Memory bias in patients with hypochondriasis and somatoform pain disorder.

OBJECTIVE A memory bias enhances memory for disorder congruent information. The experimental evaluation of such biases in somatoform disorders may improve our understanding of these disorders. METHOD Immediate and delayed free recall as well as recognition for positive, negative, pain, and neutral word stimuli were studied in 28 patients with somatoform disorders (hypochondriasis and/or pain disorder patients) and 14 patients without somatoform disorders. RESULTS Somatoform patients recalled fewer positive words and their criteria for recognition of negative and pain words were less conservative than in patients without somatoform disorders. In addition, patients with comorbid hypochondriasis and somatoform pain disorder showed an enhanced immediate recall of pain words. CONCLUSION The memory biases found in this study support cognitive theories of somatoform disorders. They may contribute to the development and maintenance of somatoform disorders.