Psychophysiological reactions in dental phobic patients during video stimulation.

• Electromyography (EMG) reflecting forehead muscle tension, heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) were continuously recorded in dental phobic subjects (n = 126) and controls (n = 25) during exposure of dental and neutral video scenes in order to explore the relationship between dental fear and psychophysiological responses. This relationship is far from well established, and the present investigation was performed to contribute to the understanding of the psychophysiology of dental fear. Dental phobics had a mean anxiety level of 17.3 as measured by Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and refused conventional dental treatment. Control subjects reported regular dental treatment and a DAS score below population average (DAS < 8). Psychophysiological data was reduced to level (mean) and reactivity (means of intraindividual variations). Results showed that physiologic reactions to fear-relevant conditions measured by HR and EMG reflected degree of dental fear, and that neutral conditions, when presented for the second and third time, induced lower psychophysiologic reactions in phobics than in controls. Recordings of SC indicated that dental phobics may differ from individuals suffering from other types of specific phobia by showing weakened autonomic responsiveness to threat.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Odontologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Dentistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Adult

Analysis of Variance

Audiovisual Aids

Autonomic Nervous System

physiopathology

Dental Anxiety

physiopathology

psychology

Dental High-Speed Equipment

Electromyography

Facial Muscles

physiopathology

Female

Forehead

Galvanic Skin Response

physiology

Heart Rate

physiology

Humans

Injections

Male

Middle Aged

Muscle Contraction

physiology

Needles

Photic Stimulation

Psychophysiology

Statistics as Topic

Video Recording

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)