Abstract
BackgroundInteroception refers to the body’s physiological responses that occur in response to emotions. This phenomenon influences decision-making, an important cognitive ability that affects the maintenance of an exercise routine. However, it is controversial whether interoception is a reliable measure of an individual’s traits or their response to emotion. Given this evidence, we hypothesized that performing an exercise with positive feelings could improve interoception and that the rational decision-making capabilities acquired by improved interoception would, in turn, help in maintaining an exercise routine. Persistent aerobic exercise is essential for improving cognitive and musculoskeletal function in the long term. Therefore, we aimed to investigate changes in interoception during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise at a level that might potentially improve cognitive function.Methods We devided 48 healthy university students into an exercise group (n = 37) and a control group (n = 11). The control group did not perform any exercises, while the exercise group performed bench step exercises at an intensity of 50% of heart rate reserve for 30 min a day, three times a week, for three months. We assessed their cognitive function by measuring their auditory information/working memory processing speed using a paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT) and evaluated their interoceptive accuracy (IA) using a heartbeat tracking task at baseline and 1, 2, and 3 months after the start of the exercise intervention.ResultsThere was a significant positive correlation between IA and PASAT scores at baseline. However, exercise did not lead to a significant increase in PASAT scores of the exercise group as compared with the control group. IA scores increased at 2 and 3 months after the start of exercise only in the exercise group.ConclusionsThis preliminary study showed an improvement in interoception after persistent moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. We believe that exercise-induced improvement of interoception may facilitate exercise maintenance through improved cognitive function. Statistical analysis did not explain the non-uniformity of sample sizes, therefore, future studies should have larger sample sizes with equal subjects in each group to allow for better comparability and generalizability.Trial registration: UMIN, UMIN000042891. 04/01/2021, retrospectively registered.
Highlights
Interoception refers to the body’s physiological responses that occur in response to emotions
On comparing the exercise and control groups, we found no significant differences based on sex, age, Body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate, maximal heart rate, and the calculated 50% heart rate reserve (HRR) (Table 1)
The paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT) scores were significantly higher at 3 months after the start of exercise than at baseline (p < 0.001), at 1 month after the start of exercise (p < 0.001), and at 2 months after the start of exercise (p = 0.001)
Summary
Interoception refers to the body’s physiological responses that occur in response to emotions This phenomenon influences decision-making, an important cognitive ability that affects the maintenance of an exercise routine. According to the somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) developed by Antonio Damassio, experiencing an emotional somatic awareness of a preceding external stimulus influences an individual’s decision-making ability by activating the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insular cortex (IC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and/or ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in their brain [7]. This means that rational decision-making tendencies should be able to perceive the physiological as well as psychological changes induced by exercise
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