.076, p =.509), police work-related trauma exposure (β = −0.107, p =.355), oxytocin levels (β = −0.164, p =.161), insula (β = −0.170, p =.158) or amygdala (β = −0.175, p =.135) reactivity, or amygdala volume (β = 0.146, p =.209). Insula volume was positively associated with alexithymia (β = 0.222, p =.016), though not significant after multiple testing corrections. Bayesian analyses supported a lack of associations. Conclusions: No convincing neurobiological correlates of alexithymia were observed with any of the markers included in the current study. Yet, the current study confirmed high levels of alexithymia in PTSD patients, independent of trauma-exposure, substantiating alexithymia’s relevance in the clinical phenotype of PTSD.
AB - Background: Alexithymia, an inability to recognise one’s emotions, has been associated with trauma-exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research suggests involvement of the oxytocin system, and socio-emotional neural processes. However, the paucity of neurobiological research on alexithymia, particularly in trauma-exposed populations, warrants further investigation. Objective: Explore associations between alexithymia, endogenous oxytocin levels, and socio-emotional brain function and morphometry in a trauma-exposed sample. Method: Dutch trauma-exposed police officers with (n = 38; 18 females) and without PTSD (n = 40; 20 females) were included. Alexithymia was assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Endogenous salivary oxytocin was assessed during rest, using radioimmunoassay. Amygdala and insula reactivity to socio-emotional stimuli were assessed with functional MRI, amygdala and insula grey matter volume were derived using Freesurfer. Results: Alexithymia was higher in PTSD patients compared to trauma-exposed controls (F(1,70) = 54.031, p <.001). Within PTSD patients, alexithymia was positively associated with PTSD severity (ρ(36) = 0.497, p =.002). Alexithymia was not associated with childhood trauma exposure (β = 0.076, p =.509), police work-related trauma exposure (β = −0.107, p =.355), oxytocin levels (β = −0.164, p =.161), insula (β = −0.170, p =.158) or amygdala (β = −0.175, p =.135) reactivity, or amygdala volume (β = 0.146, p =.209). Insula volume was positively associated with alexithymia (β = 0.222, p =.016), though not significant after multiple testing corrections. Bayesian analyses supported a lack of associations. Conclusions: No convincing neurobiological correlates of alexithymia were observed with any of the markers included in the current study. Yet, the current study confirmed high levels of alexithymia in PTSD patients, independent of trauma-exposure, substantiating alexithymia’s relevance in the clinical phenotype of PTSD.
KW - Alexithymia
KW - amygdala
KW - insula
KW - oxytocin
KW - posttraumatic stress disorder
KW - trauma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85177684994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2281187
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2281187
M3 - Article
C2 - 38154073
SN - 2000-8066
VL - 14
JO - European journal of psychotraumatology
JF - European journal of psychotraumatology
IS - 2
M1 - 2281187
ER -