PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY IN ASTHMATIC-CHILDREN - A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON EMOTIONALLY TRIGGERED ASTHMA

This article offers a reconceptualization of the influence of emotiona l arousal on asthma, We propose that the degree to which an asthmatic child is generally psychophysiologically reactive will influence the d egree to which emotional arousal affects airways reactivity and pulmon ary function, This psychophysiologic reactivity may be genetically (te mperamentally) based, or acquired through emotional trauma, Controlled laboratory studies are cited that demonstrate an emotional link in as thma process, A focused and more detailed review is presented of new r esearch support for psychophysiologic reactivity in asthmatic children as a continuum of risk for emotional stimulation of airways constrict ion mediated by cholinergic mechanisms, Treatment implications are dra wn with case illustrations.