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Measurement of Anxiety by Forearm Blood Flow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. H. W. Kelly
D. H. W. Kelly*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, St. Thomas's Hospital, London S.E.1
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Extract

A physiological index of anxiety would be of considerable value if it could evaluate objectively the diminution in anxiety which follows drug treatment, psychotherapy, deconditioning and prefrontal leucotomy. Anxiety is an unpleasant subjective experience of tension, apprehension or anticipation imposed by the expectation of danger or distress or the need for a special effort. The components of the accompanying physiological response lend themselves to objective measurement and are worthy of study since they reflect the emotional changes which defy direct measurement.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 112 , Issue 489 , August 1966 , pp. 789 - 798
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1966 

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