Interpretive bias for benign sensations in panic disorder with agoraphobia

The present study further examines the cognitive model of panic disorder by investigating two questions. The first is whether panic patients misinterpret bodily sensations which are symptoms of either nonanxious states or harmless events. The second is whether panic patients are able to provide benign subsequent explanations for bodily sensations which have initially been interpreted in an anxiety-related manner. Two groups of subjects were used, 15 panic disorder patients with agoraphobia and 15 controls, matched on verbal fluency, age and gender. Compared to controls, patients failed to identify overt explanations for bodily sensations which are due to nonanxious states or harmless events. Patients also misinterpreted bodily sensations in ambiguous scenarios by providing more anxiety-related initial interpretations than controls. Furthermore, compared to controls, patients provided significantly more anxiety-related initial interpretations which they were unable to subsequently reinterpret in a benign manner. These results provide support for the cognitive theory of panic disorder as authored by Clark and his colleagues.