Somatoform dissociation and posttraumatic stress syndrome - two sides of the same medal? A comparison of symptom profiles, trauma history and altered affect regulation between patients with functional neurological symptoms and patients with PTSD

COULD FAMILY WELL-BEING MODERATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND SOMATOFORM DISSOCIATION? A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

The impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been well documented. One possible consequence of ACEs is dissociation, which is a major feature of post-traumatic psychopathology and is also associated with considerable impairment and health care costs. Although ACEs are known to be associated with both psychoform and somatoform dissociation, much less is known about the mechanisms behind this relationship. Little is known about whether social and interpersonal factors such as family environments would moderate the relationship between ACEs and somatoform dissociation. This paper discusses the importance of having a positive and healthy family environment in trauma recovery. We then report the findings of a preliminary study in which we examined whether the association between ACEs and somatoform dissociation would be moderated by family well-being in a convenience sample of Hong Kong adults (N = 359). The number of ACEs was positively associated with somatoform dissociative symptoms, but this association was moderated by the level of family well-being. The number of ACEs was associated with somatoform dissociation only when the family well-being scores were low. These moderating effects were medium. The findings point to the potential importance of using family education and intervention programs to prevent and treat trauma-related dissociative symptoms, but further investigation is needed.

Changes in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms With Integrative Psychotherapy for Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder

OBJECTIVE

Patients with functional neurological symptom disorder (FNSD) report high rates of traumatization and have high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Psychotherapy is a mainstay of treatment for persons with FNSD. In this study, the investigators explored changes in PTSD symptoms and health-related quality of life after psychotherapy among persons with FNSD and examined factors contributing to these changes.

METHODS

Data were prospectively collected for patients with FNSD attending a specialist outpatient psychotherapy service in the United Kingdom (N=210) as part of an ongoing routine service evaluation. Pre- and posttherapy questionnaires included self-report measures of PTSD symptoms (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety symptoms (General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale), somatic symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-15), health-related quality of life (Short-Form Health Survey-36), and social functioning (Work and Social Adjustment Scale). Independent contributions to psychotherapy-related changes in PTSD symptoms and health-related quality of life were explored through multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

All outcome measures revealed improvements after psychotherapy (p<0.001). Psychotherapy-related changes in depression and somatic symptoms and employment status at baseline explained 51% of the variance in PTSD symptom changes. Changes in PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and somatic symptoms made independent contributions to improvements in health-related quality of life (R2=0.54). Improvements were unrelated to FNSD subtype (dissociative seizures or other FNSD), age, marital status, or number of sessions attended.

CONCLUSIONS

Reductions in self-reported PTSD, depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms, as well as improved health-related quality of life, were observed among patients who received one or more sessions of psychotherapy. Randomized controlled trials of psychotherapy for patients with FNSD are warranted.

The neurobiology of functional neurological disorders characterised by impaired awareness

We review the neurobiology of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND), i.e., neurological disorders not explained by currently identifiable histopathological processes, in order to focus on those characterised by impaired awareness (functionally impaired awareness disorders, FIAD), and especially, on the paradigmatic case of Resignation Syndrome (RS). We thus provide an improved more integrated theory of FIAD, able to guide both research priorities and the diagnostic formulation of FIAD. We systematically address the diverse spectrum of clinical presentations of FND with impaired awareness, and offer a new framework for understanding FIAD. We find that unraveling the historical development of neurobiological theory of FIAD is of paramount importance for its current understanding. Then, we integrate contemporary clinical material in order to contextualise the neurobiology of FIAD within social, cultural, and psychological perspectives. We thus review neuro-computational insights in FND in general, to arrive at a more coherent account of FIAD. FIAD may be based on maladaptive predictive coding, shaped by stress, attention, uncertainty, and, ultimately, neurally encoded beliefs and their updates. We also critically appraise arguments in support of and against such Bayesian models. Finally, we discuss implications of our theoretical account and provide pointers towards an improved clinical diagnostic formulation of FIAD. We suggest directions for future research towards a more unified theory on which future interventions and management strategies could be based, as effective treatments and clinical trial evidence remain limited.

The impact of traumatic childhood experiences on interoception: disregarding one's own body

BACKGROUND

Deficient interoception, the processing and perception of internal bodily signals, has been discussed as a mechanism underlying various mental disorders. First results indicate a mediating role of interoception in the interplay of traumatic childhood experiences and adult mental disorders. Traumatic childhood experiences may hinder the adequate processing, integration, and trust in bodily signals that are important in order to understand and regulate own needs and emotions, thereby increasing the vulnerability for mental disorders. However, an overarching study investigating alterations in different interoceptive measures and trauma-related disorders as well as their mediating role between early trauma and emotion dysregulation is still missing.

METHODS

One hundred thirty-six individuals with varying levels of traumatic childhood experiences who either had a current diagnosis of major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or somatic symptom disorder, or no mental disorder, took part in a multidimensional assessment of interoceptive processes, including interoceptive accuracy, sensibility, and awareness. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare groups regarding interoceptive processes and associations with traumatic childhood experiences and emotion dysregulation were analyzed with Spearman correlations. Furthermore, mediation analyses were computed to examine and compare interoceptive processes as potential mediators between traumatic childhood experiences and emotion dysregulation.

RESULTS

Only body dissociation, a measure for interoceptive sensibility, was significantly reduced in individuals with a current mental disorder. Body dissociation was also the only interoceptive measure significantly associated with traumatic childhood experiences and emotion dysregulation and the only significant mediator in the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and emotion dysregulation across groups.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest body dissociation, but not other interoceptive measures, as an important feature linking traumatic childhood experiences to current emotion dysregulation, an important transdiagnostic feature. As body dissociation refers to a habitual non-attendance or disregard of interoceptive signals, integrative therapeutic interventions could help affected individuals to overcome difficulties in emotion perception and regulation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The general study design was preregistered; see the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS-ID: DRKS00015182). This study's analysis plan was not preregistered.

Dissociation and its biological and clinical associations in functional neurological disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Studies have reported elevated rates of dissociative symptoms and comorbid dissociative disorders in functional neurological disorder (FND); however, a comprehensive review is lacking.

AIMS

To systematically review the severity of dissociative symptoms and prevalence of comorbid dissociative disorders in FND and summarise their biological and clinical associations.

METHOD

We searched Embase, PsycInfo and MEDLINE up to June 2021, combining terms for FND and dissociation. Studies were eligible if reporting dissociative symptom scores or rates of comorbid dissociative disorder in FND samples. Risk of bias was appraised using modified Newcastle-Ottawa criteria. The findings were synthesised qualitatively and dissociative symptom scores were included in a meta-analysis (PROSPERO CRD42020173263).

RESULTS

Seventy-five studies were eligible (FND n = 3940; control n = 3073), most commonly prospective case-control studies (k = 54). Dissociative disorders were frequently comorbid in FND. Psychoform dissociation was elevated in FND compared with healthy (g = 0.90, 95% CI 0.66-1.14, I² = 70%) and neurological controls (g = 0.56, 95% CI 0.19-0.92, I² = 67%). Greater psychoform dissociation was observed in FND samples with seizure symptoms versus healthy controls (g = 0.94, 95% CI 0.65-1.22, I² = 42%) and FND samples with motor symptoms (g = 0.40, 95% CI -0.18 to 1.00, I² = 54%). Somatoform dissociation was elevated in FND versus healthy controls (g = 1.80, 95% CI 1.25-2.34, I² = 75%). Dissociation in FND was associated with more severe functional symptoms, worse quality of life and brain alterations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the potential clinical utility of assessing patients with FND for dissociative symptomatology. However, fewer studies investigated FND samples with motor symptoms and heterogeneity between studies and risk of bias were high. Rigorous investigation of the prevalence, features and mechanistic relevance of dissociation in FND is needed.

Picturing disturbed body experience: A comparison of body drawings in persons with somatoform disorder and a general population sample

People with somatic symptom disorder or somatoform disorder are considered to have a troubled relationship to their body that is hard to assess with self-report questionnaires alone. To examine the potential value of own-body drawings as an assessment tool, objective features of drawings from 179 patients referred to treatment for somatoform disorder, were compared to those of 173 age-and-sex matched persons from the general population. While two factors had been found in the somatoform disorder sample, in the general population only the factor that reflected 'details' in own-body drawings was replicated. The two samples did not score differently on this factor. The general population sample showed a less strong association between objective body drawings scores on this 'details' factor and self-reported scores of body experience than the somatoform disorder sample. Moreover, the phenomenological contents of the drawings were more oriented towards health or appearance than the mostly mixed or unclear orientation of persons with somatoform disorder. Because the objective scoring of body drawings did not differ between groups while the contents of body drawings appeared to differ, the results suggest that this objective scoring of body drawings is not appropriate to distinguish people with and without somatoform disorder.

Co-occurrence of severe PTSD, somatic symptoms and dissociation in a large sample of childhood trauma inpatients: a network analysis

Co-occurrence of mental disorders including severe PTSD, somatic symptoms, and dissociation in the aftermath of trauma is common and sometimes associated with poor treatment outcomes. However, the interrelationships between these conditions at symptom level are not well understood. In the present study, we aimed to explore direct connections between PTSD, somatic symptoms, and dissociation to gain a deeper insight into the pathological processes underlying their comorbidity that can inform future treatment plans. In a sample of 655 adult inpatients with a diagnosis of severe PTSD following childhood abuse (85.6% female; mean age = 47.57), we assessed symptoms of PTSD, somatization, and dissociation. We analyzed the comorbidity structure using a partial correlation network with regularization. Mostly positive associations between symptoms characterized the network structure. Muscle or joint pain was among the most central symptoms. Physiological reactivation was central in the full network and together with concentrations problems acted as bridge between symptoms of PTSD and somatic symptoms. Headaches connected somatic symptoms with others and derealization connected dissociative symptoms with others in the network. Exposure to traumatic events has a severe and detrimental effect on mental and physical health and these consequences worsen each other trans-diagnostically on a symptom level. Strong connections between physiological reactivation and pain with other symptoms could inform treatment target prioritization. We recommend a dynamic, modular approach to treatment that should combine evidence-based interventions for PTSD and comorbid conditions which is informed by symptom prominence, readiness to address these symptoms and preference.

Impact of childhood trauma on positive and negative symptom remission in first episode psychosis

OBJECTIVE

Early life adversity is suspected to play an important role for onset and course of psychosis, but its relationship with longer-term clinical outcome is not entirely clear. In this longitudinal study, we investigated the impact of childhood trauma (CT) on positive and negative symptom remission in first episode psychosis (FEP) patients over two years.

METHODS

A total of 210 FEP patients were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Patients reporting moderate to severe trauma (CT; N = 114; 54.3%) were compared to those without trauma (N-CT; N = 96; 45.7%). Positive (PSR) and negative symptom remission (NSR) were determined monthly over 24 months following established criteria using the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Global Functioning was evaluated at baseline and 24 months of follow-up.

RESULTS

Compared to N-CT patients, CT patients had achieved significantly lower rates of PSR at 12 months and significantly lower rates of NSR at 24 months. A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of trauma categories fulfilled and the number of patients not achieving PSR and NSR at these time points. Higher trauma scores were significantly associated with poor functioning and higher positive and negative symptom severity at 24 months, but not at baseline and 12 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Differential effects of CT on clinical outcome may not be apparent at psychosis onset, but only become evident through poor symptomatic remission and general functioning over time. Targeted diagnostic and therapeutic efforts after illness onset might limit these detrimental consequences.

Roles of Emotional Reactions and Potency in Coping with Abusive Experiences of Indian Adolescent

Victimized children's perceptions of the severity of abusive incidents have been found to be associated with their willingness to disclose. However, the relationship between perceptions, disclosure, and coping processes of abused Indian adolescents, has rarely been studied. To explore the roles of emotional reactions associated with disclosure, and potency on individuals' perception of the severity of abusive incidents, reluctance to disclose, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. A randomly selected sample, consisting of 324 adolescents (aged 12 to 16) in Kolkata, India was included. Of these, 170 adolescents disclosed incidents of abuse last year. Data were analyzed by conditional process modeling. A moderated mediation analysis (n = 170) revealed that the overall perception of the severity of abusive incidents predicted greater reluctance to disclose (B = .63, p < .0001) through heightened emotional reactions, especially with a higher potency level (B = .07, p < .05; B = .1, p < .05). Potency moderated (B = -.02, p = .01) the effect of reluctance on posttraumatic stress symptoms. When tested on the entire sample (324) the results replicated the sub-sample (170). Adolescents revealed similar results irrespective of their exposure. The reluctance to disclose abuse is discussed from an Indian cultural and societal perspective.

A meta-analytic study examining the relationship between alexithymia and dissociation in psychiatric and nonclinical populations

Alexithymia and dissociation have been consistently linked in the literature, particularly in psychiatric populations. Both arise from a disconnection between conscious aspects of self-experiences and perceptions at both the mental self and bodily levels. This results in difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and experiences into consciousness and memory, negatively impacting emotion awareness/regulation and reflective functioning. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the strength of the relationship between alexithymia and dissociation in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Studies using two common measures of these constructs were included (i.e., the Toronto Alexithymia Scale - TAS, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale - DES). Analyzing the effect sizes derived from 19 studies (including a total of 4664 participants) revealed moderate to strong relationships between alexithymia and dissociation. The strength of the association was higher in clinical and younger aged non clinical populations. These findings are discussed in the context of treatment recommendations..

Fibromyalgia and dissociative symptoms

BACKGROUND

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with a controversial etiopathogenesis. Patients with FM usually complain of cognitive symptoms, which are described as "fibrofog." These cognitive complaints might be caused partially by dissociative disorders (DD). The aim of this research is to determine the association between FM and DD.

METHODS

The authors conducted a case-control study for this purpose, integrated by 3 groups: control (C), patients with rheumatic disorders (R), and patients with FM (FM), who were compared through the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).The findings are as follows: 42% were taking medications in the FM group, and their differences in scores with those who were not under medications were then considered. In terms of the results, the FM group showed higher scores than both C and R groups (p < 0.05). Patients with FM who were taking antidepressants had lower scores than those who were not (Z-score -8.03; p < 0.05); and finally, 5.71% had a score over 30 (χ2 = 3.73, p = 0.15).

CONCLUSION

Patients with FM had higher scores, which might be related to the association of dissociative experiences, lifetime trauma, and victimization. Antidepressants might have some role on dissociative symptoms as well.

Somatic symptoms disorders in Parkinson's disease are related to default mode and salience network dysfunction

Background

Somatic Symptoms Disorder (SSD) has been shown to have a clinically very high prevalence in Parkinson's Disease (PD) with frequencies ranging from 7.0% to 66.7%, higher than in the general population (10%- 25%).

SSD has been associated with dysfunction in Default Mode and Salience network.

Aim

With the present study we aim to verify by means of resting state functional MRI whether possible specific abnormalities in the activation and functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN) and salience network in cognitively intact PD patients may be more prominent in PD patients with somatic symptoms (SSD-PD) as compared with patients without SSD (PD).

Methods

Eighteen SSD-PD patients (61% male), 18 PD patients (83% male) and 22 healthy age-matched subjects (59% male) were enrolled in the study and underwent resting state functional MRI.

Results

fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) showed reduced activity in bilateral lateral parietal cortex and in left anterior insula in both SSD-PD and PD compared to control group. Functional connectivity (FC) values in the DMN areas and between DMN and salience network areas were found to be lower in SSD-PD than in control group and PD. No significant correlation was found between fMRI results and demographic and clinical variables, excluding the effect of possible confounders on fMRI results.

The present study, showing reduced activity in bilateral parietal areas and in the left anterior insula as compared to healthy controls, suggests a dysfunction of the DMN and salience network in PD, either with or without SSD.

The FC reduction within DMN areas and between DMN and salience network areas in SSD-PD patients suggests a role of dysfunctional connectivity in the resting state network of patients with SSD.

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Reduced activity in parietal areas and in anterior insula in Parkinson's Disease.

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Functional connectivity is lower in Parkinson's disease with somatic symptoms.

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Somatic Symptoms in PD are related to default mode and salience network alterations.

Emotional processing in functional neurological disorder: a review, biopsychosocial model and research agenda

Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common and highly disabling disorder, but its aetiology remains enigmatic. Conceptually, there has been reduced emphasis on the role of psychosocial stressors in recent years, with a corresponding increase in neurobiological explanations. However, a wealth of evidence supports the role of psychosocial adversities (eg, stressful life events, interpersonal difficulties) as important risk factors for FND. Therefore, there is a need to integrate psychosocial (environmental) and neurobiological factors (eg, sensorimotor and cognitive functions) in contemporary models of FND. Altered emotional processing may represent a key link between psychosocial risk factors and core features of FND. Here, we summarise and critically appraise experimental studies of emotional processing in FND using behavioural, psychophysiological and/or neuroimaging measures in conjunction with affective processing tasks. We propose that enhanced preconscious (implicit) processing of emotionally salient stimuli, associated with elevated limbic reactivity (eg, amygdala), may contribute to the initiation of basic affective/defensive responses via hypothalamic and brainstem pathways (eg, periaqueductal grey). In parallel, affect-related brain areas may simultaneously exert a disruptive influence on neurocircuits involved in voluntary motor control, awareness and emotional regulation (eg, sensorimotor, salience, central executive networks). Limbic-paralimbic disturbances in patients with FND may represent one of several neurobiological adaptations linked to early, severe and/or prolonged psychosocial adversity. This perspective integrates neurobiological and psychosocial factors in FND and proposes a research agenda, highlighting the need for replication of existing findings, multimodal sampling across emotional response domains and further examination of emotional influences on sensorimotor and cognitive functions in FND populations.

Electrophysiological evidence for changes in attentional orienting and selection in functional somatic symptoms

OBJECTIVE

We investigated changes in attention mechanisms in people who report a high number of somatic symptoms which cannot be associated with a physical cause.

METHOD

Based on scores on the Somatoform Disorder Questionnaire (SDQ-20; Nijenhuis et al., 1996) we compared two non-clinical groups, one with high symptoms on the SDQ-20 and a control group with low or no symptoms. We recorded EEG whilst participants performed an exogenous tactile attention task where they had to discriminate between tactile targets following a tactile cue to the same or opposite hand.

RESULTS

The neural marker of attentional orienting to the body, the Late Somatosensory Negativity (LSN), was diminished in the high symptoms group and attentional modulation of touch processing was prolonged at mid and enhanced at later latency stages in this group.

CONCLUSION

These results confirm that attentional processes are altered in people with somatic symptoms, even in a non-clinical group. Furthermore, the observed pattern fits explanations of changes in prior beliefs or expectations leading to diminished amplitudes of the marker of attentional orienting to the body (i.e. the LSN) and enhanced attentional gain of touch processing.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study shows that high somatic symptoms are associated with neurocognitive attention changes.

Assessing Post-Traumatic Tonic Immobility Responses: The Scale for Tonic Immobility Occurring Post-Trauma

BACKGROUND

Peri-traumatic tonic immobility has been associated with the development and course of post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite serving as an adaptive late-stage defense response, tonic immobility that continues in response to post-traumatic reminders may lead to reduced functioning and a diminished sense of well-being. At present, no validated self-report measures assess post-traumatic tonic immobility responses specifically.

METHODS

The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the Scale for Tonic immobility Occurring Post-trauma (STOP), the first self-report measure developed to assess for the presence and severity of tonic immobility responses that persist following trauma exposure as part of post-traumatic symptomatology. Trauma-exposed clinical and non-clinical participants (N = 462) with a history of tonic immobility completed a demographic questionnaire, the STOP, and measures of post-traumatic symptoms, dissociation, anxiety, and depression.

RESULTS

STOP assessed four latent constructs, which were interpreted following the human defense cascade model. Together, these factors capture the sensorimotor and perceptual alterations, and dissociative experiences, associated with post-traumatic tonic immobility as a trauma-related altered state. Residual symptoms and the experience of negative affect following this response (including guilt and shame) are also represented. STOP scores demonstrated excellent reliability, as well as good construct and convergent validity, with other measures of dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorder. Results from the present study suggest tonic immobility is most consistent with other dissociative post-traumatic symptomatology.

CONCLUSIONS

STOP demonstrates excellent preliminary psychometric properties and may be useful for researchers and clinicians wishing to assess chronic forms of tonic immobility across trauma-exposed, clinical and community samples.

Psychiatric Impact of Organized and Ritual Child Sexual Abuse: Cross-Sectional Findings from Individuals Who Report Being Victimized

Organized and ritual child sexual abuse (ORA) is often rooted in the child’s own family. Empirical evidence on possible associations between ORA and trauma-related symptoms in those who report this kind of extreme and prolonged violence is rare. The aim of our study was to explore socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the individuals reporting ORA experiences, and to investigate protective as well as promotive factors in the link between ORA and trauma-related symptom severity. Within the framework of a project of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany, we recruited 165 adults who identified themselves as ORA victims via abuse- and trauma-specific networks and mailing lists, and they completed an anonymous online survey. We used variance analyses to examine correlations between several variables in the ORA context and PTSD symptoms (PCL-5) as well as somatoform dissociation (SDQ-5). Results revealed a high psychic strain combined with an adverse health care situation in individuals who report experiences with ORA. Ideological strategies used by perpetrators as well as Dissociative Identity Disorders experienced by those affected are associated with more severe symptoms (η²_p = 0.11; η²_p = 0.15), while an exit out of the ORA structures is associated with milder symptoms (η²_p = 0.11). Efforts are needed to improve health care services for individuals who experience severe and complex psychiatric disorders due to ORA in their childhood.

Processing of Emotion in Functional Neurological Disorder

Emotions have traditionally been considered crucial in the development of functional neurological disorder, but the evidence underpinning this association is not clear. We aimed to summarize evidence for association between functional neurological disorder and emotions as formulated by Breuer and Freud in their conception of hysterical conversion. Based on a systematic literature search, we identified 34 controlled studies and categorized them into four groups: (i) autonomic arousal, (ii) emotion-motion interactions, (iii) social modulation of symptoms, and (iv) bodily awareness in FND. We found evidence for autonomic dysregulation in FND; convergent neuroimaging findings implicate abnormal limbic-motor interactions in response to emotional stimuli in FND. Our results do not provide enough empirical evidence for social modulation of the symptoms, but there is a clinical support for the role of suggestion and placebo in FND. Our results provide evidence for abnormal bodily awareness in FND. Based on these findings, we propose that functional neurological symptoms are forms of emotional reactions shaped into symptoms by previous experience with illness and possibly reinforced by actual social contexts. Additional research should investigate the effect of social context on the intensity of functional neurological symptoms and associated brain regions.

Variation of Functional Neurological Symptoms and Emotion Regulation with Time

INTRODUCTION

The present study addressed the variation of emotion regulation in the context of functional neurological symptom disorder (FNSD) by examining changes of functional neurological symptoms (FNS), general psychological strain, alexithymia, emotion regulation strategies, and cortical correlates of emotion regulation in the context of a standard inpatient treatment program.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Self-report data on FNS, general psychological strain, alexithymia, emotion regulation strategies, and cortical correlates of an experimentally induced emotion regulation task (participants either passively watched unpleasant and neutral pictures or regulated their emotional response to unpleasant pictures using pre-trained reappraisal, while an electroencephalogram was recorded) were compared between 19 patients with FNSD and 19 healthy comparison participants (HC) before and after a 4-week standard treatment protocol that included a combination of (individual and group) psychotherapies and functional treatments (such as physiotherapy) or a 4-week interval in HC, respectively.

RESULTS

General psychological strain did not decrease significantly in FNSD patients. Changes in emotion regulation in FNSD patients were constrained to an increase in self-reported use of cognitive reappraisal strategies. Subjective symptom intensity in FNSD patients varied with alexithymia pretreatment, but did not decrease significantly. Cortical activity in the time and frequency-domain distinguished passive watching of neutral and unpleasant pictures and regulating emotional responses upon unpleasant pictures from passively watching them without difference between groups and/or time.

DISCUSSION

Over the investigated time interval, augmented habitual cognitive emotion regulation suggests an alleviation of emotion processing deficits, but no significant symptom decrease. More controlled and prolonged treatment studies would be needed to determine whether and how a specific contribution of treatment-related changes of emotion regulation and FNS might be inferred.