Persistent Nausea without organic cause

The onset of functional nausea among 77 patients was frequently related to an organic disease or to a psychophysiologic response to stress. Later, the nausea had obvious features of conversion, hypochondriasis, or an hallucination. The patients had significant psychiatric disorders as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and by clinical examination. While in the hospital most patients experienced symptomatic improvement but they did not accept a psychologic explanation for their nausea.