University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

What the heart forgets: cardiac timing influences memory for words and is modulated by metacognition and interoceptive sensitivity

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:37 authored by Sarah Garfinkel, Adam BarrettAdam Barrett, Ludovico Minati, R J Dolan, Anil SethAnil Seth, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley
Mental functions are influenced by states of physiological arousal. Afferent neural activity from arterial baroreceptors at systole conveys the strength and timing of individual heartbeats to the brain. We presented words under limited attentional resources time-locked to different phases of the cardiac cycle, to test a hypothesis that natural baroreceptor stimulation influences detection and subsequent memory of words. We show memory for words presented around systole was decreased relative to words at diastole. The deleterious memory effect of systole was greater for words detected with low confidence and amplified in individuals with low interoceptive sensitivity, as indexed using a heartbeat counting task. Our observations highlight an important cardiovascular channel through which autonomic arousal impacts a cognitive function, an effect mitigated by metacognition (perceptual confidence) and interoceptive sensitivity.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Psychophysiology

ISSN

0048-5772

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Issue

6

Volume

50

Page range

505-512

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-03-20

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC