Assessing physiological autonomic reactivity and appraisal in psychogenic pseudosyncope: Preliminary evidence from a pilot study with two single-cases

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Davide Crivelli, Michela Balconi
Publishing Year 2020 Issue 2020/1
Language English Pages 11 P. 55-65 File size 183 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2020-001005
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Psychogenic pseudosyncope (PPS) represents a peculiar diagnostic challenge. Investigating the link between dysregulated appraisal and altered affective reactivity in people with suspected PPS might provide novel clinical insights and valuable diagnostic data. This pilot study aimed at testing the potential of a structured protocol based on a standardized emotion induction task for the assessment of affective appraisal and autonomic reactivity in individuals suffering from PPS episodes. The comparison of psychometric, explicit appraisal, and implicit autonomic data from two individuals with suspected PPS and a group of control participants has highlighted peculiar clinical profiles connoted by: altered appraisal of affective stimuli, parallel differences in motivational-affective traits, and generalized modulation of cardiovascular activity in response to emotion-laden images.

Keywords: Assessment; emotional reactivity; appraisal; psychogenic pseudosyncope; autonomic measures

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Davide Crivelli, Michela Balconi, Assessing physiological autonomic reactivity and appraisal in psychogenic pseudosyncope: Preliminary evidence from a pilot study with two single-cases in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 1/2020, pp 55-65, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-001005