Our data are also in accordance with previous functional imaging studies confirming the crucial role of the cingulate cortex in alexithymia (for a review see refs 6,51). The PCC has shown to be involved in several emotional and cognitive processing52. It is also considered the crucial node of the DMN53, with critical relevance in maintaining a sense of self-consciousness. Moreover, PCC is engaged in self-referential thoughts during RS54. In a fMRI study, Mantani et al.55 reported a significant decrease of PCC activation in subjects with high degrees of alexithymia during imagery tasks, suggesting a possible involvement of PCC in alexithymia-related imagery disturbance. On the other hand, the involvement of ACC in alexithymia is also well documented651. A reduction of ACC activity in response to emotional stimuli (especially for emotionally negative stimuli) was observed in several neuroimaging studies565758. Alterations in the cingulate cortex in subjects with alexithymia ware also observed by Liemburg et al.16 during RS condition. Therefore, the decrease of functional connectivity between ACC and PCC observed in our study could reflect both affective and cognitive disturbances in alexithymia (i.e.
