Imaging Brain Mechanisms of Functional Somatic Syndromes: Potential as a Biomarker?, 2020, Kano et al

To paraphrase, "We've found changes in the brains of people with "FSS", this then proves that "FSS" is valid category! It certainly doesn't mean that there is an actual disease mechanism at work, oh no!"

Open access, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tjem/250/3/250_137/_html/-char/en

The conclusion

 

Here maybe all this banging my head against walls is causing my neurological problems and I do need some behavioural therapy!!!

 

They assume a direction of causality, but it is just as possible that people diagnosed with FSS are unhappy with life because they have an idiot for a doctor.

 

"Alexithymia (literally 'no words for feelings') refers to a person's inability to identify or verbally describe his or her feelings. The psychiatric syndrome is prevalent in patients with psychosomatic problems, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders, but alexithymic symptoms occur along a continuum."
oh please.

 

I have a feeling. I have a feeling this is a heap of sh*te.

Edit - to be clear the research not Sly Saint's post!

 

It certainly doesn't hurt the hypothesis when your paper is full of self citations either.

Admittedly that's just a cheap jab because I'm feeling uncharitable about a paper that makes sweeping assumptions then calls it science.

 

A further thought -

I wonder has it ever occurred to any of these navel gazers that there might be a good reason for the patient's inability to describe how they feel. It might be the sensations they are feeling are completely beyond their normal experience and so they don't have words for it.

For example - if I say PEM y'all know exactly what I mean. 10 years ago the term didn't exist. Now I know that's a not a word, but you get what I mean.

Currently we have the word fatigue which utterly fails to describe how many of us feel. Perhaps that's still the case because the vocabulary of our illness has been forced on us by those who don't have a clue what our experience feels like.

Also the term alexythmia is normally used when referring to emotional feelings and not sensations. Seems like they are playing a little loose with the term alexythmia or perhaps they just couldn't find the right word.

 

I wish I had gone for creative writing. If this is anything to go by I could have excelled

 

the ability of so called educated people to astound me with their stupidity is just overwhelming . do they not have their ridiculous papers proof read by at least some one who understands that littering a paper with supposedly clever words does not actually mean the paper is worthy of printing unless its for toilet paper . it reminds me of children who having heard a new word try to put it into as many sentences as possible in order to feel more intelligent than their friends in children this behaviour is cute a part of learning language in adults however it screams incompetence or a lack of understanding certainly not what I would expect from someone with a degree level of education in any none bullshit profession .