Abstract
Functional neurological disorder (FND), formerly called hysteria and conversion disorder, is a complicated condition that is empirically difficult to investigate. The study of personality factors in FND has a long tradition in which there is still uncertainty about which personality factors play an important role in FND. Only in recent years has there been more evidence of certain important personality factors. These factors are now hypothetically understood and summarized as ‘premorbid autonomy-related variables.’ This provides a research framework for more empirical research. Several premorbid autonomy-related variables such as insecure attachment, suggestibility, alexithymia, interoception, sense of agency, fear avoidance/openness to experience, and autonomy-connectedness are discussed. In addition, a hypothetical working model will be discussed in this chapter. This may provide important clues to the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment for patients with FND.
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