The question of symptom lateralization in conversion disorder.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not conversion symptoms are lateralized. Studies have shown a predominant left-oriented manifestation of symptoms for most somatoform disorders. The reports in the literature on the lateralization of conversion symptoms, however, are rather conflicting. They show left-sided, right-sided, or no symptom lateralization in conversion disorders. METHODS One hundred fourteen patients with conversion disorder were screened for symptom lateralization. RESULTS Those patients with unilateral symptoms (32.5%) showed no significant bias toward left or right symptom presentation. CONCLUSION Based on these results, and the conflicting findings from previous studies, we conclude that there is insufficient support for lateralization theories in conversion disorder.