Walentynowicz Marta, Raes Filip, Van Diest Ilse, Van den Bergh Omer
From the Health Psychology (Walentynowicz, Van Diest, Van den Bergh) and Learning Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology (Raes), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Psychosom Med. 2017 Jan;79(1):43-49. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000357.
Patients with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) have persistent distressing somatic symptoms that are associated with excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS) is related to a range of emotional disorders and is considered a vulnerability factor for an unfavorable course of pathology. The present study investigated whether the specificity of health-related autobiographical memories is reduced in patients with SSD with medically unexplained dyspnea complaints, compared with healthy controls.
Female patients with SSD (n = 30) and matched healthy controls (n = 24) completed a health-related Autobiographical Memory Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Ruminative Response Scale, and rumination scales concerning bodily reactions. Depressive symptoms and rumination were assessed because both variables previously showed associations with rAMS.
Patients with SSD recalled fewer specific (F(1,52) = 13.63, p = .001) and more categoric (F(1,52) = 7.62, p = .008) autobiographical memories to health-related cue words than healthy controls. Patients also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and rumination (all t > 3.00, p < .01). Importantly, the differences in memory specificity were independent of depressive symptoms and trait rumination.
The present study extends findings on rAMS to a previously unstudied sample of patients with SSD. Importantly, the presence of rAMS could not be explained by increased levels of depressive symptoms and rumination. We submit that rAMS in this group reflects how health-related episodes and associated symptoms are encoded in memory.
躯体症状障碍（SSD）患者存在持续的令人痛苦的躯体症状，这些症状与过度的思维、情感和行为相关。自传体记忆特异性降低（rAMS）与一系列情绪障碍有关，被认为是病理过程不良发展的一个易患因素。本研究调查了与健康对照相比，患有医学上无法解释的呼吸困难主诉的SSD患者与健康相关的自传体记忆的特异性是否降低。
SSD女性患者（n = 30）和匹配的健康对照（n = 24）完成了一项与健康相关的自传体记忆测试、贝克抑郁量表、沉思反应量表以及关于身体反应的沉思量表。评估抑郁症状和沉思，因为这两个变量先前均显示与rAMS有关。
与健康对照相比，SSD患者回忆起的与健康相关提示词相关的具体自传体记忆更少（F(1,52) = 13.63，p = .001），而分类自传体记忆更多（F(1,52) = 7.62，p = .008）。患者还报告了更高水平的抑郁症状和沉思（所有t > 3.00，p < .01）。重要的是，记忆特异性的差异与抑郁症状和特质沉思无关。
本研究将关于rAMS的研究结果扩展到了先前未研究过的SSD患者样本。重要的是，rAMS的存在不能用抑郁症状和沉思水平的升高来解释。我们认为该组中的rAMS反映了与健康相关的事件及相关症状在记忆中的编码方式。
