Autonomic hyper-vigilance in post-infective fatigue syndrome

This study examined whether post-infective fatigue syndrome (PIFS) is associated with a disturbance in bidirectional autonomic signalling resulting in heightened perception of symptoms and sensations from the body in conjunction with autonomic hyper-reactivity to perceived challenges. We studied 23...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological psychology 2010-09, Vol.85 (1), p.97-103
Main Authors: Kadota, Yumiko, Cooper, Gavin, Burton, Alexander R., Lemon, Jim, Schall, Ulrich, Lloyd, Andrew, Vollmer-Conna, Ute
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attention - physiology
Autonomic activation
Autonomic Nervous System Diseases - etiology
Autonomic Nervous System Diseases - pathology
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Chi-Square Distribution
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - complications
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - etiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Hyper-vigilance
Hyperkinesis - etiology
Infection - complications
Interoception
Male
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Pain Threshold - physiology
Post-infective fatigue syndrome
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self-Assessment
Stroop task
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:This study examined whether post-infective fatigue syndrome (PIFS) is associated with a disturbance in bidirectional autonomic signalling resulting in heightened perception of symptoms and sensations from the body in conjunction with autonomic hyper-reactivity to perceived challenges. We studied 23 patients with PIFS and 25 healthy matched control subjects. A heartbeat discrimination task and a pressure pain threshold test were used to assess interoceptive sensitivity. Cardiac response was assessed over a 4-min Stroop task. PIFS was associated with higher accuracy in heartbeat discrimination and a lower pressure pain threshold. Increased interoceptive sensitivity correlated strongly with current symptoms and potentiated differences in the cardiac response to the Stroop task, which in PIFS was characterized by insensitivity to task difficulty and lack of habituation. Our results provide the first evidence of heightened interoceptive sensitivity in PIFS. Together with the distinct pattern in cardiac responsivity these findings present a picture of physiological hyper-vigilance and response inflexibility.
ISSN:0301-0511
1873-6246
DOI:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.05.009