ABSTRACT
Perhaps no other disease has stimulated so much interest in the complexities of psychosomatic interaction, or generated as many theories, as has atopic dermatitis. The synonym-neurodermatitis-speaks to this; as early as 1892 (1), papers began to appear in the literature that tentatively explored the interface between skin and psyche in this condition. The middle of the nineteenth century, a time of great interest in psychosomatics, produced numerous publications about atopy and the emotions. These have been ably summarized by Obermayer (2), Wittkower and Russell (3), and others (46). More recently, advances in psychoneuroimmunology (7) and in our understanding of both emotional development (8-11) and the emotional impact of physical illness on patient and family (12) have led to a renewed interest in this very important aspect of atopic dermatitis, to which genetic predisposition, emotional environment, and developmental influences all contribute.
