Amplification (psychology)

Last updated

Amplification is a judged tendency of a person to amplify physical symptoms based on negative psychological factors such as anxiety or depression. A distinct interpretation of amplification could be sensory processing disorder involving differences in the way a person reacts to sensory input, a symptom associated autism spectrum disorder. [1] An indicidual’s psychological state has been documented to affect the course of upper respiratory tract infection, [2] [3] post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome, [4] and musculoskeletal pain. [5] Amplification is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.

Contents

Amplification is related to alexithymia. [6] [7] Amplification may also contribute to multiple-drug intolerance (if the adverse effects that are reported are non-specific). [8] It is unclear whether amplification is related to observations that Type A personality traits may be associated with delayed recovery after organic illness. [9] [10]

Assessment

The somatosensory amplification scale (SSAS) has been validated to measure amplification. [1] The scale contains four items measured with a five-item Likert scale:

  1. Sudden loud noises really disturb me
  2. I'm very uncomfortable when I'm in a place that is too hot or too cold
  3. I can't stand pain as well as most people can
  4. I find I'm often aware of various things happening in my body
  5. I'm quick to sense the hunger contractions in my stomach

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defecation</span> Expulsion of feces from the digestive tract

Defecation follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus or cloaca. The act has a variety of names ranging from the common, like pooping or crapping, to the technical, e.g. bowel movement, to the obscene (shitting), to the euphemistic, to the juvenile. The topic, usually avoided in polite company, can become the basis for some potty humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypochondriasis</span> Medical condition

Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is an old concept whose meaning has repeatedly changed over its lifespan. It has been claimed that this debilitating condition results from an inaccurate perception of the condition of body or mind despite the absence of an actual medical diagnosis. An individual with hypochondriasis is known as a hypochondriac. Hypochondriacs become unduly alarmed about any physical or psychological symptoms they detect, no matter how minor the symptom may be, and are convinced that they have, or are about to be diagnosed with, a serious illness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irritable bowel syndrome</span> Functional gastrointestinal disorder

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may occur over a long time, sometimes for years. IBS can negatively affect quality of life and may result in missed school or work or reduced productivity at work. Disorders such as anxiety, major depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome are common among people with IBS.

Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS), chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP), or centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome (CMAP) is a pain syndrome of the abdomen, that has been present for at least six months, is not well connected to gastrointestinal function, and is accompanied by some loss of everyday activities. The discomfort is persistent, near-constant, or regularly reoccurring. The absence of symptom association with food intake or defecation distinguishes functional abdominal pain syndrome from other functional gastrointestinal illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdominal pain</span> Stomach aches

Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues. Since the abdomen contains most of the body's vital organs, it can be an indicator of a wide variety of diseases. Given that, approaching the examination of a person and planning of a differential diagnosis is extremely important.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexithymia</span> Deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions

Alexithymia, also called emotional blindness, is a neuropsychological phenomenon characterized by significant challenges in recognizing, expressing, sourcing, and describing one's emotions. It is associated with difficulties in attachment and interpersonal relations. There is no scientific consensus on its classification as a personality trait, medical symptom, or mental disorder.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), also known as disorders of gut–brain interaction, include a number of separate idiopathic disorders which affect different parts of the gastrointestinal tract and involve visceral hypersensitivity and motility disturbances.

A nocebo effect is said to occur when a patient's expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a worse effect than it otherwise would have. For example, when a patient anticipates a side effect of a medication, they can experience that effect even if the "medication" is actually an inert substance. The complementary concept, the placebo effect, is said to occur when expectations improve an outcome.

Food intolerance is a detrimental reaction, often delayed, to a food, beverage, food additive, or compound found in foods that produces symptoms in one or more body organs and systems, but generally refers to reactions other than food allergy. Food hypersensitivity is used to refer broadly to both food intolerances and food allergies.

Couvade syndrome, also called sympathetic pregnancy, is a proposed condition in which an expectant father experiences some of the same symptoms and behavior as his pregnant partner. These most often include major weight gain, altered hormone levels, morning nausea, and disturbed sleep patterns. In more extreme cases, symptoms can include labor pains, fatigue, postpartum depression, and nosebleeds. The labor pain symptom is commonly known as sympathy pain.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms are symptoms for which a treating physician or other healthcare providers have found no medical cause, or whose cause remains contested. In its strictest sense, the term simply means that the cause for the symptoms is unknown or disputed—there is no scientific consensus. Not all medically unexplained symptoms are influenced by identifiable psychological factors. However, in practice, most physicians and authors who use the term consider that the symptoms most likely arise from psychological causes. Typically, the possibility that MUPS are caused by prescription drugs or other drugs is ignored. It is estimated that between 15% and 30% of all primary care consultations are for medically unexplained symptoms. A large Canadian community survey revealed that the most common medically unexplained symptoms are musculoskeletal pain, ear, nose, and throat symptoms, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, and dizziness. The term MUPS can also be used to refer to syndromes whose etiology remains contested, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity and Gulf War illness.

A functional symptom is a medical symptom with no known physical cause. In other words, there is no structural or pathologically defined disease to explain the symptom. The use of the term 'functional symptom' does not assume psychogenesis, only that the body is not functioning as expected. Functional symptoms are increasingly viewed within a framework in which 'biological, psychological, interpersonal and healthcare factors' should all be considered to be relevant for determining the aetiology and treatment plans.

Somatosensory amplification (SSA) is a tendency to perceive normal somatic and visceral sensations as being relatively intense, disturbing and noxious. It is a common feature of hypochondriasis and is commonly found with fibromyalgia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and alexithymia. One common clinical measure of SSA is the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS).

The Manning criteria are a diagnostic algorithm used in the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The criteria consist of a list of questions the physician can ask the patient. The answers are used in a process to produce a diagnostic decision regarding whether the patient can be considered to have IBS.

Functional disorders are a group of recognisable medical conditions which are due to changes to the functioning of the systems of the body rather than due to a disease affecting the structure of the body.

Somatic symptom disorder, also known as somatoform disorder or somatization disorder, is defined by one or more chronic physical symptoms that coincide with excessive and maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connected to those symptoms. The symptoms are not deliberately produced or feigned, and they may or may not coexist with a known medical ailment.

FODMAPs or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and ferment in the colon. They include short-chain oligosaccharide polymers of fructose (fructans) and galactooligosaccharides, disaccharides (lactose), monosaccharides (fructose), and sugar alcohols (polyols), such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol. Most FODMAPs are naturally present in food and the human diet, but the polyols may be added artificially in commercially prepared foods and beverages.

Functional somatic syndrome (FSS) is any of a group of chronic diagnoses with no identifiable organic cause. This term was coined by Hemanth Samkumar. It encompasses disorders such as fibromyalgia, chronic widespread pain, temporomandibular disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, lower back pain, tension headache, atypical face pain, non-cardiac chest pain, insomnia, palpitation, dyspepsia and dizziness. General overlap exists between this term, somatization and somatoform. The status of ME/CFS as a functional somatic syndrome is contested. Although the aetiology remains unclear, there are consistent findings of biological abnormalities, and major health bodies such as the NAM, WHO, and NIH, classify it as an organic disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interoception</span> Sensory system that receives and integrates information from the body

Interoception is the collection of senses providing information to the organism about the internal state of the body. This can be both conscious and subconscious. It encompasses the brain's process of integrating signals relayed from the body into specific subregions—like the brainstem, thalamus, insula, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex—allowing for a nuanced representation of the physiological state of the body. This is important for maintaining homeostatic conditions in the body and, potentially, facilitating self-awareness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nociplastic pain</span> Symptom

Nociplastic pain, also known as central sensitisation, is a third category of pain that is mechanistically distinct from nociceptive pain, which is due to inflammation and tissue damage, and neuropathic pain, which is due to nerve damage. It may occur in combination with the other types of pain or in isolation. Its location may be generalised or multifocal, and it can be more intense than would be expected from any associated physical cause.

References

  1. 1 2 Barsky AJ, Goodson JD, Lane RS, Cleary PD (1988). "The amplification of somatic symptoms". Psychosomatic Medicine. 50 (5): 510–9. doi:10.1097/00006842-198809000-00007. PMID   3186894. S2CID   29282201.
  2. ↑ IMBODEN JB, CANTER A, CLUFF LE (1961). "Convalescence from influenza. A study of the psychological and clinical determinants". Arch. Intern. Med. 108: 393–9. doi:10.1001/archinte.1961.03620090065008. PMID   13717585.
  3. ↑ Lane RS, Barsky AJ, Goodson JD (1988). "Discomfort and disability in upper respiratory tract infection". Journal of General Internal Medicine. 3 (6): 540–6. doi:10.1007/BF02596095. PMID   3230456. S2CID   28428075.
  4. ↑ Thabane M, Kottachchi DT, Marshall JK (2007). "Systematic review and meta-analysis: the incidence and prognosis of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome". Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 26 (4): 535–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2007.03399.x . PMID   17661757.
  5. ↑ Mallen CD, Peat G, Thomas E, Dunn KM, Croft PR (2007). "Prognostic factors for musculoskeletal pain in primary care: a systematic review". The British Journal of General Practice. 57 (541): 655–61. PMC   2099673 . PMID   17688762.
  6. ↑ Wise, Thomas N.; Mann, Lee S. (August 1994). "The relationship between somatosensory amplification, alexithymia, and neuroticism". Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 38 (6): 515–521. doi:10.1016/0022-3999(94)90048-5. ISSN   0022-3999. PMID   7990059.
  7. ↑ Nakao, Mutsuhiro; Barsky, Arthur J.; Kumano, Hiroaki; Kuboki, Tomifusa (January 2002). "Relationship Between Somatosensory Amplification and Alexithymia in a Japanese Psychosomatic Clinic". Psychosomatics. 43 (1): 55–60. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.43.1.55. ISSN   0033-3182. PMID   11927759. S2CID   9738550.
  8. ↑ Davies SJ, Jackson PR, Ramsay LE, Ghahramani P (2003). "Drug intolerance due to nonspecific adverse effects related to psychiatric morbidity in hypertensive patients". Arch. Intern. Med. 163 (5): 592–600. doi: 10.1001/archinte.163.5.592 . PMID   12622606.
  9. ↑ Jenkins CD, Jono RT, Stanton BA (1996). "Predicting completeness of symptom relief after major heart surgery". Behavioral Medicine . 22 (2): 45–57. doi:10.1080/08964289.1996.9933764. PMID   8879456.
  10. ↑ Fields KB, Delaney M, Hinkle JS (1990). "A prospective study of type A behavior and running injuries". The Journal of Family Practice. 30 (4): 425–9. PMID   2324695.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.