In TAS+ subjects, a decrease of alpha connectivity was also observed between right frontal lobe and right PCC. The role of frontal areas, especially of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), in alexithymia is still unclear51. Although PFC plays a crucial role in several cognitive and emotional functions, such as decision-making and emotion regulation59, only few studies reported the association between PFC activity and alexithymia. In a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) study of Kano et al.56, the alexithymic, compared to non-alexithymic subjects, showed decreased activation of right frontal areas (i.e. inferior and superior frontal cortex and the orbital PFC), in response to negative emotional stimuli. Consistently, lower connectivity within the DMN for the superior frontal gyri in alexithymic individuals was also observed16. The PCC connections with PFC are thought to be crucial in the DMN13 and, as already mentioned, the decrease of connectivity between prefrontal regions and cingulate gyrus could reflect the emotional awareness disturbances, especially “the difficulties to put feelings into words”16.
