Alessitimia e aspetti quantitativi e qualitativi del ricordo dei sogni.

The issue of a quantitative and qualitative impoverishment of dream activity in alexithymic subjects was assessed by an analysis of the 14-day dream reports of two groups of accurately selected alexithymics and non-alexithymics. The aim of the current study was to replicate a previous finding on female subjects [De Gennaro et al. (2003) Psychosom Med, 65: 301-6], and to extend it to males. Twelve alexithymics (6 M and 6 F) and twelve non-alexithymics (6 M and 6 F) were selected from a larger sample of 554 undergraduate students. The transcriptions of their audio-recorded dream reports upon 14 consecutive morning awakenings were compared with regard to their length and emotional content. Self-ratings obtained by a sleep and dream diary were further considered to assess between-group differences in dream recall frequency, and in its emotional valence, vividness and bizarreness. Sleep quality, as measured by some variables of the sleep diary, was lower in alexithymic as compared to non-alexithymic subjects, but these differences dasappeared when the contribution of depression was taken into consideration. A significant between-group difference in emotional vividness pointed to less vivid dreams in alexithymics, while self-rated emotional valence and emotions, scored according to the Hall & Van de Castle Coding System, were lower only in male alexithymics. The results confirm the existence of an association between alexithymia and some features of dream recall, also pointing to necessity of further studies with larger samples.