Mechanism of Psychogenic Asthmatic Attack in Children

Abstract

Both types of conditioning, classical as well as instrumental, contribute to the occurrence of psychogenic asthmatic attacks. The classical conditioning contributes to the development of hypersensitivity of respiratory passages to non-allergic stimuli, which are associated with recurrent experiences of bronchial irritation caused by infection or allergies. The instrumental learning appears to be related to the conditioning of certain emotional reactions (e.g. fear of separation, feeling of rejection). A psychogenic asthmatic attack is produced by the simultaneous influence of a number of factors, e.g. presence or absence of local irritation of bronchial mucosa, general state of child’s health, amount of conditioning to non-allergic stimuli and arousal of certain emotional states. In other words, an asthmatic child, in good physical health and without respiratory infection or irritation, is less likely to have a psychogenic asthmatic attack while enjoying his play activities.