Department of psychiatry-Saint Joseph University-Beirut-Lebanon, Hotel Dieu de France- A. Naccache boulevard - Achrafieh, P.O. box: 166830 Beiruth, Lebanon.
Encephale. 2021 Dec;47(6):613-615. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2020.08.005. Epub 2020 Nov 12.
"Emotional chemobrain" is a new paradigm that relates the occurrence of alterations in the psychological wellbeing of patients to the adverse drug effects of chemotherapy on the neurobiological level. The concept of "emotional chemobrain" is the analogue concept of the classical concept of "chemobrain" but that concerns emotional disturbances related to chemotherapy. Disgust is a negative emotion that might accompany any stressful life event such as having cancer. Increased disgust may lead to the development of mental disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders. Patients with cancer may develop negative emotions such as self-disgust because of their affected autonomy and life style on the one hand and because of chemotherapy's effect on their brain on the other. Self-disgust might be considered as a factor contributing to psychological distress exacerbation in this category of physically ill individuals. In addition to lifestyle modifications and body changes, self-disgust might be exacerbated by chemotherapy in the same way other negative emotions might be exacerbated by this kind of treatment. It might be speculated that the emotional side effects of chemotherapy concern activation modifications in brain regions relevant to emotional elaboration and regulation such as the insular lobe and the amygdala. "Emotional chemobrain" should be considered whenever neuropsychiatric adverse effects of chemotherapy are manifested in patients with cancer. Future studies might be interested in studying the effect of chemotherapy on brain regions that can affect regulation of emotions such as self-disgust.
“情绪化疗脑”是一个新的概念，它将患者心理幸福感的变化与化疗对神经生物学水平的不良药物作用联系起来。“情绪化疗脑”的概念是经典“化疗脑”概念的类似概念，但它涉及与化疗相关的情绪障碍。厌恶是一种可能伴随着任何应激生活事件（如患有癌症）的负面情绪。增加的厌恶感可能导致精神障碍的发展，如情绪和焦虑障碍。由于癌症患者的自主性和生活方式受到影响，以及化疗对大脑的影响，他们可能会产生自我厌恶等负面情绪。自我厌恶可能被认为是导致这一类身体不适个体心理困扰加剧的因素之一。除了生活方式的改变和身体的变化，自我厌恶可能会像其他负面情绪一样，因这种治疗而加剧。可以推测，化疗的情绪副作用与大脑中与情绪表达和调节相关的区域的激活改变有关，如脑岛和杏仁核。“情绪化疗脑”应该在癌症患者出现化疗引起的神经精神不良反应时考虑。未来的研究可能有兴趣研究化疗对大脑区域的影响，这些区域可能会影响自我厌恶等情绪的调节。
