PANIC, AVOIDANCE AND THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM

这项研究涉及有或没有广场恐怖症的恐慌症， 与强烈不适和显著社交相关的病症 丧失能力 我们实验室的结果表明 和前庭功能受损之间的联系 广场恐惧症 有证据表明，更依赖于视觉或本体感受线索， 保持平衡。 结果还表明亚临床异常 对焦虑症患者脑干功能的听力学检测， 这些异常并不特别发生在广场恐怖症中。 的 拟议研究的目的是复制这些发现， 继续在上一个资助期开始的研究， 前庭功能障碍的心身机制 耳神经功能将在以下诊断中进行研究 组：（1）惊恐障碍（无并发症）;（3）惊恐障碍伴 广场恐怖症;（3）非惊恐性焦虑障碍，无广场恐怖症样 （4）正常对照组。 每科30名受试者 一组将接受一系列临床听力学和前庭 试验. 正常对照受试者也将接受效果测试 对前庭功能的影响 生理和自我- 将获得前庭测试期间焦虑的报告测量值， 检查与前庭测试结果的协变。 的评估者 听力学和前庭测试对于受试者的 诊断。 前庭和听力测试的结果将 检查临床异常结果的患病率。 参数分析将检验组间的系统差异 在整个正常和异常范围内。 研究结果将 对我们理解这些疾病的发病机制有意义， 疾病和增强治疗的发展。

This study concerns Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia, conditions associated with intense discomfort and significant social incapacitation. Results from our laboratory indicate an association between agoraphobia and impaired vestibular function. Agoraphobics showed evidence for greater reliance on visual or proprioceptive cues to maintain balance. The results also indicated subclinical abnormalities on audiological test of brainstem function in anxiety disorders, but these abnormalities did not specifically occur in agoraphobia. The purpose of the proposed research is to replicate these findings and continue research begun during the previous funding period examining psychosomatic mechanisms in vestibular dysfunction. Otoneurological function will be studied in the following diagnostic groups: (1) Panic disorder (uncomplicated); (3) Panic disorder with Agoraphobia; (3) Non-panic anxiety disorder without agoraphobia-like avoidance; and (4) healthy Normal controls. Thirty subjects in each group will receive a battery of clinical audiological and vestibular tests. Normal control subjects will also undergo a test for the effect of hyperventilation on vestibular function. Physiological and self- report measures of anxiety during vestibular testing will be obtained and examined for covariation with vestibular test results. The evaluators of the audiological and vestibular tests will be blind as to the subject's diagnoses. The results of the vestibular and audiological tests will be examined with respect to prevalence of clinically abnormal findings. Parametric analysis will test for systematic differences between groups over the entire normal and abnormal range. The results of the study will have implications for our understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders and to the development of enhanced treatments.