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Interoceptive dimensions across cardiac and respiratory axes

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 03:49 authored by Sarah Garfinkel, Miranda F Manassei, Giles Hamilton-Fletcher, Yvo In den Bosch, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley, Miriam Engles
Interoception refers to the sensing of signals concerning the internal state of the body. Individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity are proposed to account for differences in affective processing, including the expression of anxiety. The majority of investigations of interoceptive accuracy focus on cardiac signals, typically using heartbeat detection tests and self-report measures. Consequently, little is known about how different organ-specific axes of interoception relate to each other or to symptoms of anxiety. Here, we compare interoception for cardiac and respiratory signals. We demonstrate a dissociation between cardiac and respiratory measures of interoceptive accuracy (i.e. task performance), yet a positive relationship between cardiac and respiratory measures of interoceptive awareness (i.e. metacognitive insight into own interoceptive ability). Neither interoceptive accuracy nor metacognitive awareness for cardiac and respiratory measures was related to touch acuity, an exteroceptive sense. Specific measures of interoception were found to be predictive of anxiety symptoms. Poor respiratory accuracy was associated with heightened anxiety score, while good metacognitive awareness for cardiac interoception was associated with reduced anxiety. These findings highlight that detection accuracies across different sensory modalities are dissociable and future work can better delineate their relationship to affective and cognitive constructs. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health’.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences

ISSN

0962-8436

Publisher

Royal Society, The

Issue

1708

Volume

371

Page range

2016.0014

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-11-01

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-10-31

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