Exploring three levels of interoception in people with functional motor disorders, 2021, Riccardia, Edwards et al

[Andy]

Abstract

Introduction
A three-level model of interoception has recently been defined. We aim to study the interoceptive processing in individuals with functional motor disorder (FMD).

Methods
Twenty-two patients with FMD were compared to 23 healthy controls. They underwent a protocol measuring different levels of interoception including: accuracy (a heart-beat tracking task), awareness (participant's confidence level) and sensibility (the Body Awareness Questionnaire-BAQ). Depression, anxiety and alexithymia were assessed by means of validated clinical scales.

Results
The FMD group showed a lower cardiac interoceptive accuracy and sensibility than healthy controls but they did not differ in terms of awareness (p = 0.03 and 0.005 respectively). They were aware of their poor performance in the accuracy task. Cardiac interoceptive accuracy positively correlated with the BAQ sub-scales “Predict Body Reaction” (r = 0.49, p = 0.001) and “Sleep-Wake Cycle” (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). A mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of group on cardiac interoceptive accuracy through BAQ “Predict Body Reaction” (b = −2.95, 95% BCa CI[-7.2;-0.2]). The direct effect of group on “Predict Body Reaction” was still significant (b = − 6.95, p = 0.02, 95% CI[-13.18;-0.73]).

Conclusions
People with FMD have impaired cardiac interoceptive accuracy and sensibility but no difference in metacognitive interoception compared to healthy controls.

Paywall, https://www.prd-journal.com/article/S1353-8020(21)00122-X/fulltext

 

[Snow Leopard]

See also:

Cardiac and Proprioceptive Accuracy Are Not Related to Body Awareness, Perceived Body Competence, and Affect
Áron Horváth1,2, Luca Vig1,2, Eszter Ferentzi2 and Ferenc Köteles2*

• 1Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
• 2Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Interoception in the broader sense refers to the perception of internal states, including the perception of the actual state of the internal organs (visceroception) and the motor system (proprioception). Dimensions of interoception include (1) interoceptive accuracy, i.e., the ability to sense internal changes assessed with behavioral tests, (2) confidence rating with respect to perceived performance in an actual behavioral test, and (3) interoceptive sensibility, i.e., the self-reported generalized ability to perceive body changes. The relationship between dimension of cardioceptive and proprioceptive modalities and their association with affect are scarcely studied. In the present study, undergraduate students (N = 105, 53 males, age: 21.0 ± 1.87 years) filled out questionnaires assessing positive and negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), interoceptive sensibility (Body Awareness Questionnaire), and body competence (Body Competence Scale of the Body Consciousness Questionnaire). Following this, they completed a behavioral task assessing cardioceptive accuracy (the mental heartbeat tracking task by Schandry) and two tasks assessing proprioceptive accuracy with respect to the tension of arm flexor muscles (weight discrimination task) and the angular position of the elbow joint (joint position reproduction task). Confidence ratings were measured with visual analog scales after the tasks. With the exception of a weak association between cardioceptive accuracy and the respective confidence rating, no associations between and within modalities were found with respect to various dimensions of interoception. Further, the interoceptive dimensions were not associated with state and trait positive and negative affect and perceived body competence. In summary, interoceptive accuracy scores do not substantially contribute to conscious representations of cardioceptive and proprioceptive ability. Within our data, non-pathological affective states (PANAS) are not associated with the major dimensions of interoception for the cardiac and proprioceptive modalities.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575574/full

 

[Mithriel]

My head spins when I try to understand this sort of thing, but are they saying people with FND are not good at telling how fast their heart rate is?

 

[Snow Leopard]

My head spins when I try to understand this sort of thing, but are they saying people with FND are not good at telling how fast their heart rate is?

Yes.

 

[rvallee]

Yes.

But do they melt if dunked in water?

Asking important questions.