Authors: Ursula Stockhorst Geoffrey Hall Paul Enck Sibylle Klosterhalfen
Publish Date: 2014/06/24
Volume: 232, Issue: 8, Pages: 2651-2664
Abstract
We examine whether overshadowing by salient stimuli is effective in reducing the ability of a certain environment the putative conditioned stimulus to evoke conditioned nausea in healthy humans that experience nauseaevoking rotation as the unconditioned stimulus US in that environment Twentyfour rotationsusceptible subjects 12 males 12 females were randomly assigned to receive either overshadowing by salient tasting beverages OS+ or a control treatment a familiar beverage water OS− prior to rotation on three consecutive days acquisition To control for taste experiences the alternative beverage was consumed 12 h later in the home environment OS+ water OS− salient beverage At Day 4 test all subjects drank the familiar beverage water prior to rotation US Rotation was standardized as 2 × 1min rotation/day Nausea was determined by a 7item symptom scale measuring symptom number SN prior to anticipatory immediately after and 15 and 30 min after rotation and by the Nausea Profile NP questionnaire immediately after rotation Cortisol and tumour necrosis factor TNFα in saliva were sampled at the same timepoints SN and cortisol were also measured at home Overshadowing reduced anticipatory conditioned SN Postrotation nausea ie the unconditioned response measured by the NP decreased within the OS+ group only Anticipatory cortisol and TNFα were not affected by overshadowing Treatment × gender interactions manifested for postrotation cortisol and TNFα Groups did not differ in SN and cortisol at home Overshadowing is effective in reducing symptoms of anticipatory nausea and rotationinduced unconditioned nausea its effect on endocrine and immunological parameters is gender specific Its application in alleviation of anticipatory nausea in cancer patients is considered
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