Body-Image Variability in Peptic Ulcer

IT IS the purpose of this paper to demonstrate the potential contributions of a particular experimental technique to an understanding of the emotional aspects of peptic ulcer. The method involved has been elaborated upon previously in a number of papers, both as to theory 1-5 and application to various clinical populations. 6-9 To date, however, it has not been applied to psychosomatic problems. Briefly, the technique involves a successive fractionating of the visual perceptual process from lesser to greater exposure times to a given stimulus (in this experiment, the silhouette of a human figure). An attempt is then made to reinforce the stabilized percept ultimately evolving from this stimulus fractionation. Finally, there is gradually introduced into this stabilized percept a second stimulus, complementary in nature, but at the same time somewhat provocative in character (in this experiment, the internal viscera and musculo