Sensitivity to change in heartbeats as interoceptive ability

What is the nature of autonomic signals and how do they shape introception? This study presents a new method for evaluating cardiac interoceptive ability, measuring sensitivity to naturalistic changes in the number of heartbeats over time periods. The results of this research show participants have an overall tendency towards sensing fewer heartbeats during higher heart rates. This likely reflects the influence of changing heartbeat strength on cardiac interoception at rest, which should be taken into account when evaluating cardiac interoceptive ability and its relationship to anxiety and psychosomatic conditions. Take a listen to this podcast as Dr. Sarah Garfinkel of the University College London discusses the recently published research “Sensitivity to changes in rate of heartbeats as a measure of interoceptive ability” with Editor-in-Chief Professor Nino Ramirez.

 

Dennis E. O. Larsson, Giulia Esposito, Hugo D. Critchley, Zoltan Dienes, and Sarah N. Garfinkel

 

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