Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA.
Biol Psychol. 2010 Apr;84(1):88-97. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.02.004. Epub 2010 Feb 16.
Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia patients sometimes faint during exposure to relevant stimuli. However, mechanisms and timing of physiological adjustments in BII phobia remain poorly understood. In a larger sample of 60 patients and 20 controls, we sought to replicate findings of a prior study demonstrating the role of hyperventilation in the phobic response. We also investigated the timing of respiratory adjustment across an extended exposure recovery period. In addition, because intense disgust is commonly reported by patients, responses to surgery films were compared to a pure disgust film. End-tidal PCO(2) dropped significantly while volume and flow increased during the surgery film in patients compared to controls and to other emotional films except disgust. Patients recovered quickly following the disgust film but not the surgery film. PCO(2), volume, and flow parameters showed robust associations with anxiety, disgust, and physical symptoms. Findings suggest that respiratory adjustments during and after phobic exposure may provide a critical missing link in the understanding of the psychophysiology of this singular disorder, including why fainting often occurs after the stimulus is removed.
血液-注射-伤害（BII）恐惧症患者在接触相关刺激时有时会昏厥。然而，BII 恐惧症患者的生理调节机制和时间仍知之甚少。在一个更大的 60 名患者和 20 名对照者样本中，我们试图复制先前研究的发现，该研究表明过度通气在恐惧症反应中的作用。我们还研究了在延长的暴露恢复期内呼吸调节的时间。此外，因为强烈的厌恶感通常是患者报告的，所以我们比较了手术影片与纯厌恶影片的反应。与对照组和其他情绪影片（除了厌恶影片）相比，患者在观看手术影片时，呼气末 PCO2 显著下降，而容量和流量增加。与手术影片不同，患者在观看厌恶影片后很快恢复。PCO2、容量和流量参数与焦虑、厌恶和身体症状之间存在显著关联。研究结果表明，在恐惧症暴露期间和之后的呼吸调节可能为理解这种特殊疾病的心理生理学提供了一个关键的缺失环节，包括为什么刺激物移除后经常会昏厥。
