Project

Hypervigilance for bodily sensations: a functional perspective

Code

01N00411

Duration

01 January 2011 → 30 September 2016

Funding

Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund

Promotor

Stefaan Van Damme

Research disciplines

Social sciences
- Health psychology
- Cognitive processes
- Motivation and emotion
- Motor processes and action
- Sensory processes and perception

Keywords

health psychology goals pain medically unexplained symptoms hypervigilance

Project description

Hypervigilance for bodily sensations is often suggested as a crucial factor in medically unexplained pain. This idea, however, lacks theoretical underpinning and empirical support. In this project, hypervigilance for bodily sensations is investigated within a new theoretical framework, which proposes that hypervigilance is a functional mechanism that is activated in situations in which patients experience bodily threat.