Attachment styles, identification of feelings and psychiatric symptoms in functional neurological disorders, 2021, Cuoco et al

Highlights

• FND patients have high depression and alexithymia.
• The avoidance pattern of attachment is associated with mood disorders and alexithymia.
• Sex, anxiety and alexithymia were significantly associated with functional seizures.

Abstract

Objective
The contribution of psychological and psychiatric symptoms in the development of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) is unclear. We therefore aimed to investigate the role of different attachment styles (AS) and their relationship with psychiatric symptoms in FND patients as compared with both subjects with neurological disorders (ND) and healthy controls (HC); and the possible differences between patients with functional movement disorders (FMD) and with functional seizures.

Methods
In this case-control study, forty-six patients with FND were compared to 34 with ND and 30 HC, by means of an extensive battery to investigate the presence of alexithymia, depression, anxiety, dissociation and to explore their AS using the Revised Experiences in Close Relationships instrument (ECR-R).

Results
Patients with FND had higher depression and alexithymia as well as an avoidant pattern on the ECR-R than patients with ND. In the FND group, ECR-R avoidance was an independent predictor of psychiatric symptoms and, altogether, ECR-R avoidance, the somatic-affective component of depression and difficulty identifying feelings were independent predictors of FND. Gender, anxiety and difficulty identifying feelings predicted the presence of functional seizures.

Conclusion
The avoidant AS may be an important psychological factor influencing the presence of mood disorders and alexithymia. Their co-occurence might drive maladaptive responses underlying the presence of FND. Although we demonstrated a large overlap between FND phenotypes, patients with functional seizures might have higher alexithymia, which in turn could explain a defensive response less anchored to body reactions and physical symptoms.

Paywall, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399921001847

 

Yes, but how many karma points do they have? And what is their Thetan load or their cosmic, uh, let's go with "vibrational rating" ratio vs their Meyers-Brigg type?

This is a parody of science, a complete perversion of both the letter and spirit of science. How does no one in medicine see that and put this out of its misery? Even the homeopathic A&E sketch by Mitchell & Webb is less ridiculous than this.

 

Every statement in the conclusion has a may or a might. Hardly compelling.