Summary: Those with alexithymia, a psychological condition in which people have difficulty in the emotions they are experiencing, may also have an altered physiological response to olfactory stimulation, researchers report.
Source: SISSA.
Do you express your emotions? Are you able to name them, talk about them, relate to your feelings? If your answer is not an unqualified yes, you might be among the 10 percent of the healthy population who has difficulty processing the emotions they experience: a psychological condition known as alexithymia.
An alexithymic individual has difficulty, to a greater or lesser degree, in relating to the sensations – ranging from joy to fear, from disgust to anger – which make up our experience.
New research conducted at SISSA in Trieste and published in Scientific Reports seeks to shed light on new aspects of the condition, using a hitherto completely untested approach. Specifically, given the close link which exists between the perception of smells and emotions, the scientists; Cinzia Cecchetto, Raffaella Rumiati and Marilena Aiello, used olfactory tests: “There is a partial overlap between the areas in our brains which deal with olfactory perception and those which process emotions. A test such as this may, therefore, be particularly suitable for studying this specific psychological condition” explains Aiello, who coordinated the research.
62 individuals divided into three groups according to the severity of alexithymia (high, medium and low) underwent a series of olfactory tests in order to investigate their reaction to different types of stimulation. The scientists found that alexithymic individuals differ from others in their reaction to smells. What specifically distinguishes them are their physiological parameters, such as their heart rate or the electrical conductivity of their skin, which resulted accelerated. The tests also showed that there are differences in reactions between subjects characterised by affective alexithymia, in which the sphere of sensations, imagination and creativity is restricted, and those with cognitive alexithymia, which compromises the ability to identify, express and distinguish emotions.
“The results obtained” explain Cinzia Cecchetto and Marilena Aiello “show that one of the characteristics of alexithymia is the altered physiological response to olfactory stimuli.” They also point to another interesting fact: “Contrary to what one might expect, this study shows how the physiological reactions of alexithymic individuals to emotions induced by smells are not less but rather more intense. It is as if these subjects find themselves in a situation of perpetual, extreme activation in relation to their emotions which appears to make them insensitive to changes in them, to differences, to the colour shades that enrich our daily lives. It is a counterintuitive yet particularly significant scientific observation”.
Source: SISSA
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
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Original Research: Full open access research for “Alexithymia and emotional reactions to odors” by Cinzia Cecchetto, Raffaella Ida Rumiati & Marilena Aiello in Scientific Reports. Published online October 26 2017 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14404-x
[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]SISSA “What the Nose Reveals About Our Relationship With Emotions.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 27 October 2017.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/alexithymia-olfaction-emotion-7826/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]SISSA (2017, October 27). What the Nose Reveals About Our Relationship With Emotions. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved October 27, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/alexithymia-olfaction-emotion-7826/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]SISSA “What the Nose Reveals About Our Relationship With Emotions.” https://neurosciencenews.com/alexithymia-olfaction-emotion-7826/ (accessed October 27, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract
Alexithymia and emotional reactions to odors
Alexithymia is a psychological construct characterized by deficits in processing emotional stimuli. However, little is known about the processing of odours in alexithymia, even though there is extensive proof that emotion and olfaction are closely linked. The present study is aimed at investigating how alexithymic individuals process emotions conveyed by odors. Emotional responses to unpleasant, neutral odors and clean air were collected through self-report ratings and psychophysiological measures in a sample of 62 healthy participants with high (HA), medium (MA) and low (LA) levels of alexithymia. Moreover, participants performed tests on odors identification and threshold and completed questionnaires assessing olfactory imagery and awareness. Two main results have been found: first, HA and MA groups showed altered physiological responses to odors, compared to LA, while no differences among the groups were observed in odor ratings; and second, affective and cognitive alexithymia components were differently associated with the performance on olfactory tests, skin conductance response to odors, reaction times in the rating task, and scores on olfactory questionnaires. We conclude that alexithymia is characterized by altered physiological reactions to olfactory stimuli; moreover, we stress the importance of evaluating the different alexithymia components since they affect emotional stimuli processing in different ways.
“Alexithymia and emotional reactions to odors” by Cinzia Cecchetto, Raffaella Ida Rumiati & Marilena Aiello in Scientific Reports. Published online October 26 2017 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14404-x
