Evidence that subclinical somatoform dissociation is not characterised by heightened awareness of proprioceptive signals.
It has been suggested that abnormal perceptual processing and somatosensory amplification may be contributory factors to somatoform symptom reporting. A key source of somatosensory information is proprioception, yet the perception and integration of this sense has not been sufficiently investigated in those prone to somatoform disorders.



Subclinical groups of high- and low-scorers on the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire made judgements about the location of their unseen hand following congruent or incongruent visuo-proprioceptive feedback, which was manipulated using a MIRAGE-mediated reality system.



No differences were found between groups, with both groups displaying normal proprioceptive accuracy under congruent conditions and equivalent visuo-proprioceptive integration under incongruent conditions.



The results suggest that amplification of, or abnormal weighting for, proprioceptive signals is not a contributing factor to somatoform symptom reporting.
a School of Psychology, University of Nottingham , Nottingham , UK.
Natasha
N
Ratcliffe
a School of Psychology, University of Nottingham , Nottingham , UK.
Roger
R
Newport
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
MIRAGE; Somatoform dissociation; medically unexplained symptoms; proprioception; sensory integration