Abstract
Interoception, the perception of one's internal state, is commonly quantified using the heartbeat counting task (HCT) – which is thought to be a measure of cardiac interoceptive sensitivity (accuracy). Interoceptive sensitivity has been associated with a number of clinical traits and aspects of higher order cognition, including emotion processing and decision-making. It has been proposed that alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing one's own emotions) is associated with impaired interoceptive sensitivity, but new research questions this association. Problematically, much evidence attesting to the absence of this association has been conducted using the HCT, a measure affected by various physiological and psychological factors. Here, we present novel data (N = 287) examining the relationship between alexithymia and HCT performance, controlling for a number of potential confounds. Inclusion of these control measures reveals the predicted negative relationship between alexithymia and HCT performance. Results are discussed with regard to difficulties quantifying interoceptive sensitivity using the HCT.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 189-197 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Biological Psychology |
Volume | 136 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:JM was supported by a doctoral studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council [ 1599941 ; ES/J500057/1 ]. GB was supported by the Baily Thomas Trust .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors
Keywords
- Alexithymia
- Heartbeat counting
- Interoception
- Interoceptive accuracy
- Interoceptive sensitivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology