Conversion disorder

Principal Investigator: Selma Aybek, M.D. 

Overview

The research focuses on the neural correlates of Conversion Disorders (CD)-formerly referred to as Hysteria. CD is a frequent, disabling medical condition lying at the frontier between Neurology and Psychiatry. Patients present with a physical neurological symptom thought to be related to psychological stressors or triggers. Recent  work was dedicated to understanding neural processing of the recall of traumatic events in CD patients. Current work focuses on the identification of subtle neuroanatomic changes in the subtype of motor CD using structural MRI technique.

Key Publications

1. What’s So Special About Conversion Disorder? A problem and a proposal for diagnostic classification
Kannan R, Carson A, Wessley S, Nicholson T, Aybek S, David A.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 2010 June;196(6):427-8

2. Hippocampal atrophy predicts conversion to dementia after STN-DBS in Parkinson’s disease
Aybek S, Lazeyras F, Gronchi-Perrin A, Burkhard P, Villemure J-G, Vingerhoets F. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. 2009 Aug;15(7):521-4

3. Asymmetric POSTS associated with ipsilateral EEG abnormalities
Aybek S, Maeder-Ingvar M, Despland P.A, Rossetti A.O. Clinical Neurophysiology/Neurophysiologie Clinique, 2009, 39; 117-21

4. Positive occipital sharp transients of sleep (POSTS): A reappraisal
Rey V, Aybek S, Maeder-Ingvar M, Rossetti A.
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2009, 120:472-5

5. Rapid resolution of dopamine dysregulation syndrome after subthalamic DBS for Parkinon’s disease : a case report.
Knobel D, Aybek S, Pollo C, Vingerhoets F, Berney A.
Cogn Behav Neurol, 2008; 21(3):187-9

6. The Neuropsychiatry of Conversion disorder.
Aybek S, Kanaan R, David A.
Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 2008 May;21(3):275-280

7. Long–term cognitive profile and incidence of dementia after STN-DBS in Parkinson’s disease
Aybek S, Gronchi-Perrin A, Berney A, Catalano Chiuvé S, Villemure J-G Burkhard P, Vingerhoets F. Movement Disorders, 2007 May 15;22(7):974-81