Authors: Gerhard Andersson; Monica Fredriksson; Marcus Jansson; Christian Ingerholt; Hans Christian Larsen

Source: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Volume 33, Number 4, December 2004 , pp. 208-220(13)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Dizziness is commonly associated with anxiety, and is often caused by a dysfunction of the balance system. While a link between dizziness and both anxiety disorders and depression has been established, less is known about information processing in dizziness. In the first experiment we tested whether 15 patients with dizziness would display an emotional Stroop effect for panic-related words. Also included was a control group of 15 persons. The Stroop task was preceded by ratings of personal relevance of the Stroop words and followed by a surprise free recall of the words. Results showed a Stroop effect for panic-related words in the dizziness group, but the interaction did not reach significance (p = 0.08). Separate analysis of dizziness-related panic words however resulted in a significant group × condition interaction. In the free recall of Stroop words a main effect of word category was found, with more panic-related words being recalled. The second experiment investigated autobiographical memories in 14 patients with dizziness and 14 matched controls. Results showed a group × condition interaction with less specific memories being recalled following positive cue-words in the dizziness group. The overall pattern of results suggests that dizziness is related to deficits in information processing, which could be targeted in treatment.

Keywords: vestibular disorders; dizziness; emotional Stroop; autobiographical memory; panic

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16506070410030098

Publication date: 2004-12-01

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