Proprioception in somatoform disorders

20 patients with somatoform disorders as defined by DSM-IV and 20 healthy c ontrols were examined for their proprioception. Several psychophysiological theories of somatoform disorders suggest biased proprioceptive abilities. The primary question is, whether we may find an inaccurate myogen perceptio n in somatization as suggested by the approach of Bischoff [Wahrnehmung der Muskelspannung (Perception of muscle tension) Gottingen: Hogrefe (1989)] o r a more precise proprioception as may be derived from concepts of a higher awareness of body reactions [e.g. Barksky, A. J. (1992) Amplification, som atization, and the somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics, 39, 28-34; Salkovs kis, P. M., & Clark, D. M. (1993) Panic disorder and hypochondiasis. Adv. R es. Ther. 15, 23-48]. Furthermore it is expected, that somatoform patients perceive their muscle tension more intensely than do healthy subjects. Prop rioceptive abilities were tested using a visual EMG biofeedback task. Resul ting objective data and subjective ratings were analyzed within a psychophy siological regression approach which allows one to estimate the reliability , precision and intensity of proprioception. Results revealed that somatofo rm subjects demonstrared a more precise but not a more intense perception o f muscle tension than did healthy controls. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.