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Payne B, Catmur C. Embodiment in the enfacement illusion is mediated by self-other overlap. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230146. [PMID: 39155718 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The enfacement illusion is a facial version of the rubber hand illusion, in which participants experience tactile stimulation of their own faces synchronously with the observation of the same stimulation applied to another's face. In previous studies, participants have reported experiencing an illusory embodiment of the other's face following synchronous compared to asynchronous stimulation. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the following three questions: (i) how does similarity between the self and the other, operationalized here as being of the same or different gender to the other, impact the experience of embodiment in the enfacement illusion; (ii) does the experience of embodiment result from alterations to the self-concept; and (iii) is susceptibility to the experience of embodiment associated with interoceptive processing, i.e. perception of the internal state of the body? Results indicate that embodiment is facilitated by the similarity between the self and the other and is mediated by the incorporation of the other into the self-concept, but sensitivity to one's own internal states does not impact upon embodiment within the enfacement illusion. This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryony Payne
- Department of Psychology, King's College London , London SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, King's College London , London SE1 1UL, UK
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2
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Kasahara S, Kumasaki N, Shimizu K. Investigating the impact of motion visual synchrony on self face recognition using real time morphing. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13090. [PMID: 38849381 PMCID: PMC11161490 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63233-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Face recognition is a crucial aspect of self-image and social interactions. Previous studies have focused on static images to explore the boundary of self-face recognition. Our research, however, investigates the dynamics of face recognition in contexts involving motor-visual synchrony. We first validated our morphing face metrics for self-face recognition. We then conducted an experiment using state-of-the-art video processing techniques for real-time face identity morphing during facial movement. We examined self-face recognition boundaries under three conditions: synchronous, asynchronous, and static facial movements. Our findings revealed that participants recognized a narrower self-face boundary with moving facial images compared to static ones, with no significant differences between synchronous and asynchronous movements. The direction of morphing consistently biased the recognized self-face boundary. These results suggest that while motor information of the face is vital for self-face recognition, it does not rely on movement synchronization, and the sense of agency over facial movements does not affect facial identity judgment. Our methodology offers a new approach to exploring the 'self-face boundary in action', allowing for an independent examination of motion and identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunichi Kasahara
- Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, 141-0022, Japan.
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, 904-0412, Japan.
| | - Nanako Kumasaki
- Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, 141-0022, Japan
| | - Kye Shimizu
- Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, 141-0022, Japan
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3
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Marson F, Naor-Ziv R, Paoletti P, Glicksohn J, Harris T, Elliott MA, Carducci F, Ben-Soussan TD. When the body fosters empathy: The interconnectivity between bodily reactivity, meditation, and embodied abstract concepts. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2024; 287:217-245. [PMID: 39097354 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2024.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2024]
Abstract
Empathy is a fundamental social ability that allows humans to infer others' emotions and intentions. Empathy is thought to be rooted in bodily sensations coming from the autonomic nervous system. In parallel, the functionality and perceptions coming from the autonomic nervous system could be improved by practicing activities that involve mind-body interactions, such as meditation. Furthermore, perceptions from the autonomic nervous system are thought to be important in the embodiment of abstract concepts. Consequently, in the current study, we collected data online from 581 participants and explored the associations between levels of empathy and (1) the practice of meditation, music, and sports; (2) the impact of self-report measures on bodily awareness and reactivity; and (3) the embodiment of abstract concepts in interoception. In line with previous studies, Meditators were found to have higher empathy scores than Non-Meditators. In addition, lower levels of autonomic reactivity in organs above the diaphragm were associated with higher empathy. Finally, we also observed that empathy was positively associated with interoceptive components of abstract concepts in those participants with high autonomic reactivity. Taken together, the results suggest that meditation practice and having low autonomic reactivity are associated with empathy, arguably through the downregulation of autonomic responses. Implications for mind-body interaction in meditation and its role in promoting empathy are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Marson
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, Assisi, Italy; Neurophysiology and Pharmacology Department, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
| | - Revital Naor-Ziv
- Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Patrizio Paoletti
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, Assisi, Italy
| | - Joseph Glicksohn
- Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tadhg Harris
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Mark A Elliott
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Filippo Carducci
- Neurophysiology and Pharmacology Department, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, Assisi, Italy
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Lee D, Kim SJ, Cheon J, Jung YC, Kang JI. Changes in interoceptive accuracy related to emotional interference in somatic symptom disorder. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:279. [PMID: 38755731 PMCID: PMC11100134 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01778-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is characterized by one or more distressing or disabling somatic symptoms accompanied by an excessive amount of time, energy and emotion related to the symptoms. These manifestations of SSD have been linked to alterations in perception and appraisal of bodily signals. We hypothesized that SSD patients would exhibit changes in interoceptive accuracy (IA), particularly when emotional processing is involved. METHODS Twenty-three patients with SSD and 20 healthy controls were recruited. IA was assessed using the heartbeat perception task. The task was performed in the absence of stimuli as well as in the presence of emotional interference, i.e., photographs of faces with an emotional expression. IA were examined for correlation with measures related to their somatic symptoms, including resting-state heart rate variability (HRV). RESULTS There was no significant difference in the absolute values of IA between patients with SSD and healthy controls, regardless of the condition. However, the degree of difference in IA without emotional interference and with neutral facial interference was greater in patients with SSD than in healthy controls (p = 0.039). The IA of patients with SSD also showed a significant correlation with low-frequency HRV (p = 0.004) and high-frequency HRV (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION SSD patients showed more significant changes in IA when neutral facial interference was given. These results suggest that bodily awareness is more affected by emotionally ambiguous stimuli in SSD patients than in healthy controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deokjong Lee
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
- Yonsei Empathy Psychiatry Clinic, Seoul, 07008, South Korea
| | - Se Joo Kim
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei-ro 50-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
| | - Jooah Cheon
- Department of Medicine, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
| | - Young-Chul Jung
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei-ro 50-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
| | - Jee In Kang
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea.
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei-ro 50-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea.
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5
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Woelk SP, Garfinkel SN. Dissociative Symptoms and Interoceptive Integration. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 38755513 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2024_480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Dissociative symptoms and disorders of dissociation are characterised by disturbances in the experience of the self and the surrounding world, manifesting as a breakdown in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, and perception. This paper aims to provide insights into dissociative symptoms from the perspective of interoception, the sense of the body's internal physiological state, adopting a transdiagnostic framework.Dissociative symptoms are associated with a blunting of autonomic reactivity and a reduction in interoceptive precision. In addition to the central function of interoception in homeostasis, afferent visceral signals and their neural and mental representation have been shown to shape emotional feeling states, support memory encoding, and contribute to self-representation. Changes in interoceptive processing and disrupted integration of interoceptive signals into wider cognition may contribute to detachment from the body and the world, blunted emotional experience, and altered subjective recall, as experienced by individuals who suffer from dissociation.A better understanding of the role of altered interoceptive integration across the symptom areas of dissociation could thus provide insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying dissociative disorders. As new therapeutic approaches targeting interoceptive processing emerge, recognising the significance of interoceptive mechanisms in dissociation holds potential implications for future treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha P Woelk
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Sarah N Garfinkel
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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Cantoni C, Salaris A, Monti A, Porciello G, Aglioti SM. Probing corporeal awareness in women through virtual reality induction of embreathment illusion. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9302. [PMID: 38654060 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59766-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
We capitalized on the respiratory bodily illusion that we discovered in a previous study and called 'Embreathment' where we showed that breathing modulates corporeal awareness in men. Despite the relevance of the issue, no such studies are available in women. To bridge this gap, we tested whether the synchronization of avatar-participant respiration patterns influenced females' bodily awareness. We collected cardiac and respiratory interoceptive measures, administered body (dis)satisfaction questionnaires, and tracked participants' menstrual cycles via a mobile app. Our approach allowed us to characterize the 'Embreathment' illusion in women, and explore the relationships between menstrual cycle, interoception and body image. We found that breathing was as crucial as visual appearance in eliciting feelings of ownership and held greater significance than any other cue with respect to body agency in both women and men. Moreover, a positive correlation between menstrual cycle days and body image concerns, and a negative correlation between interoceptive sensibility and body dissatisfaction were found, confirming that women's body dissatisfaction arises during the last days of menstrual cycle and is associated with interoception. These findings have potential implications for corporeal awareness alterations in clinical conditions like eating disorders and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Cantoni
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.
| | - Andrea Salaris
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Monti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Porciello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Sapienza University Rome, 00161, Rome, Italy
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Gunia A, Moraresku S, Janča R, Ježdík P, Kalina A, Hammer J, Marusič P, Vlček K. The brain dynamics of visuospatial perspective-taking captured by intracranial EEG. Neuroimage 2024; 285:120487. [PMID: 38072339 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Visuospatial perspective-taking (VPT) is the ability to imagine a scene from a position different from the one used in self-perspective judgments (SPJ). We typically use VPT to understand how others see the environment. VPT requires overcoming the self-perspective, and impairments in this process are implicated in various brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. However, the underlying brain areas of VPT are not well distinguished from SPJ-related ones and from domain-general responses to both perspectives. In addition, hierarchical processing theory suggests that domain-specific processes emerge over time from domain-general ones. It mainly focuses on the sensory system, but outside of it, support for this hypothesis is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to spatiotemporally distinguish brain responses domain-specific to VPT from the specific ones to self-perspective, and domain-general responses to both perspectives. In particular, we intended to test whether VPT- and SPJ specific responses begin later than the general ones. We recorded intracranial EEG data from 30 patients with epilepsy who performed a task requiring laterality judgments during VPT and SPJ, and analyzed the spatiotemporal features of responses in the broad gamma band (50-150 Hz). We found VPT-specific processing in a more extensive brain network than SPJ-specific processing. Their dynamics were similar, but both differed from the general responses, which began earlier and lasted longer. Our results anatomically distinguish VPT-specific from SPJ-specific processing. Furthermore, we temporally differentiate between domain-specific and domain-general processes both inside and outside the sensory system, which serves as a novel example of hierarchical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gunia
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Memory, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Sofiia Moraresku
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Memory, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Janča
- Department of Circuit Theory, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Ježdík
- Department of Circuit Theory, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Kalina
- Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Hammer
- Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Marusič
- Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kamil Vlček
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Memory, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
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8
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Tirkkonen SK, Vespermann D. Incels, autism, and hopelessness: affective incorporation of online interaction as a challenge for phenomenological psychopathology. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1235929. [PMID: 38125854 PMCID: PMC10732311 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1235929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research has drawn attention to the prevalence of self-reported autism within online communities of involuntary celibates (incels). These studies suggest that some individuals with autism may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of incel forums and the hopelessness they generate. However, a more precise description of the experiential connection between inceldom, self-reported autism, and hopelessness has remained unarticulated. Therefore, this article combines empirical studies on the incel community with phenomenological and embodiment approaches to autism, hopelessness, and online affectivity. We analyze three interrelated aspects of online interactions in incel communities - worldview, bodily self-relation, and mutual dismissals - and examine how these elements contribute to the consolidation of the loss of significant life possibilities. By investigating the potential negative influence of specific online environments on affective dispositions, our approach contributes to the debate on current challenges to "situate" phenomenological psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanna K. Tirkkonen
- Practical Philosophy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Daniel Vespermann
- Section of Phenomenological Psychopathology and Psychotherapy, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
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9
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Bijsterbosch JM, Hasenack B, van Rooijen B, Sternheim LC, Boelen PA, Dijkerman HC, Keizer A. Intolerable feelings of uncertainty within the body: Associations between interoceptive awareness, intolerance of uncertainty, and body dissatisfaction. J Adolesc 2023; 95:1678-1688. [PMID: 37655512 DOI: 10.1002/jad.12237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is a period marked by important physical and social changes, which often leads to an increase of body dissatisfaction. Recent studies have shown an association between interoception and body dissatisfaction in female adolescents. One variable that may contribute to the association between interoceptive awareness and body dissatisfaction is intolerance of uncertainty (IU). This study aims to investigate multiple facets of interoceptive awareness, IU, and their relations with body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 307 adolescent girls (mean age = 17.73; SD = 1.02) was recruited in the Netherlands in 2022. Three questionnaires were completed measuring interoceptive awareness, IU, and body dissatisfaction. A moderation analyses using a multiple hierarchical regression was used to investigate associations between variables. RESULTS Correlation analyses indicated that several facets of lower interoceptive awareness (Not distracting, Not worrying and Trusting) were related to higher levels of body dissatisfaction. IU only marginally moderated the relationship between several domains of interoceptive awareness (Notice, Attention regulation and Emotional awareness) and body dissatisfaction. DISCUSSION Findings suggest that experiencing bodily signals as ambiguous and uncertain may result in more complex body image issues. Within certain domains of interoceptive awareness, IU may affect the process of appraising bodily signals. Furthermore, adolescent girls who do not feel safe in their body and who find it difficult to distract their thoughts when experiencing pain or discomfort in their body may be particularly at risk for developing more complex body image disturbances and may benefit from interventions improving both interoceptive awareness and IU. Moreover, future research should focus on interoceptive awareness and IU as potential underlying mechanisms for body image issues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Birgit Hasenack
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bregje van Rooijen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Lot C Sternheim
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Paul A Boelen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands
- ARQ Centrum'45, Diemen, The Netherlands
| | - H Chris Dijkerman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Anouk Keizer
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Feldman MJ, MacCormack JK, Bonar AS, Lindquist KA. Interoceptive ability moderates the effect of physiological reactivity on social judgment. Emotion 2023; 23:2231-2242. [PMID: 36951718 PMCID: PMC10517073 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Social judgments-that others are kind or cruel, well intentioned, or conniving-can ease or disrupt social interactions. And yet a person's internal state can alter these judgments-a phenomenon known as affective realism. We examined the factors that contribute to, and mitigate, affective realism during a stressful interview. Using data collected between 2015 and 2019, we hypothesized and found that individuals' ability (N = 161; 57.6% female; 57.6% European American, 13.6% African American, 13.6% Asian American, 6.4% Latinx, 6.0% biracial, and 2.8% that identified with none or 1 + of the races presented; Mage = 19.20 years) to accurately perceive their own internal sensations (i.e., heartbeats) influenced whether they attributed their own heightened stress reactions (i.e., sympathetic nervous system reactivity) to the behavior of two impassive interviewers. Participants who were poor heartbeat detectors perceived their interviewers as less helpful, polite, or professional, and more apathetic, judgmental, and aggressive when experiencing heightened levels of cardiovascular sympathetic nervous system reactivity during their interview. Being aware of one's internal state may be one pathway to reducing bias in social perceptions in circumstances where such biases may lead us astray. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory J Feldman
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | | | - Adrienne S Bonar
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Ma K, Yang L, Hommel B. The impact of interoceptive accuracy and stimulation type on the out-of-body experience. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:1940-1952. [PMID: 36113171 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221128285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
People tend to perceive a virtual body standing in front of them as their own if it is either stroked or moving synchronously with their own real body-the out-of-body experience (OBE). We combined synchrony manipulation with two other factors of theoretical interest: the kind of stimulation, visuotactile stimuli or visuomotor correlations, being synchronised and the interoceptive accuracy (IA) of participants, assessed by means of the heartbeat counting task. Results showed that explicit measures of embodiment were systematically affected by synchrony, and this synchrony effect was more pronounced for visuomotor than for visuotactile conditions. The walking drift was affected by IA: In visuotactile conditions, the synchrony effect was pronounced in individuals with low IA, presumably reflecting a stronger impact of the visual information. In visuomotor conditions, however, the synchrony effect was stronger in individuals with high IA, presumably reflecting a stronger impact of re-afferent information generated by the participants' own movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Ma
- Key Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, Faculty of Psychological Science, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Liping Yang
- Key Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, Faculty of Psychological Science, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Bernhard Hommel
- University Neuropsychology Center and Cognitive Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
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12
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Campos C, Rocha NB, Barbosa F. Dissociating cognitive and affective empathy across psychopathy dimensions: The role of interoception and alexithymia. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1082965. [PMID: 37457066 PMCID: PMC10345207 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1082965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
This study examined the associations between psychopathy dimensions (triarchic phenotypes and classical factors), empathy domains (cognitive and affective), and interoception (interoceptive attention and accuracy) while accounting for the putative role of alexithymia. A community sample (n = 515) completed an online survey encompassing: Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (boldness, meanness, disinhibition); Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (primary and secondary psychopathy); Body Perception Questionnaire (interoceptive attention); Interoceptive Accuracy Scale; Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Hierarchical linear regression models were implemented for hypothesis-driven analyses examining the associations between psychopathy, empathy, and interoception while controlling for sex, age, and alexithymia. Exploratory path models were employed to investigate alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy as mediators between interoception and psychopathy. Our results largely confirmed the postulated empathy profiles across psychopathy dimensions, as meanness and primary psychopathy displayed a broad empathy impairment, while disinhibition and secondary psychopathy were only associated with diminished cognitive empathy. Importantly, boldness displayed a unique pattern (enhanced cognitive empathy and reduced affective empathy), further reinforcing its importance within the constellation of psychopathy traits. Contrary to our hypotheses, self-perceived interoceptive attention and accuracy were not associated with either psychopathy dimension after controlling for alexithymia. However, interoceptive accuracy and alexithymia were associated with cognitive empathy, while alexithymia was also positively related to all psychopathy dimensions (as expected), despite the unexpected strong and negative association with boldness. Exploratory analyses suggested significant indirect effects (mediation) between interoceptive accuracy and psychopathy via alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy. These mediating effects must be interpreted with caution and future studies should be designed to formally test this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Campos
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Neurocognition Group|LabRP, School of Health, Center for Rehabilitation Research, Polytechnic University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Nuno Barbosa Rocha
- School of Health, Center for Translational Health and Medical Biotechnology Research, Polytechnic University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Fernando Barbosa
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Villena-Gonzalez M, Rojas-Thomas F, Morales-Torres R, López V. Autonomous sensory meridian response is associated with a larger heartbeat-evoked potential amplitude without differences in interoceptive awareness. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14277. [PMID: 36841904 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) describes the experience of a pleasant body sensation accompanied by a feeling of well-being and relaxation in response to specific audiovisual stimuli, such as whispers and personal attention. Previous work suggests a relationship between this experience with the processing of affective and body states; however, no research has explored differences in interoception between people experiencing ASMR and those who do not. We hypothesized that the ASMR experience is based on interoception processing. To test this, we assessed group differences across different dimensions of interoception: Interoceptive sensibility (IS), measured using the multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness (MAIA); Interoceptive accuracy score (IAS), measured by calculating performance in a heartbeat counting task (HCT), and the electrophysiological index of interoception, the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP), which was calculated during the HCT and an ASMR tingle reporting task (ASMR-TRT). Our results showed that IS and IAS, dimensions requiring conscious awareness, showed no differences between groups. However, HEP amplitude was larger in the ASMR group in both tasks. We concluded that the ASMR experience is based on an unconscious interoceptive mechanism, reflected by HEP, where exteroceptive social-affective stimuli are integrated to represent a body state of positive affective feelings and relaxation, as has been described for affective touch. The relevance of this finding relies on that interoceptive function, body regulation, and emotional/affective experiences are fundamental for well-being, and the relationship between ASMR and interoception opens the way to future research exploring the causal relationship between them and their potential clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Felipe Rojas-Thomas
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Vladimir López
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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14
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Embodied empathy and abstract concepts' concreteness: Evidence from contemplative practices. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
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15
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The bodily fundament of empathy: The role of action, nonaction-oriented, and interoceptive body representations. Psychon Bull Rev 2022:10.3758/s13423-022-02231-9. [PMID: 36510091 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02231-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Mental representations with bodily contents or in various bodily formats have been suggested to play a pivotal role in social cognition, including empathy. However, there is a lack of systematic studies investigating, in the same sample of participants and using an individual differences approach, whether and to what extent the sensorimotor, perceptual, and interoceptive representations of the body could fulfill an explanatory role in the empathic abilities.To address this goal, we carried out two studies in which healthy adults were given measures of interoceptive sensibility (IS), action (aBR), and nonaction-oriented body representations (NaBR), and affective, cognitive, and motor empathy. A higher tendency to be self-focused on interoceptive signals predicted higher affective, cognitive, and motor empathy levels. A better performance in tasks probing aBR and NaBR predicted, respectively, higher motor and cognitive empathy levels.These findings support the view that the various facets of the empathic response are differently grounded in the body since they diversely involve representations with a different bodily format.Individual differences in the focus on one's internal body state representation can directly modulate all the components of the empathic experience. Instead, a body representation used interpersonally to represent both one's own body and others' bodies, in particular in its spatial specificity, could be necessary to accurately understand other people's minds (cognitive empathy), while a sensorimotor body representation used to represent both one's own body and others' bodies actions, could be fundamental for the self-awareness of feelings expressed in actions (motor empathy).
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16
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Canino S, Raimo S, Boccia M, Di Vita A, Palermo L. On the Embodiment of Social Cognition Skills: The Inner and Outer Body Processing Differently Contributes to the Affective and Cognitive Theory of Mind. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12111423. [PMID: 36358350 PMCID: PMC9688437 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12111423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
A specific interpretation of embodiment assigns a central role to the body representations (BR) in cognition. In the social cognition domain, BR could be pivotal in representing others’ actions and states. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between different BR and social cognition, in terms of Theory of Mind (ToM), in the same sample of participants is missing. Here, this relationship was explored considering individual differences in the action-oriented BR (aBR), nonaction-oriented BR (NaBR), and subjective predisposition toward internal bodily sensations (interoceptive sensibility, ISe). Eighty-two healthy adults were given behavioral measures probing aBR, NaBR, ISe, and affective/cognitive ToM. The results suggest that NaBR, which mainly relies on exteroceptive signals, predicts individual differences in cognitive ToM, possibly because it can allow differentiating between the self and others. Instead, the negative association between affective ToM and ISe suggests that an alteration of the internal body state representation (i.e., over-reporting interoceptive sensations) can affect emotional processing in social contexts. The finding that distinct aspects of the body processing from within (ISe) and from the outside (NaBR) differently contribute to ToM provides empirical support to the BR role in social cognition and can be relevant for developing interventions in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Canino
- Department of Health Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (L.P.)
| | - Simona Raimo
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maddalena Boccia
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Di Vita
- Department of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Liana Palermo
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (L.P.)
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17
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Tan Y, Yan R, Gao Y, Zhang M, Northoff G. Spatial-topographic nestedness of interoceptive regions within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation: Combining ALE meta-analysis and MACM analysis. Neuroimage 2022; 260:119500. [PMID: 35872175 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prominent theories propose that interoception modulates our behavioral and emotional responses involving decision-making and emotion regulation. Are the regions implicated in interoception also spatially related to and possibly nested within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation? Addressing this question, we performed three meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to identify the regions that are commonly activated by the three domains using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). Additionally, we assessed the coactivation pattern of identified common regions using meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM). The results showed major overlaps of interoception with both decision making and emotion regulation in specifically the right dorsal anterior insula. The pairwise contrast analyses confirmed this finding and revealed conjunction-based activities in decision making and emotion regulation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). MACM based on the identified insula revealed a widespread convergent coactivation pattern with the left anterior insula, dACC, and bilateral thalamus which, together, constitute the salience network. Among these co-activated regions, bilateral insula and the dACC were shared among all three domains. These results suggest that the regions mediating interoception including intero-exteroceptive integration and salience attribution are contained and thus spatially nested within the more extensive networks recruited during decision making and emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Tan
- School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, Hubei Province, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430079, Hubei Province, China
| | - Ranran Yan
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, Henan Province, China; Mental Illness and Cognitive Neuroscience Key Laboratory of Xinxiang (Xinxiang Medical University), Xinxiang 453003, Henan Province, China
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 7K4, Canada; Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310013, Zhejiang Province, China; Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310013, Zhejiang Province, China
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18
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Honda T, Nakao T. Impact of Cardiac Interoception on the Self-Prioritization Effect. Front Psychol 2022; 13:825370. [PMID: 35903730 PMCID: PMC9315346 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-relevant information is processed faster and more accurately than non-self-relevant information. Such a bias is developed even for newly associated information with the self, which is also known as the self-prioritization effect (SPE). Interoception, which refers to the overall processing of information from within the body, is crucial for self-relevant processing; however, its role in SPE remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the magnitude of SPE and interoceptive accuracy (IAc), defined as one’s ability to accurately perceive one’s own interoceptive state. Additionally, to explore the causal relationship, we measured SPE by presenting self- or other-relevant stimuli based on the participant’s cardiac cycle in the shape-label matching task. We demonstrated that IAc was negatively correlated with the magnitude of SPE in terms of discrimination of the relevance of the stimuli. In addition, a correlation was observed only when the stimuli were presented during cardiac systole. Furthermore, IAc was negatively correlated with the processing of self-relevant stimuli but not with other-relevant stimuli. Collectively, our results show that individuals with higher IAc have relatively lower discriminative sensitivity to newly and temporary associated self-relevant stimuli presented during the accentuation of cardiac interoceptive information. Although SPE is a phenomenon in which newly self-associated stimuli are preferentially processed, our results suggest that individuals with higher IAc prioritized processing interoceptive information over temporarily associated self-relevant external information. Conversely, previous studies using paradigms other than the shape-label matching paradigm with familiar self-relevant stimuli, such as self-face, reported that interoceptive information enhances the processing of self-relevant stimuli. Whether interoceptive information enhances the processing of external self-relevant information may depend on the familiarity with the self-relevant stimuli and the experimental paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuru Honda
- Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
- *Correspondence: Tatsuru Honda,
| | - Takashi Nakao
- Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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19
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Khan HR, Turri J. Phenomenological Origins of Psychological Ownership. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/10892680221085506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Motivated by a set of converging empirical findings and theoretical suggestions pertaining to the construct of ownership, we survey literature from multiple disciplines and present an extensive theoretical account linking the inception of a foundational naïve theory of ownership to principles governing the sense of (body) ownership. The first part of the account examines the emergence of the non-conceptual sense of ownership in terms of the minimal self and the body schema—a dynamic mental model of the body that functions as an instrument of directed action. A remarkable feature of the body schema is that it expands to incorporate objects that are objectively controlled by the person. Moreover, this embodiment of extracorporeal objects is accompanied by the phenomenological feeling of ownership towards the embodied objects. In fact, we argue that the sense of agency and ownership are inextricably linked, and that predictable control over an object can engender the sense of ownership. This relation between objective agency and the sense of ownership is moderated by gestalt-like principles. In the second part, we posit that these early emerging principles and experiences lead to the formation of a naïve theory of ownership rooted in notions of agential involvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haider Riaz Khan
- Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - John Turri
- Philosophy Department and Cognitive Science Program, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
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20
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Scandola M, Pietroni G, Landuzzi G, Polati E, Schweiger V, Moro V. Bodily Illusions and Motor Imagery in Fibromyalgia. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 15:798912. [PMID: 35126075 PMCID: PMC8811121 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.798912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterised by chronic, continuous, widespread pain, often associated with a sense of fatigue, non-restorative sleep and physical exhaustion. Due to the nature of this condition and the absence of other neurological issues potentially able to induce disorders in body representations per se, it represents a perfect model since it provides an opportunity to study the relationship between pain and the bodily self. Corporeal illusions were investigated in 60 participants with or without a diagnosis of FM by means of an ad hoc devised interview. In addition, motor imagery was investigated and illusions relating to body part movements and changes in body size, feelings of alienness, and sensations of body parts not belonging to one's own body (disownership and somatoparaphrenic-like sensations) were found. Crucially, these symptoms do not correlate with any of the clinical measures of pain or functional deficits. The results showed that motor imagery was also impaired, and the severity of the deficits found correlated with the functional impairment of the participant. This indicates that disorders in body representations and motor imagery are part of the clinical expression of FM. However, while motor imagery seems to be linked to reduced autonomy and functional deficits, bodily illusions are independent and potentially represent a concurrent symptom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scandola
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Giorgia Pietroni
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Enrico Polati
- Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Vittorio Schweiger
- Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Valentina Moro
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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21
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Torregrossa LJ, Amedy A, Roig J, Prada A, Park S. Interoceptive functioning in schizophrenia and schizotypy. Schizophr Res 2022; 239:151-159. [PMID: 34891079 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.11.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Though bodily self-disturbances are well documented in schizophrenia, interoceptive functioning (i.e., the perception of the internal state of the body) remains poorly understood in this population. In fact, only two studies to date have empirically measured interoceptive ability in schizophrenia. Both studies documented a deficit in interoceptive accuracy (i.e., the objective performance on a heartbeat detection task), and one noted differences in interoceptive sensibility (i.e., the subjective experience of interoception) in this population. To our knowledge, interoceptive awareness (i.e., the metacognitive awareness of one's interoceptive ability) has never been measured in schizophrenia and the link between interoceptive functioning and schizotypy remains unexplored. The present study addresses this gap by investigating the three dimensions of interoception in individuals with schizophrenia and matched controls (Experiment 1, N = 58) and in relation to schizotypal traits (Experiment 2, N = 109). Consistent with the literature, Experiment 1 documented a deficit in interoceptive accuracy and differences in interoceptive sensibility in individuals with schizophrenia. For the first time, our study revealed intact interoceptive awareness in individuals with schizophrenia. Against our expectations, we found no link between schizotypy and interoceptive functioning in Experiment 2. Our novel findings bear important clinical implications as insight into one's interoceptive limitations (i.e., intact interoceptive awareness) might promote treatment seeking behavior in schizophrenia. The lack of association between interoceptive ability and schizotypy in non-help-seeking youths suggests that changes in interoception may only arise with the onset of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amad Amedy
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jacqueline Roig
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrea Prada
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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22
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Riva G, Serino S, Di Lernia D, Pagnini F. Regenerative Virtual Therapy: The Use of Multisensory Technologies and Mindful Attention for Updating the Altered Representations of the Bodily Self. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:749268. [PMID: 34803617 PMCID: PMC8595209 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.749268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The term “regenerative medicine” (RM) indicates an emerging trend in biomedical sciences that aims at replacing, engineering, or regenerating human cells, tissues, or organs to restore or establish normal function. So far, the focus of RM has been the physical body. Neuroscience, however, is now suggesting that mental disorders can be broadly characterized by a dysfunction in the way the brain computes and integrates the representations of the inner and outer body across time [bodily self-consciousness (BSC)]. In this perspective, we proposed a new kind of clinical intervention, i.e., “Regenerative Virtual Therapy” (RVT), which integrates knowledge from different disciplines, from neuroscience to computational psychiatry, to regenerate a distorted or faulty BSC. The main goal of RVT was to use technology-based somatic modification techniques to restructure the maladaptive bodily representations behind a pathological condition. Specifically, starting from a Bayesian model of our BSC (i.e., body matrix), we suggested the use of mindful attention, cognitive reappraisal, and brain stimulation techniques merged with high-rewarding and novel synthetic multisensory bodily experience (i.e., a virtual reality full-body illusion in sync with a low predictabIlity interoceptive modulation) to rewrite a faulty experience of the body and to regenerate the wellbeing of an individual. The use of RVT will also offer an unprecedented experimental overview of the dynamics of our bodily representations, allowing the reverse-engineering of their functioning for hacking them using advanced technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Riva
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Laboratory, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.,Humane Technology Laboratory, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Serino
- Humane Technology Laboratory, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Di Lernia
- Humane Technology Laboratory, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Pagnini
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
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23
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Farizon D, Dominey PF, Ventre-Dominey J. Insights on embodiment induced by visuo-tactile stimulation during robotic telepresence. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22718. [PMID: 34811420 PMCID: PMC8609005 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02091-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Using a simple neuroscience-inspired procedure to beam human subjects into robots, we previously demonstrated by visuo-motor manipulations that embodiment into a robot can enhance the acceptability and closeness felt towards the robot. In that study, the feelings of likeability and closeness toward the robot were significantly related to the sense of agency, independently of the sensations of enfacement and location. Here, using the same paradigm we investigated the effect of a purely sensory manipulation on the sense of robotic embodiment associated to social cognition. Wearing a head-mounted display, participants saw the visual scene captured from the robot eyes. By positioning a mirror in front of the robot, subjects saw themselves as a robot. Tactile stimulation was provided by stroking synchronously or not with a paintbrush the same location of the subject and robot faces. In contrast to the previous motor induction of embodiment which particularly affected agency, tactile induction yields more generalized effects on the perception of ownership, location and agency. Interestingly, the links between positive social feelings towards the robot and the strength of the embodiment sensations were not observed. We conclude that the embodiment into a robot is not sufficient in itself to induce changes in social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Farizon
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - P F Dominey
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - J Ventre-Dominey
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000, Dijon, France.
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24
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Brewer R, Murphy J, Bird G. Atypical interoception as a common risk factor for psychopathology: A review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:470-508. [PMID: 34358578 PMCID: PMC8522807 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The inadequacy of a categorial approach to mental health diagnosis is now well-recognised, with many authors, diagnostic manuals and funding bodies advocating a dimensional, trans-diagnostic approach to mental health research. Variance in interoception, the ability to perceive one's internal bodily state, is reported across diagnostic boundaries, and is associated with atypical functioning across symptom categories. Drawing on behavioural and neuroscientific evidence, we outline current research on the contribution of interoception to numerous cognitive and affective abilities (in both typical and clinical populations), and describe the interoceptive atypicalities seen in a range of psychiatric conditions. We discuss the role that interoception may play in the development and maintenance of psychopathology, as well as the ways in which interoception may differ across clinical presentations. A number of important areas for further research on the role of interoception in psychopathology are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Brewer
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer Murphy
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom.
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
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25
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Vastano R, Costantini M, Widerstrom-Noga E. Maladaptive reorganization following SCI: The role of body representation and multisensory integration. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 208:102179. [PMID: 34600947 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In this review we focus on maladaptive brain reorganization after spinal cord injury (SCI), including the development of neuropathic pain, and its relationship with impairments in body representation and multisensory integration. We will discuss the implications of altered sensorimotor interactions after SCI with and without neuropathic pain and possible deficits in multisensory integration and body representation. Within this framework we will examine published research findings focused on the use of bodily illusions to manipulate multisensory body representation to induce analgesic effects in heterogeneous chronic pain populations and in SCI-related neuropathic pain. We propose that the development and intensification of neuropathic pain after SCI is partly dependent on brain reorganization associated with dysfunctional multisensory integration processes and distorted body representation. We conclude this review by suggesting future research avenues that may lead to a better understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the sense of the body after SCI, with a focus on cortical changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Vastano
- University of Miami, Department of Neurological Surgery, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miami, FL, USA.
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, ITAB, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Eva Widerstrom-Noga
- University of Miami, Department of Neurological Surgery, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miami, FL, USA.
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26
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Baba Y, Sato D, Otsuru N, Ikarashi K, Fujimoto T, Yamashiro K. Does Long-Term Training in a Water Immersion Environment Change Interoception? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph181910259. [PMID: 34639558 PMCID: PMC8508048 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate individual interoception by comparing the responses of swimmers and baseball players when exposed to specific water environments, depending on training content and environment. Forty-eight healthy male university students were evaluated for their interoceptive response (accuracy, sensibility, and awareness) and heart rate following 25 min of water immersion (WI) at 35 °C. We assessed three conditions: pre-WI, during WI, and post-WI. The results indicated that interoceptive accuracy (IAcc) did not differ between groups because both swimming and baseball do not require emotional expression, as opposed to an activity such as dance. The heart rate was significantly decreased at post-WI compared to that at pre-WI. The IAcc of post-WI presented as higher than that of pre-WI. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the ratio of IAcc and that of HR among subjects. Moreover, the attention regulation subscale of the MAIA changed in the WI environment and the ratio of IAcc was negatively correlated with that of the not-distracting subscale of the MAIA. These results suggested that interoception did not differ among the athletes who had long-term training, which enabled them to acquire multi-modal sensorimotor integration, compared to that of non-athlete control participants. We conclude that interoception did not differ among athletes who had long-term training compared to that of non-athlete control participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Baba
- Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan; (D.S.); (T.F.); (K.Y.)
- Major in Health and Welfare, Graduate School of Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-25-257-4582
| | - Daisuke Sato
- Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan; (D.S.); (T.F.); (K.Y.)
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
| | - Naofumi Otsuru
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
- Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan
| | - Koyuki Ikarashi
- Major in Health and Welfare, Graduate School of Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
| | - Tomomi Fujimoto
- Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan; (D.S.); (T.F.); (K.Y.)
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
| | - Koya Yamashiro
- Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan; (D.S.); (T.F.); (K.Y.)
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan;
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27
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Todd J, Cardellicchio P, Swami V, Cardini F, Aspell JE. Weaker implicit interoception is associated with more negative body image: Evidence from gastric-alpha phase amplitude coupling and the heartbeat evoked potential. Cortex 2021; 143:254-266. [PMID: 34482968 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Interoception refers to the processing of internal bodily stimuli, while body image refers to appearance-related perceptions, affect, and cognitions. Previous research has found that body image is associated with self-reported and behavioural indices of interoception. Here, we extended this research by examining associations between measures of positive (i.e., body appreciation, functionality appreciation) and negative body image (i.e., body shame, weight preoccupation) and two electrophysiological indices of interoceptive processing, namely the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP) and gastric-alpha phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), in a sample of 36 adults. Significant negative associations were identified between the indices of negative body image and the interoception variables. Specifically, more negative HEP amplitude and lower gastric-alpha PAC were both associated with greater body shame and weight preoccupation. However, no significant associations were identified for the indices of positive body image. These findings extend previous work by demonstrating that there are significant associations between negative body image and previously unexplored components of cardiac and gastric interoception. This, in turn, could have important clinical applications, such as the HEP and gastric-alpha PAC both serving as biomarkers of negative body image.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Todd
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| | - Pasquale Cardellicchio
- IIT@UniFe Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Viren Swami
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Flavia Cardini
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jane E Aspell
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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28
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Liesner M, Hinz NA, Kunde W. How Action Shapes Body Ownership Momentarily and Throughout the Lifespan. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:697810. [PMID: 34295232 PMCID: PMC8290176 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.697810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objects which a human agent controls by efferent activities (such as real or virtual tools) can be perceived by the agent as belonging to his or her body. This suggests that what an agent counts as “body” is plastic, depending on what she or he controls. Yet there are possible limitations for such momentary plasticity. One of these limitations is that sensations stemming from the body (e.g., proprioception) and sensations stemming from objects outside the body (e.g., vision) are not integrated if they do not sufficiently “match”. What “matches” and what does not is conceivably determined by long–term experience with the perceptual changes that body movements typically produce. Children have accumulated less sensorimotor experience than adults have. Consequently, they express higher flexibility to integrate body-internal and body-external signals, independent of their “match” as suggested by rubber hand illusion studies. However, children’s motor performance in tool use is more affected by mismatching body-internal and body-external action effects than that of adults, possibly because of less developed means to overcome such mismatches. We review research on perception-action interactions, multisensory integration, and developmental psychology to build bridges between these research fields. By doing so, we account for the flexibility of the sense of body ownership for actively controlled events and its development through ontogeny. This gives us the opportunity to validate the suggested mechanisms for generating ownership by investigating their effects in still developing and incomplete stages in children. We suggest testable predictions for future studies investigating both body ownership and motor skills throughout the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marvin Liesner
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Nina-Alisa Hinz
- Department of Psychology, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Wilfried Kunde
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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29
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Monti A, Porciello G, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. The inside of me: interoceptive constraints on the concept of self in neuroscience and clinical psychology. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:2468-2477. [PMID: 34050431 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01477-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Humans are unique in their ability to think about themselves and carry a more or less clear notion of who they are in their mind. Here we review recent evidence suggesting that the birth, maintenance, and loss of the abstract concept of 'self' is deeply tied to interoception, the sense of internal physiological signals. Interoception influences multiple facets of the self-concept, cutting across its material, social, moral, and agentive components. Overall, we argue that interoception contributes to the stability of the self-concept over time, unifying its layers and constraining the degree to which it is susceptible to external influences. Hence, the core features of the self-concept are those that correlate more with inner bodily states. We discuss the implications that this may have for theories of embodied cognition as well as for the understanding of psychiatric disorders in which the concept of self appears fragmented or loose. Finally, we formulate some empirical predictions that could be tested in future studies to shed further light on this emerging field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Monti
- Sapienza, Università di Roma and CLNS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Giuseppina Porciello
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza, Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza, Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza, Università di Roma and CLNS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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30
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Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Lanius RA. How Processing of Sensory Information From the Internal and External Worlds Shape the Perception and Engagement With the World in the Aftermath of Trauma: Implications for PTSD. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:625490. [PMID: 33935627 PMCID: PMC8085307 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.625490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by an individual experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, often precipitating persistent flashbacks and severe anxiety that are associated with a fearful and hypervigilant presentation. Approximately 14–30% of traumatized individuals present with the dissociative subtype of PTSD, which is often associated with repeated or childhood trauma. This presentation includes symptoms of depersonalization and derealization, where individuals may feel as if the world or self is “dream-like” and not real and/or describe “out-of-body” experiences. Here, we review putative neural alterations that may underlie how sensations are experienced among traumatized individuals with PTSD and its dissociative subtype, including those from the outside world (e.g., touch, auditory, and visual sensations) and the internal world of the body (e.g., visceral sensations, physical sensations associated with feeling states). We postulate that alterations in the neural pathways important for the processing of sensations originating in the outer and inner worlds may have cascading effects on the performance of higher-order cognitive functions, including emotion regulation, social cognition, and goal-oriented action, thereby shaping the perception of and engagement with the world. Finally, we introduce a theoretical neurobiological framework to account for altered sensory processing among traumatized individuals with and without the dissociative subtype of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherain Harricharan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Margaret C McKinnon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, ON, Canada.,Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ruth A Lanius
- Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, London, ON, Canada
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31
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Ruggiero G, Rapuano M, Cartaud A, Coello Y, Iachini T. Defensive functions provoke similar psychophysiological reactions in reaching and comfort spaces. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5170. [PMID: 33664292 PMCID: PMC7933359 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83988-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The space around the body crucially serves a variety of functions, first and foremost, preserving one's own safety and avoiding injury. Recent research has shown that emotional information, in particular threatening facial expressions, affects the regulation of peripersonal-reaching space (PPS, for action with objects) and interpersonal-comfort space (IPS, for social interaction). Here we explored if emotional facial expressions may similarly or differently affect both spaces in terms of psychophysiological reactions (cardiac inter-beat intervals: IBIs, i.e. inverse of heart rate; Skin Conductance Response amplitude: SCR amplitude) and spatial distance. Through Immersive Virtual Reality technology, participants determined reaching-distance (PPS) and comfort-distance (IPS) from virtual confederates exhibiting happy/angry/neutral facial expressions while being approached by them. During these interactions, spatial distance and psychophysiological reactions were recorded. Results revealed that when interacting with angry virtual confederates the distance increased similarly in both comfort-social and reaching-action spaces. Moreover, interacting with virtual confederates exhibiting angry rather than happy or neutral expressions provoked similar psychophysiological activations (SCR amplitude, IBIs) in both spaces. Regression analyses showed that psychophysiological activations, particularly SCR amplitude in response to virtual confederates approaching with angry expressions, were able to predict the increase of PPS and IPS. These findings suggest that self-protection functions could be the expression of a common defensive mechanism shared by social and action spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. Ruggiero
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - M. Rapuano
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - A. Cartaud
- grid.503422.20000 0001 2242 6780UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, CNRS, CHU Lille, University of Lille, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Y. Coello
- grid.503422.20000 0001 2242 6780UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, CNRS, CHU Lille, University of Lille, 59000 Lille, France
| | - T. Iachini
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
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32
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Fanghella M, Era V, Candidi M. Interpersonal Motor Interactions Shape Multisensory Representations of the Peripersonal Space. Brain Sci 2021; 11:255. [PMID: 33669561 PMCID: PMC7922994 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This perspective review focuses on the proposal that predictive multisensory integration occurring in one's peripersonal space (PPS) supports individuals' ability to efficiently interact with others, and that integrating sensorimotor signals from the interacting partners leads to the emergence of a shared representation of the PPS. To support this proposal, we first introduce the features of body and PPS representations that are relevant for interpersonal motor interactions. Then, we highlight the role of action planning and execution on the dynamic expansion of the PPS. We continue by presenting evidence of PPS modulations after tool use and review studies suggesting that PPS expansions may be accounted for by Bayesian sensory filtering through predictive coding. In the central section, we describe how this conceptual framework can be used to explain the mechanisms through which the PPS may be modulated by the actions of our interaction partner, in order to facilitate interpersonal coordination. Last, we discuss how this proposal may support recent evidence concerning PPS rigidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its possible relationship with ASD individuals' difficulties during interpersonal coordination. Future studies will need to clarify the mechanisms and neural underpinning of these dynamic, interpersonal modulations of the PPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Fanghella
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Vanessa Era
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
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33
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Quigley KS, Kanoski S, Grill WM, Barrett LF, Tsakiris M. Functions of Interoception: From Energy Regulation to Experience of the Self. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:29-38. [PMID: 33378654 PMCID: PMC7780233 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
We review recent work on the functions of interoceptive processing, by which the nervous system anticipates, senses, and integrates signals originating from the body. We focus on several exemplar functions of interoception, including energy regulation (ingestion and excretion), memory, affective and emotional experience, and the psychological sense of self. We emphasize two themes across these functions. First, the anatomy of interoceptive afferents makes it difficult to manipulate or directly measure interoceptive signaling in humans. Second, recent evidence shows that multimodal integration occurs across interoceptive modalities and between interoceptive and exteroceptive modalities. Whereas exteroceptive multimodal integration has been studied relatively extensively, fundamental questions remain regarding multimodal integration that involves interoceptive modalities. Future empirical work is required to better understand how and where multimodal interoceptive integration occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen S Quigley
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA.
| | - Scott Kanoski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Warren M Grill
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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34
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Macpherson MC, Bîrlӑdeanu A, Miles LK. Examining the relationship between subclinical levels of social anxiety and the rubber hand illusion. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 212:103209. [PMID: 33197642 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
An embodied sense of self allows individuals to acquire moment-to-moment insight regarding the relationship between themselves and their environment. Fundamental to this experience is information regarding body ownership and self-location, which can inform both intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. Although it is well documented that variation in mental health symptoms can impact the accuracy of bodily self-perception, little research has, to date, explored the influence of social anxiety on the embodied self. To address this issue, here we propose to examine the impact of social anxiety on the rubber hand illusion (RHI), a procedure which can distort perceptions of body location and ownership. Related literature points to competing predictions relative to how symptoms of social anxiety potentially impact susceptibility to the RHI. In the current manuscript we present the results of a pilot study indicating a positive relationship between the strength of the RHI and social anxiety, and detail a proposed registered report that seeks to replicate and extend this experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Macpherson
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Australia.
| | - A Bîrlӑdeanu
- School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - L K Miles
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Australia
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35
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Stoica T, Depue B. Shared Characteristics of Intrinsic Connectivity Networks Underlying Interoceptive Awareness and Empathy. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:571070. [PMID: 33364926 PMCID: PMC7751325 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.571070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Awareness of internal bodily sensations (interoceptive awareness; IA) and its connection to complex socioemotional abilities like empathy has been postulated, yet the functional neural circuitry they share remains poorly understood. The present fMRI study employs independent component analysis (ICA) to investigate which empathy facet (Cognitive or Affective) shares resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and/or BOLD variability (rsBOLD) with IA. Healthy participants viewed an abstract nonsocial movie demonstrated to evoke strong rsFC in brain networks resembling rest (InScapes), and resultant rsFC and rsBOLD data were correlated with self-reported empathy and IA questionnaires. We demonstrate a bidirectional behavioral and neurobiological relationship between empathy and IA, depending on the type of empathy interrogated: Affective empathy and IA share both rsFC and rsBOLD, while Cognitive empathy and IA only share rsBOLD. Specifically, increased rsFC in the right inferior frontal operculum (rIFO) of a larger attention network was associated with increased vicarious experience but decreased awareness of inner body sensations. Furthermore, increased rsBOLD between brain regions of an interoceptive network was related to increased sensitivity to internal sensations along with decreased Affective empathy. Finally, increased rsBOLD between brain regions subserving a mentalizing network related to not only an improved ability to take someone's perspective, but also a better sense of mind-body interconnectedness. Overall, these findings suggest that the awareness of one's own internal body changes (IA) is related to the socioemotional ability of feeling and understanding another's emotional state (empathy) and critically, that this relationship is reflected in the brain's resting state neuroarchitecture. Methodologically, this work highlights the importance of utilizing rsBOLD as a complementary window alongside rsFC to better understand neurological phenomena. Our results may be beneficial in aiding diagnosis in clinical populations such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), where participants may be unable to complete tasks or questionnaires due to the severity of their symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teodora Stoica
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Brendan Depue
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
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36
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Kjölstad G, Gyllensten AL, Gard G. Body awareness in healthy subjects – a qualitative study. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOTHERAPY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/21679169.2020.1845792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gunvor Gard
- Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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37
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Imafuku M, Fukushima H, Nakamura Y, Myowa M, Koike S. Interoception is associated with the impact of eye contact on spontaneous facial mimicry. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19866. [PMID: 33199748 PMCID: PMC7670470 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76393-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Interoception (perception of one’s own physiological state) has been suggested to underpin social cognition, although the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. The current study aimed to elucidate the relationship between interoception and two factors underlying social cognition: self-other boundary and sensitivity to social cues. We measured performance in a heartbeat perception task as an index of interoceptive accuracy (IAc), the frequency of spontaneous facial mimicry (SFM) as an index of self-other boundary, and the degree of the effect of eye contact on SFM (difference in SFM between conditions in which models’ eyes were directed to and averted from participants) as an index of social-cue sensitivity, and tested correlations among these measures. The results revealed that IAc and SFM were positively correlated only in the direct gaze condition. The extent of the effect of eye contact on SFM (difference in frequency between direct vs. averted conditions) was positively correlated with IAc. These overall findings were also observed in separate analyses of male and female participant groups, supporting the robustness of the findings. The results suggest that interoception is related to sensitivity to social cues, and may also be related to the self-other boundary with modulation by social context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Imafuku
- Faculty of Education, Musashino University, 1-1-20 Shin-machi, Nishitokyo-shi, Tokyo, 202-8585, Japan.
| | - Hirokata Fukushima
- Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University, 3-3-35 Yamate-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-8680, Japan.
| | - Yuko Nakamura
- Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.,Center for Integrative Science of Human Behavior, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan
| | - Masako Myowa
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Koike
- Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.,Center for Integrative Science of Human Behavior, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.,University of Tokyo Institute for Diversity & Adaptation of Human Mind (UTIDAHM), 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.,The International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN) at The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8654, Japan
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38
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Farmer H, Cataldo A, Adel N, Wignall E, Gallese V, Deroy O, Hamilton A, Ciaunica A. The Detached Self: Investigating the Effect of Depersonalisation on Self-Bias in the Visual Remapping of Touch. Multisens Res 2020; 34:1-22. [PMID: 33535167 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
There is a growing consensus that our most fundamental sense of self is structured by the ongoing integration of sensory and motor information related to our own body. Depersonalisation (DP) is an intriguing form of altered subjective experience in which people report feelings of unreality and detachment from their sense of self. The current study used the visual remapping of touch (VRT) paradigm to explore self-bias in visual-tactile integration in non-clinical participants reporting high and low levels of depersonalisation experiences. We found that the high-DP group showed an increased overall VRT effect but a no-self-face bias, instead showing a greater VRT effect when observing the face of another person. In addition, across all participants, self-bias was negatively predicted by the occurrence of anomalous body experiences. These results indicate disrupted integration of tactile and visual representations of the bodily self in those experiencing high levels of DP and provide greater understanding of how disruptions in multisensory perception of the self may underlie the phenomenology of depersonalisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Farmer
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- 2School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, Dreadnought Building, London, SE10 9LS, UK
- 3Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, Dreadnought Building, Greenwich, London SE10 9LS, UK
| | - Antonio Cataldo
- 4Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU, UK
| | - Nagela Adel
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Emma Wignall
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- 4Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU, UK
- 5Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Via Volturno 39, 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Ophelia Deroy
- 4Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU, UK
- 6Munich Center for Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University, Ludwigstraße 31, 80539 Munich, Germany
- 7Faculty of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science, Ludwig Maximilian University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany
| | - Antonia Hamilton
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Anna Ciaunica
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- 8Department of Philosophy, University of Porto, Via Panorâmica s/n, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal
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39
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Herbert BM. Interoception and Its Role for Eating, Obesity, and Eating Disorders. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1027/2512-8442/a000062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. The importance of the sense of ourselves from within for understanding adaptive behavior and psychopathology has been increasingly recognized during the last decades. Interoception builds the foundation of our embodied self and dysfunctional interoception lies at the core of many psychosomatic disorders. Eating is fundamental for survival with consequences for health and well-being. It is deeply grounded in homoeostatic and allostatic psychophysiological needs and is driven by interoceptive signals of the body. This narrative review summarizes a selection of empirical findings and draws conclusions on the role of interoception in eating behavior, body weight, and eating disorders. Beyond disordered eating behavior, eating disorders are characterized by impairment of the sense of self, with dysfunctional interoception at its core. Predictive coding accounts are addressed to integrate conclusions and to underline the relevance of interventions to modify interoception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beate M. Herbert
- Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
- Psychology School, University of Applied Sciences Fresenius, Munich, Germany
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40
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Dirupo G, Corradi-Dell’Acqua C, Kashef M, Debbané M, Badoud D. The role of interoception in understanding others' affect. Dissociation between superficial and detailed appraisal of facial expressions. Cortex 2020; 130:16-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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41
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Todd J, Aspell JE, Barron D, Toh EKL, Zahari HS, Mohd Khatib NA, Laughton R, Swami V. Greater gastric interoception is associated with more positive body image: Evidence from adults in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Body Image 2020; 34:101-111. [PMID: 32512525 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Gastric interoception refers to the processing of sensory stimuli originating in the gut. Previous research has found that gastric interoception (measured using a water load task) is associated with drive for thinness in young Western women. However, associations with broader facets of body image and in diverse national groups have not been previously investigated. To address these issues, we asked samples of adults in the United Kingdom (UK; N = 91, women n = 54) and Malaysia (N = 100, women n = 50) to complete a 2-stage water load task (WLT) and measures of positive body image (i.e., body appreciation, functionality appreciation). The results indicated that a greater change in the intensity of self-reported WLT-related sensations was associated with significantly higher body appreciation and functionality appreciation after accounting for gender identity, body mass index, and national group. Behavioural performance on the WLT was significantly associated with body appreciation and functionality appreciation for the Malaysian sample, but not the UK adults, after accounting for gender identity and body mass index. These findings extend previous research by demonstrating that there are significant associations between facets of gastric interoception and previously unexplored facets of body image in both Western and non-Western settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Todd
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jane E Aspell
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Barron
- Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Serdang, Malaysia
| | | | - Hanoor Syahirah Zahari
- Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | - Ryan Laughton
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Viren Swami
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Serdang, Malaysia
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42
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Smigielski L, Kometer M, Scheidegger M, Stress C, Preller KH, Koenig T, Vollenweider FX. P300-mediated modulations in self-other processing under psychedelic psilocybin are related to connectedness and changed meaning: A window into the self-other overlap. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:4982-4996. [PMID: 32820851 PMCID: PMC7643385 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The concept of self and self‐referential processing has a growing explanatory value in psychiatry and neuroscience, referring to the cognitive organization and perceptual differentiation of self‐stimuli in health and disease. Conditions in which selfhood loses its natural coherence offer a unique opportunity for elucidating the mechanisms underlying self‐disturbances. We assessed the psychoactive effects of psilocybin (230 μg/kg p.o.), a preferential 5‐HT1A/2A agonist known to induce shifts in self‐perception. Our placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, within‐subject crossover experiment (n = 17) implemented a verbal self‐monitoring task involving vocalizations and participant identification of real‐time auditory source‐ (self/other) and pitch‐modulating feedback. Subjective experience and task performance were analyzed, with time‐point‐by‐time‐point assumption‐free multivariate randomization statistics applied to the spatiotemporal dynamics of event‐related potentials. Psilocybin‐modulated self‐experience, interacted with source to affect task accuracy, and altered the late phase of self‐stimuli encoding by abolishing the distinctiveness of self‐ and other‐related electric field configurations during the P300 timeframe. This last effect was driven by current source density changes within the supragenual anterior cingulate and right insular cortex. The extent of the P300 effect was associated with the intensity of psilocybin‐induced feelings of unity and changed meaning of percepts. Modulations of late encoding and their underlying neural generators in self‐referential processing networks via 5‐HT signaling may be key for understanding self‐disorders. This mechanism may reflect a neural instantiation of altered self–other and relational meaning processing in a stimulus‐locked time domain. The study elucidates the neuropharmacological foundation of subjectivity, with implications for therapy, underscoring the concept of connectedness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz Smigielski
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Kometer
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Milan Scheidegger
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Cornelia Stress
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katrin H Preller
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Koenig
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Franz X Vollenweider
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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43
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Shalev I. Motivated Cue-Integration and Emotion Regulation: Awareness of the Association Between Interoceptive and Exteroceptive Embodied Cues and Personal Need Creates an Emotion Goal. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1630. [PMID: 32754097 PMCID: PMC7367138 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on emotion suggests that individuals regulate their emotions to attain hedonic or instrumental goals. However, little is known of emotion regulation under low emotional clarity. The theory of motivated cue integration (MCI) suggests that emotion regulation under low emotional clarity should be understood as dissociation between a high-level individual hierarchical system of goals and low level interoceptive and exteroceptive embodied cues. MCI conceptualizes low emotional clarity as the product of low access to signals of emotion that result in prediction error associated with mismatch between the current bodily state and the predicted state. This deficit in emotional processing could be understood as a problem of means substitution, suggesting that use of alternative multisensory data may facilitate situational evaluation. Based on this reasoning, a new perspective on emotion regulation under low emotional clarity is presented, according to which interchangeable attention to multisensory data associated with words, associations, and images may help in cue integration, enabling the creation of a link between concrete bodily cues, abstract mental representation, and a more accurate prediction. Based on the idea that emotional episodes are conceptualized as special types of goal-directed action episodes, this process will lead to the creation of broader integrative meaning, results in the development of emotion goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idit Shalev
- Laboratory for Embodiment and Self-Regulation, Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
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44
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Montirosso R, McGlone F. The body comes first. Embodied reparation and the co-creation of infant bodily-self. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 113:77-87. [PMID: 32145222 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
During infancy relational experiences of body-to-body exchanges (i.e., embodied interactions) contribute to the infant's bodily perception. Early embodied interactions are based on countless multimodal reciprocal exchanges, in which mother and infant contribute to interpersonal rhythmic cycles of co-regulation (i.e., attunement). However, it remains unclear how infants and their mothers actually accomplish attunement in their exchanges. Interactions between mothers and their infants typically fluctuate between attuned and misattuned states and recovery attunement states by a process called 'reparation'. Here, we discuss recent neuroscientific evidence that provides insight into the mechanisms underpinning the concepts of attunement and misattunement in early embodied interactions. We propose that a process of embodied reparation might be achieved within the dyad through tactile contact behaviors (e.g., skin-to-skin, affectionate touch) and maternal interoceptive sensitivity (i.e., ability to perceive internal input about the state of one's own body). We describe how these elements that mothers provide during embodied interactions with their infants, might contribute not only to bodily attunement, but also to co-create the infant bodily-self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Montirosso
- 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini (Lecco), Italy.
| | - Francis McGlone
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, LiverpoolJohn Moores University, Liverpool, UK; Institute of Psychology Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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45
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Keep your interoceptive streams under control: An active inference perspective on anorexia nervosa. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:427-440. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00777-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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46
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van der Westhuizen D, Page T, Solms M, van Honk J. The Territory of my Body: Testosterone Prevents Limb Cooling in the Rubber Hand Illusion. Multisens Res 2020; 33:161-187. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-20191361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) is an experimental paradigm for assessing changes in body ownership. Recent findings in the field suggest that social emotions can influence such changes and that empathic motivation in particular appears to positively predict the malleability of body representations. Since the steroid hormone, testosterone, is well known to interrupt certain forms of empathic processing, in the current study we investigated whether 0.5 mg of testosterone affected ownership indices of the RHI. Forty-nine females participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment in which the RHI was induced. Compared to placebo, testosterone had no effects on the alteration of subjective ownership over the rubber limb or on subjective sense of proprioceptive drift. However, unlike the placebo group, testosterone-treated participants did not display an objective decline in the temperature of their own (hidden) hand following induction of the illusion. These findings suggest that testosterone strengthens implicit but not explicit bodily self-representations. We propose that effective maintenance of implicit body boundaries can be regarded, conceptually, as a primary defensive state facilitating integrity of the self.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mark Solms
- 1University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jack van Honk
- 1University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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47
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Neustadter ES, Fineberg SK, Leavitt J, Carr MM, Corlett PR. Induced illusory body ownership in borderline personality disorder. Neurosci Conscious 2019; 2019:niz017. [PMID: 31908849 PMCID: PMC6938263 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niz017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 10/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
One aspect of selfhood that may have relevance for borderline personality disorder (BPD) is variation in sense of body ownership. We employed the rubber hand illusion to manipulate sense of body ownership in BPD. We extended previous research on illusory body ownership in BPD by testing: (i) two illusion conditions: asynchronous and synchronous stimulation, (ii) relationship between illusion experience and BPD symptoms, and (iii) relationship between illusion experience and maladaptive personality traits. We measured illusion strength (questionnaire responses), proprioceptive drift (perceived shift in physical hand position), BPD symptoms (Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines score), and maladaptive personality traits (Personality Inventory for DSM-5) in 24 BPD and 21 control participants. For subjective illusion strength, we found main effects of group (BPD > healthy control, F(1, 43) = 11.94, P = 0.001) and condition (synchronous > asynchronous, F(1, 43) = 22.80, P < 0.001). There was a group × condition interaction for proprioceptive drift (F(1, 43) = 6.48, P = 0.015) such that people with BPD maintained illusion susceptibility in the asynchronous condition. Borderline symptom severity correlated with illusion strength within the BPD group, and this effect was specific to affective (r = 0.45, P < 0.01) and cognitive symptoms (r = 0.46, P < 0.01). Across all participants, trait psychoticism correlated with illusion strength (r = 0.44, P < 0.01). People with BPD are more susceptible to illusory body ownership than controls. This is consistent with the clinical literature describing aberrant physical and emotional experiences of self in BPD. A predictive coding framework holds promise to develop testable mechanistic hypotheses for disrupted bodily self in BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli S Neustadter
- Yale Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.,Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Sarah K Fineberg
- Yale Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Jacob Leavitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Heyne Building, #126, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Meagan M Carr
- Yale Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.,Department of Psychology, Eastern Michigan State University, 341 Science Complex, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA
| | - Philip R Corlett
- Yale Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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48
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Todd J, Aspell JE, Barron D, Swami V. An exploration of the associations between facets of interoceptive awareness and body image in adolescents. Body Image 2019; 31:171-180. [PMID: 31654981 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that lower interoceptive awareness is associated with more negative body image during adolescence. However, studies have not distinguished between adaptive and maladaptive modes of attention toward interoceptive signals, and relationships between interoceptive awareness and positive body image remain unexplored. To address these issues, a sample of 265 British adolescents (140 girls, 125 boys) aged 13-16 years completed measures of interoceptive awareness, body appreciation, functionality appreciation, body pride, body shame, and body surveillance. Correlational analyses broadly indicated that greater interoceptive awareness was significantly associated with more positive body image. Multiple regressions revealed significant predictive relationships between interoceptive awareness and all facets of body image in both girls and boys, except body surveillance, which was not statistically significant for girls. At the univariate level, the interoceptive awareness facets of Attention Regulation, Body Listening, Self-Regulation, and Trusting emerged as significant predictors for at least one facet of positive body image, whilst the Noticing and Emotional Awareness facets did not. These findings broadly align with previous research with adults, which has indicated that the way interoceptive stimuli are appraised and responded to might be more closely associated with facets of body image than the tendency to notice interoceptive stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Todd
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jane E Aspell
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Barron
- Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Viren Swami
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Serdang, Malaysia
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49
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Getting closer: Synchronous interpersonal multisensory stimulation increases closeness and attraction toward an opposite-sex other in female participants. Conscious Cogn 2019; 77:102849. [PMID: 31734585 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Experiencing tactile facial stimulation while seeing synchronous stimulations delivered to another's face induces enfacement, i.e. the subjective experience of ownership over the other's face. The synchronous Interpersonal Multisensory Stimulation (IMS) procedure leading to enfacement induces changes beyond the bodily sense of self, such as increased feeling of closeness between self and other. However, evidence for such an influence of IMS on higher-level self-other representations remains limited. Moreover, research has been restricted to settings involving a same-sex other. The current study tested, in female participants, whether IMS could promote social closeness and attraction toward an opposite-sex other. Across two experiments, enfacement with an opposite-sex face was successfully obtained. Synchronous (vs. asynchronous) IMS yielded greater closeness with the other and induced greater Liking and Attraction scores. These novel findings add further evidence to the existence of a link between body representation and social cognition. Implications for interpersonal attraction are discussed.
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50
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Lischke A, Weippert M, Mau-Moeller A, Jacksteit R, Pahnke R. Interoceptive accuracy is associated with emotional contagion in a valence- and sex-dependent manner. Soc Neurosci 2019; 15:227-233. [PMID: 31693866 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1690573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Over the last years, the neurobiological mechanisms of empathy have been extensively investigated. Recent investigations suggest that interoceptive processes, in particular, those that are related to the experience and perception of cardiac changes, are relevant for affect sharing, mentalizing and self-other distinction. To further investigate the association between interoception and affect-sharing, we measured emotional contagion and interoceptive accuracy in a sample of healthy participants (n = 84). Emotional contagion was assessed with an established self-report questionnaire and interoceptive accuracy was assessed with a validated heartbeat detection task. Across a series of complementary analyses, we found a sex- and valence-dependent association between interoception and affection sharing: Among female but not male participants, interoceptive accuracy was positively associated with emotional contagion for negative but not positive states of others. We provide an evolutionary-based explanation for these findings, which are consistent with previous findings showing positive associations between interoceptive accuracy, mentalizing and self-other distinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Lischke
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Matthias Weippert
- Department of Sport Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Anett Mau-Moeller
- Department of Sport Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.,Department of Orthopaedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Robert Jacksteit
- Department of Orthopaedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Rike Pahnke
- Department of Sport Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
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