Features of Color Reflection in Psychogenic Pain in Patients with Somatoform Disorders during Psychotherapeutic Treatment

• Published in: The Spanish journal of psychology 2009-11, Vol.12 (2), p.715-724
• Main Authors: Ishinova, Vera A., Svyatogor, Irina A., Reznikov, Tatiana N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Attention - physiology; Autogenic Training - methods; Brain; Brain - physiopathology; Color Perception - physiology; Emotions; Empathy; Female; Humans; Imagination - physiology; Male; Middle Aged; Pain; Pain - physiopathology; Pain - psychology; Pain Management; Pain Measurement; Patients; Psychology; Psychophysiology; Psychotherapy; Psychotherapy - methods; Quality of Life - psychology; Somatoform Disorders - physiopathology; Somatoform Disorders - psychology; Somatoform Disorders - therapy; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1138-7416; 1988-2904
• DOI: 10.1017/S1138741600002080

The present work examines the change in color reflection in psychogenic pain in patients with somatoform disorders (SFD) during psychotherapeutic treatment, for which empatho-techniques were used. At the start and end of the course the psychophysiological condition was determined according to psychological parameters and assessment of bioelectrical brain activity. All initial indicators for the patients significantly differed from those for the healthy subjects. At the same time, color reflection in the psychogenic pain was characterised by colors in the longwave part of the spectrum, in contradistinction to healthy subjects for whom achromatic and shortwave colors predominated. After the completed course patients with SFD had a significant improvement of all psychophysiological indicators and a lack of color reflectons in the longwave part of the spectrum. The data obtained permits the proposition that there exists a link between the psychogenic pain, its color reflection and anxiety, and also changes in the functional condition of the CNS. Este trabajo examina el cambio en el reflejo del color en el dolor psicógeno en pacientes con desórdenes somatomorfos durante el tratamiento psicoterapéutico, para el que se utilizaron técnicas empáticas. Al principio y final del tratamiento se controló la condición psicofisiológica de acuerdo a parámetros psicológicos y evaluando la actividad bioeléctrica cerebral. Los indicadores iniciales diferían entre los pacientes y los sujetos de control. Al mismo tiempo el reflejo de color en el dolor psicógeno se caracterizaba por colores de longitud de onda larga, frente al de los sujetos sanos, en los que predominaban colores acromáticos y de longitud de onda corta. Tras el tratamiento, los pacientes con desórdenes somatomorfos mejoraron significativamente en los indicadores psicofisiológicos y presentaron en el reflejo una ausencia de colores de longitud de onda larga. Los datos sugieren que existe un nexo entre el dolor psicógeno, su reflejo de color y la ansiedad, así como cambios correspondientes en la funcionalidad del SNC.