Knowledge of resting heart rate mediates the relationship between intelligence and the heartbeat counting task

Jennifer Murphy*, Edward Millgate, Hayley Geary, Eri Ichijo, Michel Pierre Coll, Rebecca Brewer, Caroline Catmur, Geoffrey Bird

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Evidence suggests that intelligence is positively associated with performance on the heartbeat counting task (HCT). The HCT is often employed as measure of interoception – the ability to perceive the internal state of one's body – however it's use remains controversial as performance on the HCT is strongly influenced by knowledge of resting heart rate. This raises the possibility that heart rate knowledge may mediate the previously-observed association between intelligence and HCT performance. Study One demonstrates an association between intelligence and HCT performance (N = 94), and Study Two demonstrates that this relationship is mediated by knowledge of the average resting heart rate (N = 134). These data underscore the need to account for the influence of prior knowledge and beliefs when examining individual differences in cardiac interoceptive accuracy using the HCT.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-3
Number of pages3
JournalBiological Psychology
Volume133
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 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 . MP Coll is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds de Recherche Québec – Santé . We gratefully acknowledge the help of Raluca Prepelita in data collection.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s)

Keywords

  • Beliefs
  • Heartbeat counting
  • Intelligence
  • Interoception
  • Interoceptive accuracy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

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