A TEST OF THE COGNITIVE MODEL OF PANIC - PRIMED LEXICAL DECISION IN PANIC DISORDER

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether individuals wi th panic disorder are characterised by an enhanced tendency to associa te particular somatic sensations with threatening outcomes, compared w ith nonclinical controls. In order to test this prediction, a modified lexical decision task was employed. Panic disorder subjects and noncl inical control subjects made lexical decisions to neutral word pairs a nd threatening word pairs. Threatening word pairs consisted of combina tions of somatic sensations and catastrophic outcomes (e.g., breathles s-suffocate), which have been shown to be of salience to individuals w ith panic disorder. Semantic priming was found for both neutral and th reatening word pairs, bur was demonstrated equally by panic disorder s ubjects and nonclinical controls. The results did not provide support for cognitive models of panic disorder. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.