The psychophysiology of nausea

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Nausea is a subjective sensation, often linked to the stomach and vomiting, with limited understanding of its personal experience.
• Nausea is conceptualized as a complex control mechanism signaling when to avoid eating.
• Research in motion sickness and chemotherapy informs the understanding of nausea's subjective aspects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a dynamic threshold model for nausea.
• To explore the interaction of inherent and psychological factors influencing nausea.
• To investigate the effect of this threshold on cognitive appraisal of stimuli and bodily responses.

Main Methods:

• Review of research in motion sickness and chemotherapy.
• Identification of inherent factors (age, gender, race).
• Identification of psychological factors (anxiety, expectation, anticipation, adaptation).
• Analysis of accompanying physiological responses (sympathetic/parasympathetic activity, gastric activity, vasopressin levels).

Main Results:

• A dynamic threshold for nausea is proposed, influenced by inherent and psychological factors.
• This threshold impacts cognitive appraisal of nausea-inducing stimuli and bodily changes.
• Physiological correlates include altered nervous system activity, abnormal gastric motility, and increased plasma vasopressin.

Conclusions:

• Effective nausea reduction requires a deeper understanding of the interaction between psychological and physiological variables.
• The proposed dynamic threshold model provides a framework for future research.
• Further investigation into the subjective experience of nausea is warranted.