Table 3.
PET studies of conversion disorder
| Study | Number of subjects | Symptom type | Paradigm | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthuis et al51 | 16 PNES (and epilepsy) 16 HC |
Seizures | Resting state and seizures | CD group showed: 1) hypometabolism in right inferior parietal and central region, as well as bilateral anterior cingulate cortex; 2) significant increase in metabolic correlation between the right inferior parietal/central region and the bilateral cerebellum, and between the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and the left parahippocampal gyrus |
| Marshall et al47 | I CD | Motor (weakness) | Asked to move functionally paralyzed limb | No neural activation of the primary motor cortex, but enhanced activation of the right orbitofrontal cortex and right anterior cingulate cortex |
| Schrag et al49 | 6 CD 5 organic 6 HC |
Dystonia | Fixed posturing of the right leg and paced ankle movements | 1) CD group showed abnormally increased blood flow in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, with decreases in the primary motor cortex; 2) during movement, compared with rest, abnormal activation in the right DLPFC in both organic and CD groups compared with HC |
| Spence et al48 | 3 CD 4 feigners 6 HC |
Motor (weakness) | Moving a joystick while undergoing PET | Decreased left DLPFC activity in patients when attempting to move their affected limb, regardless of which limb was affected |
Abbreviations: CD, conversion disorder; HC, healthy controls; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; PNES, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures; PET, positron emission tomography.