The Cold Man. A clinical case of the cold sensation

The lack of correlation between available knowledge and the current approach to Somatoform Disorders is highlighted. Methods: the study, via the analysis of an unusual clinical case of an anomalous sensation of cold, examines various hypotheses on the physiopathology of somatization. Conclusions: a conceptualization would focus attention on the level of patients’ preoccupation with their symptoms, on the anomalies of the variations of perceptions and on patients’ hyperarousal. It could lead to a more harmonious position in psychiatry, between anthropologically-based understanding and interpretation of psychophysical information.