Publications by authors named "Susannah Pick"
Objective: This review aimed to assess the psychometric properties and methodological quality of existing dissociation measures.
Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO were searched in May 2023 using comprehensive search terms for 'dissociation' combined with terms for 'measurement' and 'psychometric properties'. The review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023423485) and followed PRISMA and COSMIN guidelines.
Article Synopsis
- - Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (FNSD) involves neurological-like symptoms without a clear neurological cause, and the mechanisms behind it are complex and not fully understood.
- - A study tested the use of remote monitoring technologies (RMT) on 17 individuals with FNS and 17 healthy controls to track symptoms, daily events, and physiological data, finding that those with FNS reported higher levels of negative emotions, pain, and sleep issues.
- - Results indicate that daily stressors and negative feelings significantly impact FNS severity, suggesting that addressing emotional responses could help those with FNS, and calls for larger studies to explore these findings further.
Article Synopsis
- Mental health issues are prevalent among individuals with epilepsy, affecting their medication adherence, quality of life, and even lifespan, highlighting the need for regular screening and intervention despite challenges like lack of standardized procedures and time constraints.* -
- This study aimed to assess the practicality and effectiveness of a digital tool leveraging electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (ePROMs) to identify mental health symptoms in both adult and pediatric epilepsy patients before their outpatient consultations.* -
- Findings showed that a significant portion of patients experienced mental health symptoms, with many not receiving support; specifically, 37.4% of adults reported anxiety, 29.2% showed depression symptoms, and a notable number of pediatric patients exhibited behavioral issues, emphasizing the importance of digital screening
Article Synopsis
- Functional neurological disorder (FND) causes symptoms like paralysis and seizures and can be very serious, leading to high healthcare costs.
- Researchers plan to study the effects of psilocybin (a psychedelic) on people with FND to understand how it might help their condition.
- The study will look at brain activity and other factors related to FND both before and after people take psilocybin, tracking their experiences for three months.
Background And Purpose: Cognitive complaints are common in functional neurological disorder (FND), but it is unclear whether objective neurocognitive deficits are present. This systematic review summarized validated/standardized cognitive test performance in FND samples across cognitive domains.
Methods: Embase, PsycInfo and MEDLINE were searched from inception to 15 May 2023, combining terms for FND and cognitive domains (e.
Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder (DDD) is characterised by distressing experiences of separation from oneself and/or one's surroundings, potentially resulting from alterations in affective, cognitive, and physiological functions. This systematic review aimed to synthesise current experimental evidence of relevance to proposed mechanisms underlying DDD, to appraise existing theoretical models, and to inform future research and theoretical developments. Studies were included if they tested explicit hypotheses in DDD samples, with experimental manipulations of at least one independent variable, alongside behavioural, subjective, neurological, affective and/or physiological dependent variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Advances have been made in understanding the aetiology of functional neurological disorder (FND); however, its pathophysiological mechanisms have not been definitively demonstrated. Evidence suggests interacting roles for altered emotional processing and interoception, elevated autonomic arousal, and dissociation, but there is limited evidence demonstrating their causal influence on specific FND symptoms. Our superordinate aim is to elucidate potentially shared and distinct aetiological factors and mechanisms in two common FND subtypes, functional seizures (FS) and functional motor symptoms (FMS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunctional neurological disorder (FND) represents a broad group of motor and sensory clinical symptoms which cannot be explained by other neurological diagnoses. Dissociation is considered a key mechanism in their development and maintenance. Despite psychological therapy being the recommended choice of treatment for FND, evidence for its effectiveness is in its infancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study examined etiological factors and symptom triggers of functional motor symptoms (FMS) or functional seizures (FS) and assessed potential relationships with relevant clinical features (i.e., functional symptoms, quality of life, and general functioning).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren and young people with epilepsy are at higher risk of mental health disorders and atypical neurodevelopmental outcomes compared to the general population. It is essential to detect such comorbidities early in children with epilepsy and provide appropriate interventions, to improve clinical outcomes. We aimed to identify and evaluate the measurement properties of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) that have been validated specifically to measure mental health and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children and/or young people with epilepsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We report routinely collected outcome data from an 8-week outpatient rehabilitative therapy program. The aims of the intervention were to (1) reduce symptom severity and (2) improve functional mobility in adults with functional neurological disorder (FND).
Methods: The program delivered individual physiotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and self-management sessions, group physiotherapy, and psychoeducation.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated how highly arousing emotional stimuli affect functional neurological symptoms (FNS) in individuals with functional neurological disorder (FND) compared to healthy controls, focusing on the relationship between emotional response and autonomic reactivity.
- Results showed that FND participants reported higher FNS after viewing negative images, particularly when viewing them passively, and physiological measures, such as skin conductance and heart rate, correlated with those symptom ratings.
- The findings suggest that emotional events may influence FNS through autonomic responses rather than changes in subjective feelings, with cognitive detachment potentially playing a moderating role; more research is needed to explore the neural mechanisms involved.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated neurocognitive functioning in individuals with functional motor symptoms (FMS) and functional seizures (FS) compared to healthy controls, focusing on attention, executive function, social cognition, and metacognitive accuracy.
- Results indicated no significant differences in objective cognitive tests between the two groups, but the FMS/FS group showed faster reaction times on an emotional task and reported more cognitive complaints in daily life.
- The findings highlight a disconnect between subjective self-reports of cognitive issues and actual performance on cognitive assessments in the FMS/FS group, potentially influenced by associated factors like depression and psychological symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated interoception (awareness of internal body states) in individuals with functional motor symptoms (FMS) and seizures (FS) compared to healthy controls (HC), focusing on measures of accuracy and insight.* -
- Results showed no significant differences in interoceptive accuracy or confidence between the two groups, but those with FMS/FS scored lower on certain awareness subscales related to not being distracted and trusting bodily signals.* -
- Impaired interoceptive accuracy might not be central to FMS/FS; instead, a lack of insight and altered body awareness could play a role in the severity and impact of symptoms, suggesting that reduced self-evaluation certainty contributes to the disorder's development
Introduction: Functional neurological disorder (FND) refers to an involuntary loss of control over and/or aberrant perception of the body. Common presenting symptoms are functional (non-epileptic) seizures, and functional motor disorder, for example, walking difficulties, weakness or tremor. Greater access to effective treatments would lead to reduced distress and disability; and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common and serious condition that many doctors don’t fully understand.
- It has been recognized for over 100 years but people with FND still face unfair treatment and discrimination.
- The text argues that FND is a feminist issue because it often affects women and highlights the need for better education and healthcare for those affected by this disorder.
Background: Studies have reported elevated rates of dissociative symptoms and comorbid dissociative disorders in functional neurological disorder (FND); however, a comprehensive review is lacking.
Aims: To systematically review the severity of dissociative symptoms and prevalence of comorbid dissociative disorders in FND and summarise their biological and clinical associations.
Method: We searched Embase, PsycInfo and MEDLINE up to June 2021, combining terms for FND and dissociation.
Objective: Functional neurological disorder (FND) causes a high burden of disability and distress. Although it is a common disorder, there is a pressing need for improved access to evidence-based treatments. With difficulties in finding effective treatment, some people with FND may seek alternative means of symptom relief, such as legal and illicit psychoactive substances, although the prevalence and nature of such self-management strategies are currently unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a complex neuropsychiatric condition that shows inconsistent neural circuit profiles in patients, indicating a need for better understanding of associated physiological factors like autonomic, endocrine, and inflammation markers.
- A systematic review of studies found that children and adolescents with FND have a higher resting heart rate compared to healthy individuals, while adults show differing heart rate responses that can distinguish between functional and epileptic seizures, highlighting individual variations in symptoms.
- The current research on inflammation in FND is still developing, and future studies should involve larger samples to explore the connections between FND symptoms and various biological and psychological factors, as well as whether FND manifestations share common mechanisms or are fundamentally
Background And Purpose: Functional neurological disorder (FND) is common, and symptoms can be severe. There have been no international large-scale studies of patient experiences of FND.
Methods: A patient questionnaire was created to assess FND patient characteristics, symptom comorbidities and illness perceptions.
Objectives: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used therapeutically for functional (conversion) motor symptoms but there is limited evidence for its efficacy and the optimal protocol. We examined the feasibility of a novel randomised controlled trial (RCT) protocol of TMS to treat functional limb weakness.
Design: A double-blind (patient, outcome assessor) two parallel-arm, controlled RCT.
Article Synopsis
- This report by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) discusses driving and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), summarizing existing literature and expert opinions while proposing a method for assessing driving abilities in individuals with PNES.
- A systematic review identified eight studies, which lacked strong evidence for driving regulations related to PNES; however, the majority of health professionals believe some restrictions are warranted.
- The report recommends evaluating driving permissions on a case-by-case basis, emphasizing that individuals with active PNES (defined as having a seizure within the past 6 months) should typically be prohibited from driving until further research clarifies accident risks for this group.
We aimed to examine susceptibility to dissociation and the impact of dissociation on interoceptive processing in individuals with functional neurological disorder (FND). We hypothesised that dissociative states would be elevated and interoceptive accuracy and awareness impaired at baseline in people with FND, and that such differences would be exacerbated following acute dissociation. Nineteen adults with FND were compared to 20 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Altered attentional processing (automatically attending to negative or illness-relevant information) and interpretative biases (interpreting ambiguous information as negative or illness relevant) may be mechanistically involved in functional neurological disorder (FND). Common mechanisms between FND and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have been proposed but not compared experimentally.
Methods: We compared the cognitive task performance of FND, CFS, and healthy control (HC) groups.