The following is from www.docguide.comPhobic Anxiety-Related Brain Activity May Influence Severity Of Irritable Bowel SyndromeA DGReview of :"Phobic Anxiety Changes the Function of Brain-Gut Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome"Psychosomatic Medicine12/10/2001By James AdamsAnxiety-related hyperreactivity in the frontal brain may affect the function of the brain-gut axis and contribute to disease severity in irritable bowel syndrome."Disease severity in the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is highly influenced by psychiatric comorbidity," report investigators from the National Hospital in Oslo and the Oestfold County Hospital in Fredikstad, Norway. "The mechanism is generally unknown, even if the brain-gut axis seems to be involved." The investigators compared 11 female patients with IBS and comorbid phobic anxiety disorder with 22 age-matched female IBS controls. Effects of the comorbid disorder on brain information processing of auditory stimuli were assessed. Event-related potentials (ERP) in response to auditory-presented words with emotional content were measured.Any consequences to visceral sensitivity thresholds and disease severity were determined.Results showed that the comorbid anxiety IBS group had significantly enhanced first negative ERP wave (N1) to all stimuli. This group also showed increased visceral threshold for the sensation of gas and reduced gas-stool and gas-discomfort tolerances compared with the non-comorbid IBS group.Enhanced N1 amplitude and reduced gas-stool tolerance could predict subjective gas complaints, the investigators report, "explaining 47 percent of the symptom variation."The study suggests an interaction between information processing in the frontal brain and visceral characteristics in IBS patients that may predict disease related symptomatology. Psychosom Med 2001; 63(6): 959-965. "Phobic Anxiety Changes the Function of Brain-Gut Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome"Shouldn't that sentence with the bold phrase read "This group also showed decreased visceral threshold for the sensation of gas "You would think if you have a higher threshold for the sensation you would be less sensitive to the sensation of gas.And the comorbid group should be more sensitive to gas.i.e. decreased threshold should mean decreased tolerance to gas? If not can someone please explain visceral threshold to me?flux or kmottus? Thanks a lot
