Conversion Disorder
Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this disease.
Incidence and prevalence of functional neurological disorder: a systematic review.
Iatrogenic harm in functional neurological disorder.
Integrated model of care for functional movement disorder: targeting brain, mind and body.
Understanding Functional Neurological Disorder: Recent Insights and Diagnostic Challenges.
Neuropsychiatric phenotypes in functional movement disorder.
Economic Cost of Functional Neurologic Disorders: A Systematic Review.
What's happening now
An analyst briefing on current research, clinical, regulatory and industry activity surrounding this disease.
Clinical trials
The current development programme across all trial phases.
Research activity
Key research shaping understanding of this disease, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.
Major themes8
- Conversion Disorder5
- Nervous System Diseases3
- Movement Disorders2
- Diagnostic Errors1
- Health Care Costs1
- Iatrogenic Disease1
- Medically Unexplained Symptoms1
- Neuroimaging1
Leading journals6
- Brain : a journal of neurology1
- CNS spectrums1
- Disability and rehabilitation1
- European journal of neurology1
- International journal of molecular sciences1
- Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry1
Leading researchers8
- Carson A2
- Gilmour GS2
- Lidstone SC2
- MacGillivray L2
- Stone J2
- Baxendale S1
- Bhatt H1
- Ciobica A1
Affiliations (unnormalised)6
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences2
- Centre for Mental Health2
- Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic2
- KITE Research Institute2
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute2
- "Socola" Institute of Psychiatry1
Related conditions
Diseases frequently studied alongside this one. Number shows shared papers.
Disease profile
A grounded synthesis of the condition — overview, causes, mechanism, risk factors and current standard of care.
Conversion disorder, now commonly referred to as functional neurological disorder, is a condition in which neurological symptoms such as weakness, seizures, sensory disturbance, or other motor, sensory, or cognitive changes occur without an identifiable organic explanation. The symptoms are genuine and involuntary, and the disorder is characterized by altered physical functioning that reflects psychological conflict or need rather than structural nervous system disease.
The grounding supports a psychological basis for the disorder, in which symptoms are described as a direct expression of psychological conflict or need. It also indicates that symptoms are not deliberately produced and that diagnosis and treatment consider underlying psychological factors, but it does not support a single specific cause.
The literature describes a problem of voluntary control and perception despite normal basic nervous system structure. Symptoms can involve motor, sensory, or cognitive disturbance and may vary in severity, with recent work also discussing physiopathology in relation to neuroimaging and clinical presentation. The grounding does not support a more specific biological mechanism.
The supplied grounding does not identify specific risk factors for conversion disorder. It does indicate that the disorder is associated with psychological factors and can present with high symptom burden and high healthcare utilization, but these are not established risk factors in the provided material.
Treatment is described as multidisciplinary and symptom-focused, combining medical management, psychotherapy, supportive interventions, and rehabilitation. The literature also emphasizes careful clinical diagnosis and avoidance of iatrogenic harm, including harm from misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. No specific drug class is supported by the grounding.
AI-generated summary grounded in MeSH and 5 peer-reviewed sources. Informational only — not medical advice. Generated 2026-07-07.
Reference
Authoritative identity, definition & identifiers.
A disorder whose predominant feature is a loss or alteration in physical functioning that suggests a physical disorder but that is actually a direct expression of a psychological conflict or need.
- Disease identity & definition — NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), public domain
- Clinical trials — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Research activity — Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) + OpenAlex-derived paper links
- Related entities are derived from literature co-mention (studied together) — associative, not causal.