Neuropsychological Causes for Agoraphobia?
Benedikt (1870), the first clinician to describe what is now termed agoraphobia, concluded that dizziness was the central problem and suggested that this dizziness was caused by a disorder of the ocular muscles. Westphal (1871) rejected this notion; he gave the name agoraphobia to a syndrome experienced by patients walking in public places and open spaces. This consisted of severe panic attacks, dizziness, fear of losing balance, nausea, anxiety, palpitations and trembling, and a host of other symptoms usually attributed to an overaroused autonomic nervous system. Westphal singled out anxiety as the cardinal symptom.
KeywordsPanic Disorder Choice Reaction Time Phobic Disorder Neurological Soft Sign Intention Tremor
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