The relationships between interoception and alexithymic trait. The Self-Awareness Questionnaire in healthy subjects

Interoception is the basic process enabling evaluation of one's own bodily states. Several previous studies suggested that altered interoception might be related to disorders in the ability to perceive and express emotions, i.e., alexithymia, and to defects in perceiving and describing one's own health status, i.e., hypochondriasis. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between alexithymic trait and interoceptive abilities evaluated by the "Self-Awareness Questionnaire" (SAQ), a novel self-report tool for assessing interoceptive awareness. Two hundred and fifty healthy subjects completed the SAQ, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 items (TAS-20), and a questionnaire to assess hypochondriasis, the Illness Attitude Scale (IAS). The SAQ showed a two-factor structure, with good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). We observed significant direct correlations between SAQ, TAS-20 and two of its subscales, and the IAS. Regression analysis confirmed that the difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions is significantly related with awareness for one's own interoceptive feelings and with a tendency to misinterpret and amplify bodily sensations. From a clinical point of view, the assessment of interoceptive awareness by the SAQ could be pivotal in evaluating several psychopathological conditions, such as the somatoform disorders

The relationships between interoception and alexithymic trait. The Self-Awareness Questionnaire in healthy subjects

Interoception is the basic process enabling evaluation of one's own bodily states. Several previous studies suggested that altered interoception might be related to disorders in the ability to perceive and express emotions, i.e., alexithymia, and to defects in perceiving and describing one's own health status, i.e., hypochondriasis. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between alexithymic trait and interoceptive abilities evaluated by the "Self-Awareness Questionnaire" (SAQ), a novel self-report tool for assessing interoceptive awareness. Two hundred and fifty healthy subjects completed the SAQ, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 items (TAS-20), and a questionnaire to assess hypochondriasis, the Illness Attitude Scale (IAS). The SAQ showed a two-factor structure, with good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). We observed significant direct correlations between SAQ, TAS-20 and two of its subscales, and the IAS. Regression analysis confirmed that the difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions is significantly related with awareness for one's own interoceptive feelings and with a tendency to misinterpret and amplify bodily sensations. From a clinical point of view, the assessment of interoceptive awareness by the SAQ could be pivotal in evaluating several psychopathological conditions, such as the somatoform disorders

Self-reported interoceptive deficits in eating disorders: A meta-analysis of studies using the eating disorder inventory

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Paul M. Jenkinson, Lauren Taylor, Keith R. Laws, ‘Self-reported interoceptive deficits in eating disorders: A meta-analysis of studies using the eating disorder inventory’, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 110: 38-45, July 2018, under embargo until 19 April 2019. The Version of Record is available online at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.04.005Objective: An impairment of the ability to sense the physiological condition of the body – interoception – has long been proposed as central to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. More recent attention to this topic has generally indicated the presence of interoceptive deficits in individuals with an eating disorder diagnosis; however, possible links with specific diagnosis, BMI, age, illness duration, depression, and alexithymia remain unclear from individual studies. This meta-analysis aimed to provide a necessary quantitative overview of self-reported interoceptive deficits in eating disorder populations, and the relationship between these deficits and the previously mentioned factors. Methods: Using a random effects model, our meta-analysis assessed the magnitude of differences in interoceptive abilities as measured using the Eating Disorder Inventory in 41 samples comparing people with eating disorders (n=4308) and healthy controls (n=3459). Follow-up and moderator analysis was conducted, using group comparisons and meta-regressions. Results: We report a large pooled effect size of 1.62 for eating disorders with some variation between diagnostic groups. Further moderator analysis showed that BMI, age and alexithymia were significant predictors of overall effect size. Conclusion: This meta-analysis is the first to confirm that large interoceptive deficits occur in a variety of eating disorders and crucially, in those who have recovered. These deficits may be useful in identifying and distinguishing eating disorders. Future research needs to consider both objective and subjective measures of interoception across different types of eating disorders and may fruitfully examine interoception as a possible endophenotype and target for treatment.Peer reviewe

Raw data-Validation of an electronic version of the Self-Awareness Questionnaire in English and Italian healthy samples

Research dat

Raw data-Validation of an electronic version of the Self-Awareness Questionnaire in English and Italian healthy samples

Research dat

Electroencephalographic and Neuroimaging Asymmetry Correlation in Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The present study explores the correlation between electroencephalographic and neuroimaging asymmetry index from EEG-MRI functional connectome and EEG power analysis in inattention, motion, and mixed profile subgroups of ADHD. Sixty-two subjects from Healthy Brain Network Biobank of the Child Mind Institute dataset were selected basing on the quotient score. From both MRI and EEG asymmetry index, Pearson’s correlation, ANOVA, and partial least square analysis were performed matching left and right brain parcels and channels. The asymmetry index significantly correlated across subjects between fMRI and power-EEG in the inattention group in frontal and temporal areas for theta and alpha bands, an anticorrelation in the same areas for delta band was found. Significant patterns of hemispheric asymmetry index have been reported, involving EEG bands that underlie cognitive impairments in ADHD. Alpha and theta bands were altered in the inattention group of patients, reflecting widespread deficiency of basic attentional processing

Cerebral microstructural abnormalities in impulsivity: a magnetic resonance study

Studies that investigated neurobiological parameters subtended to impulsivity trait found their relationship with structural and functional brain alterations. No studies investigated the white matter microstructural attributes of impulsivity in a large sample of healthy subjects. In the present study 1007 subjects from Human Connectome Project public dataset were divided in two groups, impulsive and not impulsive, basing on Delay Discounting task score. For both groups brain morphometric and microstructural characteristics were investigated. A t-test (correct for multiple comparisons) was performed for each brain parcel and impulsivity measure. Magnetic resonance diffusion images were pre-processed and selected to perform a voxelwise analysis on the fractional anisotropy (FA) maps between impulsive and not impulsive groups. Group analysis showed significant differences in morphometric brain data mainly for temporal and frontal lobes. The impulsive group presented higher FA values in four regions: bilateral medial lemniscus and midbrain reticular formation, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, left forceps major, right corticospinal tract. Not impulsive group showed higher FA values in two significant regions: right and left anterior thalamus radiation. Concluding, macroscopic and microstructural brain alterations were assessed, identifying new neuroanatomical substrates for multidimensional impulsivity construct in a large sample of healthy subjects

Dopamine treatment and cognitive functioning in individuals with Parkinson's disease. The "cognitive flexibility" hypothesis seems to work

previous data suggest that i) dopamine modulates the ability to implement non-routine schemata and updating operations (flexibility processes) and that ii) dopamine-related improvement may be related to baseline dopamine levels in target pathways (inverted U-shaped hypothesis)

The influence of interoceptive awareness on functional connectivity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by visceral hypersensitivity likely related to altered processing of sensory stimuli along the brain-gut axis. Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated structural and functional alteration of several brain areas involved in bodily representation, e.g. the insula, in patients with IBS. By means of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) we searched for alteration of functional connectivity within the network involved in self-bodily consciousness. We found significant inverse correlation between hypochondriasis assessed through a clinical questionnaire and connectivity between posterior cingulate cortex and left supramarginal gyrus, extending into the adjacent superior temporal gyrus. Moreover, we observed a significant and positive correlation between a clinical questionnaire assessing interoception and connectivity between left anterior ventral insula and two clusters located in supramarginal gyrus bilaterally. Our findings highlight an “abnormal network synchrony” reflecting functional alteration, in the absence of structural and micro-structural changes, which might represent a possible therapeutic target for Irritable Bowel Syndrome