Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) may cause permanent disturbances in brain–body signaling. These disturbances are thought to contribute to physical symptoms and emotional dysregulation in adulthood. The current study investigated the effects of childhood trauma on young adults’ interoceptive accuracy as an indicator of brain–body communication that may be dysregulated by ELA. Sixty-six participants completed an online questionnaire followed by a laboratory session including the socially evaluated cold pressor stress test during which ECG, salivary cortisol, and interoceptive accuracy were assessed. Childhood trauma was negatively related to interoceptive accuracy (IAc) after the stressor. This stress effect could not be observed for heart rate and cortisol, which were unrelated to IAc. Participants reporting higher baseline unpleasantness exhibited lower IAc after the stressor, while increases in unpleasantness due to the stressor were associated with higher IAc. Unpleasantness at baseline mediated the effect of childhood trauma on IAc after the stressor.
Highlights
Childhood adversity can have substantial long-lasting consequences for the child concerned
There was a significant association, with time (β = −.305, t = −2.128, p = .035), indicating that higher levels of childhood trauma reduced the increase in interoceptive accuracy (IAc) from pre- to Participants reported an increase in pain perception [M1 = 0.469, SD1 = 0.858, M2 = 5.231, SD2 = 2.584, t(62) = −14.890, p < .001, confidence intervals (CI) (−5.401, −4.123)], anxiety [M1 = 0.259, SD1 = 0.496, M2 = 0.549, SD2 = 1.095, t(62) = −2.640, p = .008, CI (−0.510, −0.071)], and unpleasantness [M1 = .754, SD1 = 1.118, M2 = 4.335, SD2 = 2.708, t(62) = −9.610, p < .001, CI [−4.326, −2.836)] after the socially evaluated cold pressor test (SECPT) as compared to baseline
An estimation of the region of significance by using the Johnson– Neyman technique (e.g., 47) indicated that, for participants scoring 1.263 standard deviations above the mean, no significant increase could be observed anymore from pre- to post-SECPT. These results even reveal a reverse relationship for childhood trauma scores 1.411 standard deviations above the mean, with post-SECPT scores being lower than pre SECPT scores
Summary
Childhood adversity can have substantial long-lasting consequences for the child concerned. Existing research primarily focuses on trauma-related consequences for physical and mental health, whereas the psychophysiological mechanisms underlying these effects remain partially unclear. The current study focuses, on one candidate mechanism: the perception of bodily signals (i.e., interoception) and the potential relationship to childhood trauma. Chronic activation of the hypothalamic pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis and the sympathetic–adreno–medullary (SAM) axis causes prolonged secretion of stress hormones that induce dysregulation of these interdependent stress axes [9], resulting in adverse effects on psychological and physical health [10]. Dysregulation of the SAM axis—for example, may contribute to hypertension, whereas chronic activation of the HPA axis might result in hyper- or hyposecretion of cortisol, which is associated with major depression [11]
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