Application of pavlovian concepts to anxiety and forearm blood flow

Forearm blood flow is presented as an objective index of anxiety. The mechanism by which increase in muscle blood flow occurs as part of a co-ordinated response to “fight or flight” in animals and in man is discussed. An increased forearm blood flow may indicate a considerable degree of internal agitation, although a patient may appear outwardly calm, and this is thought to be evidence of schizokinesis. Patients with anxiety often experience panic attacks with considerable physiological arousal and this may lead to one-trial conditioning. Autokinesis may result in the development of further symptoms, and the Effect of Person on the cardiovascular system in animals and man is considered. Conditionability of anxious patients was investigated and the acquisition and extinction rates of conditional eyelid responses were found to be similar in a group of patients with anxiety, a variety of psychoneurotic disorders, and normal controls. The use of forearm blood flow to monitor reduction in anxiety brought about by medication, desensitization and psychotherapy has been found to be a valuable addition to the objective methods of assessment in psychiatry.