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Blocking out negativity
DOI: 10.1038/jid.2009.152
How people process the social stigma of having visible skin lesions is
reported this week in the 'Journal of Investigative Dermatology'.
Psoriasis can be an unseemly skin condition that manifests itself as
skin lesions and scaly patches and is sometimes untreatable. The adverse
psychological consequences on sufferers has been noted though has not
been studied in detail.
Christopher Griffiths and colleagues studied male patients
who had chronic psoriasis. Using functional MRI they looked at how the
participant’s insular cortex – the area of the brain associated with
both the feelings and observation of disgust - responded to images of
disgusted faces. The scientists found a weaker response in the insular
cortex of men with psoriasis than in healthy controls.
The authors suggest that one possible explanation for this
finding is that psoriasis patients develop a coping mechanism to protect
them from the stressful emotional responses of others to their visible
skin condition and the brain blocks the processing of disgusted facial
expressions.
These findings may lead to future strategies for managing
other stigmatizing diseases and conditions.
Author contact:
Christopher Griffiths (University of Manchester, UK)
Tel: +44 161 275 5318; E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial contact for the 'Journal of Investigative Dermatology':
Joyce-Rachel John (Senior Publishing Manager - Academic Journals, New
York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 726 9214; E-mail: [email protected]
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Rachel Twinn (Press Officer, Nature London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Head of Press, Nature London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
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