Memory bias for health-related information in somatoform disorders

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive processes are considered to be relevant to the etiology and maintenance of somatoform disorders (SFDs). The aim of this study was to assess explicit and implicit information-processing bias for disorder-congruent information in SFDs. METHODS: A clinical sample of 33 patients suffering from multiple somatoform symptoms (SSI-3/5) and 25 healthy controls performed an encoding task with computer-presented word lists (illness related, negative, positive, neutral content), subsequently followed by explicit memory tests (free recall and recognition) and an implicit test (word-stem completion). RESULTS: The somatoform group showed a memory bias for illness-related stimuli in the word-stem completion task, whereas the two groups did not differ in explicit memory tests. This effect could not be explained by comorbid depression. CONCLUSION: These results provide some support for current theories on SFDs.