Unravelling the influence of affective stimulation on functional neurological symptoms: A pilot experiment examining potential mechanisms 2023, Pick

Edwards, Chalder et al

Abstract
Background: Differences in affective processing have previously been shown in functional neurological disorder (FND); however, the mechanistic relevance is uncertain. We tested the hypotheses that highly arousing affective stimulation would result in elevated subjective functional neurological symptoms (FNS), and this would be associated with elevated autonomic reactivity. The possible influence of cognitive detachment was also explored.

Methods: Individuals diagnosed with FND (motor symptoms/seizures; n=14) and healthy controls (HCs; n=14) viewed Positive, Negative, and Neutral images in blocks, whilst passively observing the stimuli (Watch) or detaching themselves (Distance). The FND group rated their primary FNS, and all participants rated subjective physical (arousal, pain, fatigue) and psychological states (positive/negative affect, dissociation), immediately after each block. Skin conductance (SC) and heartrate (HR) were monitored continuously.

Results: FNS ratings were higher after Negative compared to Positive and Neutral blocks in the FND group (p=0.002, np2=0.386); however, this effect was diminished in the Distance condition relative to the Watch condition (p=0.018, np2=0.267). SC and/or HR correlated with FNS ratings in the Negative-Watch and Neutral-Distance conditions (r-values: 0.527-0.672, p-values: 0.035-0.006). The groups did not differ in subjective affect or perceived arousal (p-values: 0.541-0.919, np2: <0.001-0.015).

Conclusions: Emotionally significant events may exert an influence on FNS which is related to autonomic activation rather than altered subjective affect or perceived arousal. This influence may be modulated by cognitive detachment. Further work is needed to determine the relevance and neural bases of these processes in specific FND phenotypes.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.23.23294462v1

 

"Regarding state dissociation, only dissociative amnesia was elevated in the FND group compared to HCs. These results conflict with elevated trait-depersonalisation scores in this sample, and contrast with previous studies reporting elevations in both detachment and compartmentalisation phenomena in FND[21]. It is possible that some participants found the ‘Distance’ instruction challenging and may have used alternative strategies, such as emotional suppression[40]."

Ref [40] is Rimes, K.A., et al., Emotional suppression in chronic fatigue syndrome: Experimental study. Health Psychology, 2016

 

"Funding: The study was funded by a Medical Research Council Career Development Award to SP [MR/V032771/1]. This paper represents independent research part-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Acknowledgements: Thank you to our FND Patient and Carer Advisory Panel, all participants, and FND Hope UK and FND Action for supporting the project. Thanks also to Yiqing Sun for contributions to data processing."

 

It's funny most of these so called patient support groups are front for doctors Trying to push fnd onto patients

 

It’s gonna pay off, with LC loads of new patients who haven’t had time to learn about all this yet are gonna stumble into their lair to be consumed and assimilated at some point there will be sufficient numbers of actual patients baked into the pie, this will be the grift that just keeps giving.

 

Honestly, the Stanford prison experiment wasn't all that bad when you look at what psychology has become. At least just as legitimate. Definitely not the least bit more serious. They might as well try proving that people falling to the ground have always wanted to trip. After having been tripped on purpose. With some BS about anticipating the tripping caused some emotional whatever-I-don't-care.

I'm pretty sure most of this relates to some form of dysautonomia, or otherwise issues with the ANS. They even keep finding this, they just always reattribute it in their preferred direction of causality, despite only having correlations. It's basically an entire "scientific" discipline built on the principle of "we will argue causation out of those correlations because we want to".

Not terribly far from this, that's for sure, and just as ethical in the end:

 

Now published, https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/11/13/jnnp-2023-332364

 

It pains me that they have decided that there are;
FND phenotypes