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Psychosensory features in mood disorder: a preliminary report
N Atre-Vaidya1, M A Taylor, V C Jampala
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Health Sciences, Chicago Medical School, IL.
Comprehensive Psychiatry
|July 1, 1994
Summary
Psychosensory features are common in mood disorders and significantly correlate with hallucinations. Their presence may indicate increased episode severity rather than a distinct patient subgroup.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neurology
Background:
- Mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, can present with complex symptomatology.
- Psychosensory features, alterations in sensory perception, are not well-characterized in mood disorder populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of psychosensory features in patients with mood disorders.
- To investigate the association between psychosensory features and established psychopathology.
Main Methods:
- Evaluation of 50 mood disorder patients (39 bipolar, 11 schizoaffective) for psychosensory features and psychopathology.
- Utilized the Profile of Psychomotor Symptoms for psychosensory feature assessment.
- Collected data on psychiatric history, substance abuse, medication, family history, and electroencephalogram (EEG) findings.
Main Results:
- 14.0% of patients reported recent psychosensory features, and 24.0% reported past features.
- Substance abuse, medication load, and EEG abnormalities did not influence psychosensory feature prevalence.
- A significant positive correlation was found between psychosensory features and hallucinations (rs = .53, P < .001).
Conclusions:
- Psychosensory features are relatively common in mood disorders.
- A strong relationship exists between psychosensory features and hallucinations.
- The presence of psychosensory features may signify heightened episode severity in mood disorders, not a separate diagnostic group.