Alexithymia and mental imagery

One of the defining characteristics of alexithymic patients is their reduced ability to use mental images. In the present study, imaging capacity was evaluated in a total of 69 alexithymic subjects and 64 non-alexithymic subjects (all university students). Alexithymic subjects showed lower imaging capacity than non-alexithymic subjects. New approaches for investigation of the relationship between alexithymia and imagery vividness are proposed.