AP41195

Prompt: Science Summary

A new study has connected anxiety and stress to seizures known as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) which are triggered by “threatening situations, sensations, emotions, thoughts, or memories” (University of Lincoln). The study, which made use of questionnaires and computer-generated true/false questions, included 30 participants suffering from PNES, 25 participants with epilepsy, and 31 participants who served as a control group. The participants were asked to gauge the level of their anxiety which reminded me of Holmes and Rahe’s Social Readjustment Rating Scale in which stress is measured by ranking life events based on a point value (Wood, 318). Participants also took a timed computer-generated true/false test which was designed to “gather data on immediate, or implicit, beliefs about anxiety” (University of Lincoln). I believe this system of timed computer assessments was a brilliant idea because it helps to decrease the fact that some participants may lie on tests by making them choose an answer almost on an impulse. These tests were used mainly to determine if a participant avoided situations that brought anxiety and how aware they were of their anxiety, both of which are characteristic of PNES. The results of the study showed that the tests were able to accurately predict whether a participant was suffering from PNES or epilepsy in 83% of the total participants (University of Lincoln). The study also showed that PNES includes more somatic symptoms, or physical symptoms that might not have a medical explanation such as tiredness and back aches (University of Lincoln).

References: University of Lincoln. "Anxiety linked to seizures." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 August 2014. .

Wood, Samuel E., Ellen Wood, and Denise Boyd. //Mastering the World of Psychology//. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.

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