[Amplification: somatosensory or cognitive?].

Somatosensory amplification refers to the tendency to experience somatic and visceral sensations as intense, noxious and disturbing and has been related to a variety of psychiatric disorders and more specifically to hypochondriasis. A Spanish version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale was applied to a sample of 60 outpatients divided into three groups: hypochondriacs, non-hypochondriac somatizers and non-somatizers. The scale showed a good internal consistency (alpha = 0.70) although it did not show statistically significant differences between the three groups. A significant tendency to present higher scores in a self-rating rather than in an observer-rated depression scale, measured by the quotient between the scores in Beck Depression Inventary and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale, was found in hypochondriacal subjects. This quotient significantly showed lineal correlation with Whiteley Index of hipochondriasis. We discuss the results and postulate the relationship of negative affectivity with this finding.