title: [Emotional disorders in HIV infection].
abstract: Psychiatric and neurological symptoms have been the target of many studies, but the emotional and behavioral modifications in HIV infection remain quite unknown. Working on the emotional dimensions and the heterogeneity of depressive mood, we were interested in evaluating the emotional symptomatology in HIV infected patients. Fifteen HIV-positive and fifteen HIV-negative homosexual men paired by age and educational level were studied. They were seen by two trained psychologists who assessed depression, anxiety and mood dimensions with the MADRS depression scale, Covi's anxiety scale, Depressive Mood scale, Abrams and Taylor scale for Emotional Blunting and Retardation scale. HIV-positive subjects had significantly higher scores of emotional blunting: anhedonia and hypoexpressiveness. Scores of depression, anxiety, irritability and hyperexpressiveness were not significantly different between both groups. Hypoexpressiveness scores were correlated to the CDC stages of the disease. This means that the emotional deficit seems to increase with the course of the disease, and is present in the absence of depression or anxiety. The question of the origin of this emotional blunting can be raised: is it the result of an adaptative behavior and/or the action of the virus on the central nervous system? Further studies are needed to confirm these results and answer this question.
authors.affiliation: INSERM 302, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kosmadakis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bungener
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jouvent
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maffre
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Widlöcher
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology*; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013997:Time Factors
vernacular_title: Perturbations émotionnelles dans l'infection par le VIH.