Interoception as independent cardiac, thermosensory, nociceptive, and affective touch perceptual submodalities

Interoception includes signals from inner organs and thin afferents in the skin, providing information about the body’s physiological state. However, the functional relationships between interoceptive submodalities are unclear, and thermosensation as skin-based interoception has rarely been considered. We used five tasks to examine the relationships among cardiac awareness, thermosensation, affective touch, and nociception. Thermosensation was probed with a classic temperature detection task and the new dynamic thermal matching task, where participants matched perceived moving thermal stimuli in a range of colder/warmer stimuli around thermoneutrality. We also examined differences between hairy and non-hairy skin and found superior perception of dynamic temperature and static cooling on hairy skin. Notably, no significant correlations were observed across interoceptive submodality accuracies (except for cold and pain perception in the palm), which indicates that interoception at perceptual levels should be conceptualised as a set of relatively independent processes and abilities rather than a single construct.Göran Gustafsson foundationSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Research Council under the European Union’s horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (SELF-UNITY)Marie Skłodowska-Curie Intra-European Individual Fellowship (HOMEOTHERMIC SELF)Accepte

Quantifying perception of the internal : Investigating the temporal stability of temperature perception as an interoceptive measurement

Interoception refers to the sensation of internal bodily signals. When studying sensory perception, one needs measurements for assessing individual abilities. Individual interoceptive abilities have mostly been measured by a heartbeat counting task, however recent criticism towards the validity of the task has surfaced. A limiting factor remaining for interoceptive research is the lack of standardized valid measurements for individual abilities. In this context, new measurements have been proposed, such as a thermal matching task. In the present study, I examine the reliability of the new thermal matching task, as well as the relationship between skin-mediated interoceptive sensations and cardiac interoception. The thermal matching task was found to be temporally stable on the dorsal forearm, but not on the dorsal hand or palm. Furthermore, participants were significantly better at the task on the dorsal forearm compared to dorsal hand and palm. There were also differences in the task between genders, however whether this is due to gender effects or associated confounding variables remains unclear. The thermal matching task shows potential to be included as a measure for thermal perception in an interoceptive context. Future research should address the relationship between the thermal matching task and other measurements of thermal perception

Quantifying perception of the internal : Investigating the temporal stability of temperature perception as an interoceptive measurement

Interoception refers to the sensation of internal bodily signals. When studying sensory perception, one needs measurements for assessing individual abilities. Individual interoceptive abilities have mostly been measured by a heartbeat counting task, however recent criticism towards the validity of the task has surfaced. A limiting factor remaining for interoceptive research is the lack of standardized valid measurements for individual abilities. In this context, new measurements have been proposed, such as a thermal matching task. In the present study, I examine the reliability of the new thermal matching task, as well as the relationship between skin-mediated interoceptive sensations and cardiac interoception. The thermal matching task was found to be temporally stable on the dorsal forearm, but not on the dorsal hand or palm. Furthermore, participants were significantly better at the task on the dorsal forearm compared to dorsal hand and palm. There were also differences in the task between genders, however whether this is due to gender effects or associated confounding variables remains unclear. The thermal matching task shows potential to be included as a measure for thermal perception in an interoceptive context. Future research should address the relationship between the thermal matching task and other measurements of thermal perception

The role of visual perspective on self-touch perception : An exploratory study of somatosensory attenuation

Whenever you touch yourself, that touch feels distinctly different from when someone else touches you. In particular, self-generated touch is perceived as less intense. This is a phenomenon called somatosensory attenuation. Touch to the self, regardless of self- or other generated, is perceived through a first-person perspective, whereas touch to other is perceived through a third-person perspective. The present study aimed to explore how self-touch is perceived when the self is observed through other perspectives. Here it was found that self-touch in a mirror and third-person perspective lowers the sense of ownership of the observed hand, as well as the agency of the touch. In particular, the sense of ownership and agency were lower in the third-person perspective relative to mirror perspective. Further, no qualitative differences in touch perception were observed across the three perspectives. There was no relationship between the sense of ownership and agency, and these qualitative differences. Lastly, there were no correlations between either of these experimental aspects (ownership, agency, qualitative) and autism traits and self-reported interoceptive abilities. The present study extends the knowledge and understanding of self-touch, and how visual perspective influences. The present study also highlights areas of applications, such as immersive virtual reality and clinical research

Grieftouch

In the present original online study, we examined a largely neglected area of research in psychology: grief, its bodily sensations, and social touch as means of consolation in times of grief

Body perception and social touch preferences during times of grief

In the present original online study, we examined a largely neglected area of research in psychology: grief, its bodily sensations, and social touch as means of consolation in times of grief