Interoceptive sensitivity and physical effort: Implications for the self‐control of physical load in everyday life

Herbert, Beate M.; Ulbrich, Pamela; Schandry, Rainer

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00493.x

Cited by 137 publications

(146 citation statements)

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“…emotions, provide an individual with options to respond to a stimulus and guide his behaviour. Some studies have emphasized the role of feedback of bodily signals in behavioural processes by linking higher IA to increased self-reported self-regulatory capacity or self-regulation of physical load (66,67).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generalized hypervigilance in fibromyalgia: Normal interoceptive accuracy, but reduced self-regulatory capacity

Rost

Ryckeghem

Schulz

et al. 2017

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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Objective: The factors underlying the aetiology of fibromyalgia (FM) are largely unknown.According to the generalized hypervigilance hypothesis (GHH), FM patients show excessive attention towards pain stimuli and other sensory events, thereby increasing pain perception and dysfunctional behaviour. We tested this notion by assessing interoceptive accuracy (IA) in FM patients and matched healthy controls. We also tested the hypothesis that FM is characterized by reduced self-regulatory capacity as indexed by heart rate variability (HRV).Methods: 47 FM patients (Mage = 45.5, 39 females) and 45 healthy controls (Mage = 44.9, 37 females) completed several self-report scales (Body Vigilance Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Pain Catastrophizing Scale). To derive HRV, heart rate was monitored under resting conditions; for the assessment of IA participants performed a heartbeat tracking task in which they were asked to silently count their heartbeats. Results: FM patients reported higher body vigilance than healthy controls, but there were no group differences in IA. FM patients had lower HRV compared with healthy controls. HRV did not predictor IA. Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings do not support the hypothesis of generalized hypervigilance in FM patients. Patients reported a heightened focus on bodily sensations, which was not reflected in IA. It may be that hypervigilance is not a general and stable characteristic but is rather context dependent and modality-specific.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generalized hypervigilance in fibromyalgia: Normal interoceptive accuracy, but reduced self-regulatory capacity

Rost

Ryckeghem

Schulz

et al. 2017

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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“…It is also important for awareness and regulation of emotions (Dunn et al, 2007;Silani et al, 2008;Herbert et al, 2011;Füstös et al, 2013;Koch and Pollatos, 2014) as well as empathy (Singer et al, 2009;Bird et al, 2010;Lamm and Singer, 2010;Terasawa et al, 2014). Furthermore, IA is critical for decision making (Sanfey et al, 2003;Dunn et al, 2010;Sütterlin et al, 2013) and self-control of behavior in various situations with impact on health and disease (Herbert et al, 2007(Herbert et al, , 2012aHerbert and Pollatos, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential changes in self-reported aspects of interoceptive awareness through 3 months of contemplative training

Bornemann¹,

Herbert²,

Singer³

2017

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Interoceptive body awareness (IA) is crucial for psychological well-being and plays an important role in many contemplative traditions. However, until recently, standardized selfreport measures of IA were scarce, not comprehensive, and the effects of interoceptive training on such measures were largely unknown. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) questionnaire measures IA with eight different scales. In the current study, we investigated whether and how these different aspects of IA are influenced by a 3-months contemplative intervention in the context of the ReSource project, in which 148 subjects engaged in daily practices of "Body Scan" and "Breath Meditation." We developed a German version of the MAIA and tested it in a large and diverse sample (n = 1,076). Internal consistencies were similar to the English version (0.56-0.89), retest reliability was high (r s: 0.66-0.79), and the MAIA showed good convergent and discriminant validity. Importantly, interoceptive training improved five out of eight aspects of IA, compared to a retest control group. Participants with low IA scores at baseline showed the biggest changes. Whereas practice duration only weakly predicted individual differences in change, self-reported liking of the practices and degree of integration into daily life predicted changes on most scales. Interestingly, the magnitude of observed changes varied across scales. The strongest changes were observed for the regulatory aspects of IA, that is, how the body is used for self-regulation in daily life. No significant changes were observed for the Noticing aspect (becoming aware of bodily changes), which is the aspect that is predominantly assessed in other IA measures. This differential pattern underscores the importance to assess IA multi-dimensionally, particularly when interested in enhancement of IA through contemplative practice or other mind-body interventions.

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“…Performance is indexed by a cardiac perception score, in which the number of counted heartbeats is contrasted with the number of actual heartbeats. Subjects are classified as "good heartbeat perceivers" when their scores fall above a predetermined level (Herbert, Ulbrich, & Schandry, 2007). Heartbeat detection has been the more commonly utilized measure, perhaps because it appears to suffer from less methodological confounds than heartbeat tracking.…”

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confidence: 99%

Interoceptive awareness in experienced meditators

et al. 2008

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Attention to internal body sensations is practiced inmost meditation traditions. Many traditions state that this practice results in increased awareness of internal body sensations, but scientific studies evaluating this claim are lacking. We predicted that experienced meditators would display performance superior to that of nonmeditators on heartbeat detection, a standard noninvasive measure of resting interoceptive awareness. We compared two groups of meditators (Tibetan Buddhist and Kundalini) to an age-and body mass index-matched group of nonmeditators. Contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence that meditators were superior to nonmeditators in the heartbeat detection task, across several sessions and respiratory modulation conditions. Compared to nonmeditators, however, meditators consistently rated their interoceptive performance as superior and the difficulty of the task as easier. These results provide evidence against the notion that practicing attention to internal body sensations, a core feature of meditation, enhances the ability to sense the heartbeat at rest. DescriptorsMeditation; Interoception; Heartbeat detection; Awareness; Respiration Meditation is a form of mental training that has been practiced for thousands of years that can be conceptualized as a family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory training regimens developed for various ends, including the cultivation of well-being and emotional balance (Lutz, Dunne, & Davidson, 2007). Although typically practiced in the context of spiritual traditions, there has been a notable increase in the therapeutic application of meditation as a complement in alternative medicine. (Arias, Steinberg, Banga, & Trestman, 2006;Astin, Shapiro, Eisenberg, & Forys, 2003;Barnes, Powell-Griner, McFann, & Nahin, 2004).Address reprint requests to: Sahib S. Khalsa, B.S., Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. E-mail: sahib-khalsa @uiowa.edu. 1 This delay, around 250 to 300 ms, has been shown to lead to the perception by accurate heartbeat detectors that heartbeats and tones are "simultaneous" (Brener et al., 1993;Eichler & Katkin, 1994;Jones, 1994;Knapp et al., 1997;Ring & Brener, 1992;Rouse et al., 1988;Schandry et al., 1993). 2 These intervals are similar to those observed when measuring the RPI from the finger pulse (Teng & Zhang, 2006). However, shorter intervals have been reported when measuring the RPI from the ear pulse, possibly due to the shorter distance traveled by the pulse wave (de Boer, Ring, Curlett, Ridley, & Carroll, 2007;de Boer, Ring, Wood, et al., 2007). NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptPsychophysiology. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 July 1. Most meditation traditions incorporate attention to internal body sensations as a component of the practice, particularly in the beginning stages of instruction, possibly because the availability of these sensations from moment to moment makes them a convenient object to focus on. The most com...

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Interoceptive sensitivity and physical effort: Implications for the self‐control of physical load in everyday life

Cited by 137 publications

References 62 publications

Generalized hypervigilance in fibromyalgia: Normal interoceptive accuracy, but reduced self-regulatory capacity

Generalized hypervigilance in fibromyalgia: Normal interoceptive accuracy, but reduced self-regulatory capacity

Differential changes in self-reported aspects of interoceptive awareness through 3 months of contemplative training

Interoceptive awareness in experienced meditators

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