Amplification (psychology)

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Amplification is used to describe a judged tendency of a person to amplify physical symptoms based on psychological factors such as anxiety or depression. Distinct interpretations of this type of presentation could be sensory processing disorder involving differences in the way a person reacts to sensory input which is regarded as a pervasive developmental disorder related to the autism spectrum; or there is an alternative psychological concept of 'innate sensitiveness' as a personality trait coined by Carl Jung later developed into the highly sensitive person trait. In one instance where amplification is used as a handle or point of reference or diagnosis it is said "somatosensory amplification refers to the tendency to experience somatic sensation as intense, noxious, and disturbing. What may be a minor 'twinge' or mild 'soreness' to the stoic, is a severe, consuming pain to the amplifier." [1]

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.

The somatosensory amplification scale (SAS) 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

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 trait may be associated with delayed recovery after organic illness. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

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

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somatization disorder</span> Mental disorder consisting of clinically significant somatic symptoms

Somatization disorder was a mental and behavioral disorder characterized by recurring, multiple, and current, clinically significant complaints about somatic symptoms. It was recognized in the DSM-IV-TR classification system, but in the latest version DSM-5, it was combined with undifferentiated somatoform disorder to become somatic symptom disorder, a diagnosis which no longer requires a specific number of somatic symptoms. ICD-10, the latest version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, still includes somatization syndrome.

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

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

Alexithymia, also called emotional blindness, is a neuropsychological phenomenon characterized by significant challenges in recognizing, expressing, and describing one's own emotions. It is associated with difficulties in attachment and interpersonal relations. While there is no scientific consensus on its classification as a personality trait, medical symptom, or mental disorder, alexithymia is highly prevalent among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ranging from 50% to 85% of prevalence.

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.

Functional constipation, known as chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), is constipation that does not have a physical (anatomical) or physiological cause. It may have a neurological, psychological or psychosomatic cause. A person with functional constipation may be healthy, yet has difficulty defecating.

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.

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.

Somatization is a tendency to experience and communicate psychological distress as bodily and organic symptoms and to seek medical help for them. More commonly expressed, it is the generation of physical symptoms of a psychiatric condition such as anxiety. The term somatization was introduced by Wilhelm Stekel in 1924.

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, some anxiety disorders, Asperger syndrome, 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.

Robert Michael Bagby is a Canadian psychologist, senior clinician scientist and director of clinical research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He is a full professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. He became a full professor of psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus in July 2011.

Functional disorder is an umbrella term for 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, 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 purposefully produced or feigned, and they may or may not coexist with a known medical ailment. Manifestations of Somatic symptom disorder are variable and symptoms can be widespread, specific, and often fluctuate. Somatic symptom disorder corresponds to the way an individual views and reacts to symptoms as rather than the symptoms themselves. Somatic symptom disorder may develop in those who suffer from an existing chronic illness or medical condition.

The Somatic Symptom Scale - 8 (SSS-8) is a brief self-report questionnaire used to assess somatic symptom burden. It measures the perceived burden of common somatic symptoms. These symptoms were originally chosen to reflect common symptoms in primary care but they are relevant for a large number of diseases and mental disorders. The SSS-8 is a brief version of the popular Patient Health Questionnaire - 15 (PHQ-15).

The term functional somatic syndrome (FSS) refers to a group of chronic diagnoses with no identifiable organic cause. This term was coined by Hemanth Samkumar. It encompasses disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome, 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.

<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 or central sensitisation is a type of pain which is mechanically different from the normal nociceptive pain caused by inflammation and tissue damage or the neuropathic pain which results from 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.
  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.
  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.
  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.
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