Alexithymia, interhemispheric transfer, and right hemispheric specialization: a critical review

Abstract

Background: One neural model of alexithymia relates the condition to poor interhemispheric transfer, while another model associates it with a disturbance in right hemisphere activity.

Methods: The available empirical evidence directly relating alexithymia to a deficit in interhemispheric transfer and/or in right hemisphere activity is critically reviewed.

Results: The interhemispheric transfer studies have related alexithymia to a deficit in transfer, but the nature and directionality of the transfer deficit have yet to be determined. Many of the hemispheric specialization studies do not relate alexithymia to a right hemisphere dysfunction. Shortcomings of these studies are reviewed.

Conclusions: The hypothesis that alexithymia is related to a deficit in the right-to-left transfer of emotional information and to a right hemisphere impairment in emotion processing remains to be tested directly and definitively. Suggestions for future research are made.