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Emotional arousal in patients with functional movement disorders: A pupillometry study 2022 Slovák et al

Discussion in 'Other psychosomatic news and research' started by Andy, Sep 28, 2022.

  1. Andy

    Andy Committee Member

    Messages:
    21,810
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Abstract

    Objective
    Pathophysiology explanations for functional movement disorders often assume a role for emotional hyperarousal. Pupillometry is a validated method for evaluation of emotional arousal by detecting changes in pupil size in response to emotional stimuli. In a case-control study design, we aimed to study objective and subjective emotional arousal using pupillometry and affective ratings. To assess attentional engagement by affective stimuli, we used videooculographic tracking of eye movement patterns (scanpath).

    Methods
    Twenty-five female patients with functional movement disorders (mean age: 40.9 [SD 12.7] years) and 23 age matched healthy female controls participated in the study. Using infrared high-resolution eye-tracker, both pupil size and eye movement pattern in response to emotionally charged erotic, adventure, threat, victim, and neutral pictures were recorded along with subjective ratings of emotional valence and arousal of the presented pictures.

    Results
    A between-group comparison showed significantly smaller pupil dilation to adventure stimuli compared to neutral stimuli in patients compared to controls (P < 0.004, bootstrap, uncorr., adj. η2 = 0.00). No significant difference in pupillary response to other stimuli and scanpath parameters was found between the groups. Patients rated significantly lower emotional arousal to erotic pictures than controls (P < 0.001, bootstrap, uncorr., adj. η2 = 0.09).

    Conclusion
    This study did not find evidence of autonomous or subjective emotional hyperarousal. The mismatch between objective autonomic measures and subjective arousal ratings in patients is of pathophysiological interest and in line with recent findings of impaired interoception in functional movement disorders.

    Open access, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399922003282
     
    Peter Trewhitt and Sid like this.
  2. rvallee

    rvallee Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    12,296
    Location:
    Canada
    Ass. U. Me.
    This is not a serious discipline, a clown show of absurd nonsense.
     
    RedFox and Peter Trewhitt like this.

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