Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsEdge :

2008 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers detail in 'Adult attachment style and childhood interpersonal trauma in non-epileptic attack disorder,' new data in epilepsy (see also Epilepsy). "Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) poses a significant clinical problem but is poorly understood. Attachment theory provides a framework for understanding the development and maintenance of NEAD and the contribution of childhood abuse and neglect to these processes," scientists writing in the journal Epilepsy Research report.

"A cross-sectional design was used to study attachment style and early traumatic experiences in individuals with NEAD (N=17) compared to those with epilepsy (N=26). A significant difference in predominant attachment style between the two groups was found, with fearful attachment occurring more frequently in the NEAD group. Abuse and neglect were also significantly more common in the NEAD patients. Both early traumatic experiences and fearful attachment added significantly to the predictive power of a logistic regression equation after controlling for anxiety and dysthymia," wrote N. Holman and colleagues, University of Manchester.

The researchers concluded: "The findings suggest a link between disturbed attachment and NEAD and have clinical implications for therapeutic intervention with this group."

Holman and colleagues published their study in Epilepsy Research (Adult attachment style and childhood interpersonal trauma in non-epileptic attack disorder. Epilepsy Research, 2008;79(1):84-9).

Additional information can be obtained by contacting N. Holman, University of Manchester, Division of Clinical Psychology, UK.

The publisher of the journal Epilepsy Research can be contacted at: Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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