Somatosensory amplification
Encyclopedia
Somatosensory amplification (SA) 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 disorder
s, Asperger syndrome
, and alexithymia
. One common clinical measure of SA is the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS).
It is unclear whether persons with SA have a truly increased physiological sensitivity to bodily sensations. One study paradoxically found lower levels of SA in hypochondriacs who reported being constantly aware of their own heartbeats. Tentative encephalography
results, however, tend to indicate SA is more likely due to differences in long-latency cognitive processing, rather than objective physiological differences in sensitivity.
It is not currently known whether SA causes or is caused by any of these conditions, only that they are comorbid conditions
. One small study did find that, in patients with depression, SA may be part of the depression (i.e., treating the depression reduced the SA).
Somatic
The term somatic means 'of the body',, relating to the body. In medicine, somatic illness is bodily, not mental, illness. The term is often used in biology to refer to the cells of the body in contrast to the germ line cells which usually give rise to the gametes...
and visceral sensations as being relatively intense, disturbing and noxious. It is a common feature of hypochondriasis and is commonly found with fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...
, major depressive disorder, some anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Conditions now considered anxiety disorders only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century. Gelder, Mayou & Geddes explains that anxiety disorders are...
s, Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
, and alexithymia
Alexithymia
Alexithymia from the Ancient Greek words λέξις and θυμός modified by an alpha-privative—literally "without words for emotions"—is a term coined by psychotherapist Peter Sifneos in 1973 to describe a state of deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing...
. One common clinical measure of SA is the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS).
It is unclear whether persons with SA have a truly increased physiological sensitivity to bodily sensations. One study paradoxically found lower levels of SA in hypochondriacs who reported being constantly aware of their own heartbeats. Tentative encephalography
Encephalography
Encephalography may refer to:*Electroencephalography*Hemoencephalography*Magnetoencephalography*Pneumoencephalography...
results, however, tend to indicate SA is more likely due to differences in long-latency cognitive processing, rather than objective physiological differences in sensitivity.
It is not currently known whether SA causes or is caused by any of these conditions, only that they are comorbid conditions
Comorbidity
In medicine, comorbidity is either the presence of one or more disorders in addition to a primary disease or disorder, or the effect of such additional disorders or diseases.- In medicine :...
. One small study did find that, in patients with depression, SA may be part of the depression (i.e., treating the depression reduced the SA).