Neurobiological, Neuropsychological,Linguistic and Gestural Processes and Phenomena in Individuals With Alexithymia (ALEX)

The recruitment status of this study is unknown because the information has not been verified recently.

Verified January 2009 by Charite University, Berlin, Germany.
Recruitment status was Not yet recruiting

Sponsor:

Information provided by:

Charite University, Berlin, Germany

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT00830752

First received: January 27, 2009

Last updated: NA

Last verified: January 2009

History: No changes posted

Purpose

The syndrome of extremely restricted emotional competence, alexithymia, was originally conceptualized in psychoanalytic research and is now empirically and experimentally studied in clinical psychology and psychological medicine within the context of emotion regulation using neuroscientific techniques. Alexithymia refers to an individual's inability or impaired ability to name or express feelings and to distinguish them from the physical consequences of an acute or chronic stress reaction. Modern "brain-body-interface" research suggests that alexithymia represents a complex deficiency in cognitive processing and emotional regulatory processes. The neurobiological basis is assumed to be a preconscious, automatic and involuntary information transfer to the amygdalae of acquired representations of emotional contents stored in ventromedial prefrontal cortical areas.

Alexithymia is not just "emotional coldness", i.e. a limited emotionality, but essentially the detachment of feelings from language. In alexithymia the link between affective phenomena and language, understood as media-supported sign practices, is insufficient or even absent.

The purpose of our observational study is to better understand the neurobiological and neuropsychological as well as linguistic and gestural processes and determinants of this phenomenon

Condition
Alexithymia

Study Type:	Observational
Study Design:	Observational Model: Case-Only Time Perspective: Prospective
Official Title:	Understanding Alexithymia

Further study details as provided by Charite University, Berlin, Germany:

Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA

whole blood, serum

Estimated Enrollment:	70
Study Start Date:	February 2009
Estimated Study Completion Date:	December 2009
Estimated Primary Completion Date:	August 2009 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 60 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes
Sampling Method:	Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

70 individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 years, both genders, who score high on an alexithymia questionaire (TAS-20) and who are otherwise emotionally and physically healthy. Individuals are sampled via newspaper and poster advertisements throughout the greater metropolitan area of Berlin, Germany

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

scoring high on the TAS-20

Exclusion Criteria:

personal history of a mental disorder
currently mentally ill

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00830752

Locations

Germany
Charite-Dept. of Psychiatry-Campus Benjamin Franklin	Not yet recruiting
Berlin, Germany, 14050
Contact: Isabella JE Heuser, MD, PhD ++493084458701 isabella.heuser@charite.de
Contact: Claudia Crayen, MS ++493083857839 claudia.crayen@fu-berlin.de
Sub-Investigator: Malek Bajbouj, MD

Sponsors and Collaborators

Charite University, Berlin, Germany

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:	Isabella Heuser, Charite
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00830752 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	ALEX 2009
Study First Received:	January 27, 2009
Last Updated:	January 27, 2009
Health Authority:	Charite-Medical School Berlin, Dean's Office, Germany':'

Keywords provided by Charite University, Berlin, Germany:

alexithymia

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Affective Symptoms
Behavioral Symptoms

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on October 18, 2012

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