Epidemic faintness: a psychophysiological investigation.

A psychophysiological assessment was carried out in 16 telephone operators, who fainted during an epidemic, and in 16 control subjects. Heart rate, skin conductance level, number of spontaneous fluctuations and pulse volume were measured at rest and during periods of auditory and visual stimulation. All subjects completed rating scales on anxiety, depression, anxiety experienced during experimental procedure and personality inventories. Analysis of data support the notion that the fainting episodes represent a form of transitory anxiety attacks in response to environmental stress and are not related either to hysteria or to anxiety state.