Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry on 28/07/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13546805.2016.1212703
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Uncomfortably numb
T2 - new evidence for suppressed emotional reactivity in response to body-threats in those predisposed to sub-clinical dissociative experiences
AU - Dewe, Hayley
AU - Watson, Derrick
AU - Braithwaite, Jason J
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry on 28/07/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13546805.2016.1212703
PY - 2016/9/2
Y1 - 2016/9/2
N2 - Introduction: Depersonalisation and derealisation disorders refer to feelings of detachment and dissociation from one’s “self” or surroundings. A reduced sense of self (or “presence”) and emotional “numbness” is thought to be mediated by aberrant emotional processing due to biases in self-referent multi-sensory integration. This emotional “numbing” is often accompanied by suppressed autonomic arousal to emotionally salient stimuli. Methods: 118 participants completed the Cambridge Depersonalisation scale [Sierra, & Berrios, 2000. The Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale: A new instrument for the measurement of depersonalisation. Psychiatry Research, 93, 153–164)] as an index of dissociative anomalous experience. Participants took part in a novel “Implied Body-Threat Illusion” task; a pantomimed injection procedure conducted directly onto their real body (hand). Objective psychophysiological data were recorded via standardised threat-related skin conductance responses and finger temperature measures. Results: Individuals predisposed to depersonalisation/derealisation revealed suppressed skin conductance responses towards the pantomimed body-threat. Although the task revealed a reliable reduction in finger temperature as a fear response, this reduction was not reliably associated with measures of dissociative experience. Conclusions: The present findings significantly extend previous research by revealing emotional suppression via a more direct body-threat task, even for sub-clinical groups. The findings are discussed within probabilistic and predictive coding frameworks of multi-sensory integration underlying a coherent sense of self.
AB - Introduction: Depersonalisation and derealisation disorders refer to feelings of detachment and dissociation from one’s “self” or surroundings. A reduced sense of self (or “presence”) and emotional “numbness” is thought to be mediated by aberrant emotional processing due to biases in self-referent multi-sensory integration. This emotional “numbing” is often accompanied by suppressed autonomic arousal to emotionally salient stimuli. Methods: 118 participants completed the Cambridge Depersonalisation scale [Sierra, & Berrios, 2000. The Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale: A new instrument for the measurement of depersonalisation. Psychiatry Research, 93, 153–164)] as an index of dissociative anomalous experience. Participants took part in a novel “Implied Body-Threat Illusion” task; a pantomimed injection procedure conducted directly onto their real body (hand). Objective psychophysiological data were recorded via standardised threat-related skin conductance responses and finger temperature measures. Results: Individuals predisposed to depersonalisation/derealisation revealed suppressed skin conductance responses towards the pantomimed body-threat. Although the task revealed a reliable reduction in finger temperature as a fear response, this reduction was not reliably associated with measures of dissociative experience. Conclusions: The present findings significantly extend previous research by revealing emotional suppression via a more direct body-threat task, even for sub-clinical groups. The findings are discussed within probabilistic and predictive coding frameworks of multi-sensory integration underlying a coherent sense of self.
KW - Dissociation
KW - depersonalisation/derealisation
KW - anomalous experience
KW - embodiment
KW - skin conductance responses
U2 - 10.1080/13546805.2016.1212703
DO - 10.1080/13546805.2016.1212703
M3 - Journal article
VL - 21
SP - 377
EP - 401
JO - Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
JF - Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
SN - 1354-6805
IS - 5
ER -