Neuropsychologıcal and neurophysıologıcal profıle of women who have pseudoseızure ıs dıagnosed wıth conversıon dısorder

Aim: In this study, it is aimed to compare assessments of neuropsychological tests and p50 neurophysiological test of conversion disorder diagnosed patients with pseudoseizure and healthy control groups and to investigate neurological tendency in conversion disorder with pseudoseizure.Method: In the study, 22 women with the diagnosis of conversion disorder which show convulsions according to SCID-I/CV and 22 healthy women are taken to assessment. Patients who take psychotrop drugs, have a history with neurological disease and surgical operations, mental retardation, additional medical problem, addiction to smoke-alcohol and drugs and also during the interview according to DSM-IV-TR, patients who have additional psychological disorder and/or personality disorder are excluded from the study. The attendants are worked up by WMS-R, marking test, stroop tests from neuropsychological tests and then p50 from neurophysiological tests.Findings: The patient group?s neuropsychological test performances which consists of WMS-R, stroop and marking tests were found significantly low comparing to control group. p50 sensory gating ratios of the patient group were statistically significantly lower comparing to the control group. There were no significant correlations detected between, neuropsychological test scores and gating rates of patient group and control group.Result: This study is the first study that sensory gating is worked up in conversion disorder diagnosed patients with pseudoseizure. Its most remarkable symptom is p50 sensory gating reduction in patients with pseudoseizure comparing to control group.In our study, the increase of stroop durations in conversion disorder diagnosed patients with pseudoseizure and the increase of focussed attention, marking test scanning duration indicates the reduced sustained attention. Decreased attention in these patients, is compatible with the earlier information which is in conversion disorder attention decreases.Our results suggests that these patients have neurological tendency to this disease due to an attention decrease which can not compensate percepting stimulis excessively because of decreased sensory gating.Key words: Conversion disorder, neuropsychological test, pseudoseizure, sensory gating (p50)