Awareness Of Bodily Sensations Research Articles

Functional Movement Disorder Is Associated with Abnormal Interoceptive Brain Activity: A Task-based Functional MRI Study.

Aberrant interoceptive processing has been hypothesized to contribute to the pathophysiology of functional neurological disorder, although findings have been inconsistent. Here, we utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural correlates of interoceptive attention - the conscious focus and awareness of bodily sensations - in functional movement disorder (FMD). We used voxelwise analyses to compare blood oxygenation level-dependent responses between 13 adults with hyperkinetic FMD and 13 healthy controls (HCs) during a task requiring attention to different bodily sensations and to an exteroceptive stimulus. Additionally, we examined between-group differences in self-reported measures of interoception and evaluated their relationship with neural activity. Interoceptive conditions (heartbeat, stomach and 'body', indicating sensations from the body part or limb affected in FMD participants) activated a network involving the precuneus, the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and caudate nucleus (CN) bilaterally, and the right anterior insula (aINS) ( p <0.05 , corrected). Group differences in brain activity were mainly driven by processing of disease-related interoceptive signals, which in the FMD group was associated with a broader neural activation than monitoring gastric interoception, while no group differences were detected during cardiac interoception. Differences based on interoceptive focus ( body vs heartbeat and stomach) between FMD subjects and HCs were found in PCC, CN, angular gyrus, thalamus, and in the mid-insula ( p <0.05, corrected). This is, to our knowledge, the first study showing that FMD is associated with abnormal interoceptive processing in regions involved in monitoring body state, attentional focus, and homeostatic inference.

Self-reported interoception, worries and protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study

BackgroundProtective behaviors were essential for minimizing the spread of the virus during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is often assumed that awareness of bodily sensations (interoception) can improve decision-making and facilitate adaptive behavior.ObjectiveThis paper investigates cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between different aspects of self-reported interoception, trait anxiety, COVID-related worry, and health protective behaviors.MethodsThe study was conducted on a community sample of 265 adults. The two data collection phases took place online, before (baseline) and during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary.ResultsContrary to our expectations, neither cross-sectional nor longitudinal associations were found between protective behaviors and indicators of self-reported interoception. However, worry at baseline predicted protective behaviors during the second wave, even after controlling for socio-economical characteristics and protective behaviors at baseline.ConclusionOur results highlight the adaptivity of health-related worry when behavioral steps to avoid threats are known and available. Also, higher level of perceived interoception did not appear to be health protective under these circumstances.

When looking 'hot' means not feeling cold: Evidence that self-objectification inhibits feelings of being cold.

Self-objectification, the internalization of an observer's appearance-based perspective of one's body, has been theorized and demonstrated to reduce body awareness among women. In this field study, we propose self-objectification as the mechanism to explain the oft-observed phenomenon where women wearing little clothing appear unbothered by cold weather, positing that self-objectification obstructs women's feelings of cold. We surveyed women outside nightclubs on cold nights, assessed self-objectification, and asked participants to report how cold they felt. Anonymous photos were taken and coded for amount of skin exposure. We hypothesized that self-objectification would moderate the relationship between clothing coverage and reports of feeling cold. Our hypothesis was supported: women low in self-objectification showed a positive, intuitive, relationship between skin exposure and perceptions of coldness, but women more highly focused on their appearance did not feel colder when wearing less clothing. These findings offer support for the relationship between self-objectification and awareness of bodily sensations in the context of a naturalistic setting. We discuss implications of these findings, and also consider limitations, an alternative explanation, and directions for future research.

Relationship between affective state and empathy in medical and psychology students

ABSTRACT Objective Stress, affective distress (e.g., anxiety & depression symptoms) and burnout, which are commonly experienced by health sciences students and clinicians, are reported to impair empathy. However, few prior studies have examined them in regards to empathy despite its importance to clinical practice. Thus, we examined the relationship between stress, affective distress (i.e., anxiety, depression), components of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, cynicism, low professional efficacy), and empathy in medical and psychology students and compared empathy and its predictors in the two student groups. Further, the putative mechanism underpinning empathy – interoceptive sensibility (IS; i.e., extent of awareness of bodily sensations) – was also examined in regards to empathy. Methods Medical (N = 80) and psychology (N = 213) students, including 206 females (70.3%) and 85 males, completed an online questionnaire that asked about empathy, stress, affective distress, burnout and IS. Multiple regression analyses identified which factors were related to global empathy (GE, i.e., total score), emotional empathy (EE), and cognitive empathy (CE). Results As a whole, the students reported average empathy levels as follows: EE (M = 13.49, SD = 3.92), CE (M = 16.32, SD = 5.11), and GE total score (M = 44.95, SD = 11.5). In the full sample, after controlling for gender, degree type and Autism Spectrum Quotient score, low GE and CE were associated with low professional efficacy, and low EE was related to high cynicism and low emotional exhaustion. A similar profile of results was obtained in psychology students except that low GE was also associated with low anxiety and high autonomic nervous system (ANS)-reactivity, low EE was related to low professional efficacy (but unrelated to emotional-exhaustion and low CE was related to low anxiety. No difference in GE, EE and CE were detected between psychology and medical students. Conclusion Results suggest that the qualities which reduce the potential for good quality communication (i.e., cynicism, autistic traits) may compromise empathy. However, hyper-arousal states (e.g., anxiety, emotional-exhaustion) may not necessarily impair empathy unless a person excessively focuses on their autonomic arousal sensations. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Psychological distress is reported to impair empathy in clinicians and medical students, but few studies have examined the premise despite the importance of empathy in clinical practice. (2) Prior studies have shown that empathy is inconsistently related to emotional state measures including the components of affective distress (e.g., anxiety) and burnout (e.g., emotional-exhaustion), and no studies have examined interoceptive awareness in this regard. (3) Most prior studies have shown that low empathy was related to greater affective distress and burnout, but several reported that it was related to low affective distress and burnout. What this topic adds: (1) Our results showed that low empathy was related to low anxiety, emotional-exhaustion and professional efficacy, but greater cynicism, autistic traits and awareness of ANS sensations. (2) No differences in global, emotional or cognitive empathy was detected between medical students and psychology students. (3) Results suggest that empathy may be impaired by experiences that can hamper communication (e.g., cynicism, autistic traits) whereas hyper-arousal states (i.e., anxiety, emotional-exhaustion) may not necessarily impair empathy, except when there is heightened awareness of ANS sensations.

The relationship between mindfulness and objective measures of body awareness: A meta-analysis

Although awareness of bodily sensations is a common mindfulness meditation technique, studies assessing the relationship between mindfulness and body awareness have provided mixed results. The current study sought to meta-analytically examine the relationship between mindfulness operationalized as a dispositional trait or a construct trained through short- (i.e., randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) or long-term mindfulness meditation practice with objective measures of body awareness accuracy. PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched. Studies were eligible if they reported the association between mindfulness and body awareness, were published in English, and included adults. Across 15 studies (17 independent samples), a small effect was found linking mindfulness with greater body awareness accuracy (g = 0.21 [0.08, 0.34], N = 879). When separated by study design, only RCTs continued to show a significant relationship (g = 0.20, [0.02, 0.38], k = 7, n = 505). Heterogeneity of effects was low (I2 < 25%), although with wide confidence intervals. Effects were not moderated by study quality. Low fail-safe N estimates reduce confidence in the observed effects. Results suggest a small but potentially detectable relationship between mindfulness and body awareness accuracy. Future investigations could examine individual differences in body awareness as a mechanism within mindfulness interventions.

STUDY OF BODILY AWARENESS DURING A PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY

In the last few decades there have been an increasing number of studies on mental health&nbsp;and&nbsp;emotional&nbsp;well-being and their influence on physical health. According to this approach, physical problems often manifest unexpressed hidden inner conflicts. Psychologists increasingly apply their client's awareness of bodily&nbsp;sensations&nbsp;as a tool for therapy. In my paper I would like to present one of such psychological methods named focusing which I use in my practice as a clinical psychologist.&nbsp; Focusing method was elaborated by Eugene Gendlin, American philosopher, who collaborated with the founder of person-centered therapy Carl Rogers. &nbsp;Gendlin’s research showed that positive change in psychotherapy depended on client’s ability to experience bodily reaction of the topics discussed during therapy. &nbsp;In my practice I include Focusing method &nbsp;&nbsp;into my own system based on the idea that we can influence our healing process by discovering inner resources. It becomes possible when we get rid of &nbsp;feeling&nbsp; guilty and feeling of "being wrong" and overcome a negative self-image&nbsp; created as a result of &nbsp;adverse childhood&nbsp;.I have found that the &nbsp;awareness and verbalization&nbsp; of negative feelings facilitate the process of releasing emotional suffering from the memory of the body. Specific bodily responses can lead to discovering the true reasons of emotional conflicts. I &nbsp;would like also to show how I combine the Focusing approach with another psychological method&nbsp; based on the connection of body and mind, Recall Healing elaborated by Canadian expert in holistic approach to&nbsp; health Gilbert Renaud.

Mindfulness Meditation and Paying Attention to the Heart: Preliminary Findings Regarding Improvements in Interoception after 10-days Intensive Vipassana Meditation.

Event Abstract Back to Event Mindfulness Meditation and Paying Attention to the Heart: Preliminary Findings Regarding Improvements in Interoception after 10-days Intensive Vipassana Meditation. Jonathan R. Krygier1*, James A. Heathers1, 2, Andrew H. Kemp1 and Maree J. Abbott1 1 The University of Sydney, Psychology, Australia 2 Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Department of Cardiology and Intensive Therapy, Poland Interoception - a self-perception of physiological activity often indexed by the ability to accurately determine one’s own heart rate without taking a pulse - is increasingly being regarded as important for understanding emotion. Individual differences in interoceptive awareness have been linked to increased emotional reactivity (Herbert et al., 2007) and ability to regulate emotions (Füstös et al., 2012), but also greater trait-anxiety (Pollatos et al., 2007) and pain sensitivity (Pollatos et al., 2012). Interoception and ways to modify interoceptive awareness remain poorly understood. This study investigated the ability of Vipassana meditation - concerned with awareness of bodily sensations and mental states – to improve interoceptive awareness. As part of a larger study into the physiological effects of Vipassana meditation, 57 participants without formal training in meditation who had signed up for an intensive 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat were tested twice approximately a fortnight apart; either before and after the retreat (Novice group: 42 participants); or twice before the retreat (Control group: 15 participants). At each testing session, participants attempted a standard heart beat detection task. Interoceptive awareness was significantly improved in the Novice group after the Vipassana retreat (F1,41=7.01, p = .011, η2p =.146). This is not likely to be a simple practice effect, since no such change was observed in the Control group (F1,41=0.54, p = .478, η2p =.043), nor was there a change in anxiety ratings for either group (p>.05). In conclusion, despite some recent findings to the contrary, meditative practices may have the ability not only to improve self-perceived interoceptive sensitivity, but also objectively measured interoceptive awareness. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the John Templeton Foundation for their support of this research and the Vipassana Meditation Centre for assisting with the recruitment of participants. References Füstös, J., Gramann, K., Herbert, B. M., & Pollatos, O. (2013). On the embodiment of emotion regulation: interoceptive awareness facilitates reappraisal. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 8(8), 911-917. Herbert, B. M., Pollatos, O., & Schandry, R. (2007). Interoceptive sensitivity and emotion processing: an EEG study. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 65(3), 214-227. Pollatos, O., Herbert, B. M., Kaufmann, C., Auer, D. P., & Schandry, R. (2007). Interoceptive awareness, anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity to isometric exercise. International journal of psychophysiology, 65(2), 167-173. Pollatos, O., Füstös, J., & Critchley, H. D. (2012). On the generalised embodiment of pain: how interoceptive sensitivity modulates cutaneous pain perception. PAIN®, 153(8), 1680-1686. Keywords: Vipassana, Meditation, interoception, Interoceptive Awareness, Emotion Regulation, Body awareness, contemplative practice, mindfulness Conference: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Sydney, Australia, 2 Dec - 4 Dec, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Psychophysiology Citation: Krygier JR, Heathers JA, Kemp AH and Abbott MJ (2015). Mindfulness Meditation and Paying Attention to the Heart: Preliminary Findings Regarding Improvements in Interoception after 10-days Intensive Vipassana Meditation.. Conference Abstract: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.219.00026 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Oct 2015; Published Online: 30 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Mr. Jonathan R Krygier, The University of Sydney, Psychology, Sydney, Australia, jonathan.krygier@sydney.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Jonathan R Krygier James A Heathers Andrew H Kemp Maree J Abbott Google Jonathan R Krygier James A Heathers Andrew H Kemp Maree J Abbott Google Scholar Jonathan R Krygier James A Heathers Andrew H Kemp Maree J Abbott PubMed Jonathan R Krygier James A Heathers Andrew H Kemp Maree J Abbott Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Body-conscious Shakespeare: sensory disturbances in troubled characters

It is widely accepted that Shakespeare was unique in the range of his insights into the human mind, but the way his characters reveal their mental states through bodily sensations...

Health anxiety in medical students

matched medical and law students (60 in each group), and found that medical students attended to their health and somatic symptoms more than law students but there was no significant difference in the rate of hypochondriasis. In January, 1996, a short illness behaviour questionnaire* (the Whitley index, a version of the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire) and the Short Health Anxiety inventory were distributed to all 306 clinical medical students at University of Oxford Medical School. No personal identifiers were asked for. During this time, a comparison group was surveyed which comprised all the students studying any subject except medicine at two Oxford University colleges. 183 (59·8%) medical students replied. 148 (48·4%) completed the questionnaire. 110 (non-medical) students completed questionnaires. Data on file for a general Oxford population was also used. An analysis of variance was carried out with SPSS. On total scores for the health anxiety questionnaires, medical students scored nonsignificantly lower than the other students and the nonstudents (p>0·1). An (uncorrected) item analysis for the 18 items on the health-anxiety inventory found significant effects for three items; in two of these, medical students were lower than the other two groups (awareness of bodily sensations or changes; perceived risk of illness; table). On perception of the likely effectiveness of medical treatment in the event of illness, non-medical students perceived treatment as more likely to be effective than the other two groups. The only other difference was that medical students were less likely to avoid seeking medical help. These results question the widely held view that medical students are more likely than others to have excessive anxiety about their health. Two factors may contribute to the impression that this is a common reaction to medical training. First, the phenomenon of trainee doctors who falsely believe themselves to have an illness may receive more attention from and be more memorable to both tutors and the student’s physician than the same phenomenon in a geology student. Second, the early claims of high prevalence (more than 70%) may have resulted in selective attention to the phenomenon and a lowered threshold for its recognition.

Blushing propensity, social anxiety, anxiety sensitivity and awareness of bodily sensations

The Blushing Propensity Scale (BPS), Bodily Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) were administered to 82 subjects. Although there was some degree of overlap between the factor structure of the BPS obtained in the present study with factors obtained in previous research, the items within each factor suggest a slightly different meaning in each study. There was a predicted significant positive correlation between the BPS, BSQ, ASI and SADS although the latter three measures were unrelated. The possibility that a tendency to feel oneself blushing does not directly correspond to a fear of blushing which might characterize social phobia is discussed.

Levels of emotional awareness: a cognitive-developmental theory and its application to psychopathology.

The authors present a cognitive-developmental theory of emotional awareness that creates a bridge between normal and abnormal emotional states. Their primary thesis is that emotional awareness is a type of cognitive processing which undergoes five levels of structural transformation along a cognitive-developmental sequence derived from an integration of the theories of Piaget and Werner. The five levels of structural transformation are awareness of bodily sensations, the body in action, individual feelings, blends of feelings, and blends of blends of feelings. The authors suggest applications of this model to current unresolved problems in psychiatric theory, research, and practice.

Cognitive Reversal of Expected Nitrous Oxide Analgesia for Acute Pain

In a laboratory experiment, the expected analgesic action of 33% nitrous oxide was reversed by creating the expectancy of heightened awareness of bodily sensations. Pain threshold and tolerance of electrical tooth-pulp stimulation were significantly reduced. Results from a control study gave us a basis for comparison of changes in the verbal expression of pain when nitrous oxide was administered without introducing expectancies beyond those already held by the subjects. Contrasting results from the experimental and control studies confirm the powerful role of mental processes in mediating pain experience.