Presentation Information
[P2-22]When do we perceive our heartbeats? Exploring temporal dynamics in interoception
*Yusuke Haruki1, Keisuke Suzuki2, Yuri Terasawa3, Kenji Ogawa4, Olaf Blanke5, Yuko Yotsumoto1 (1. Department of Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo (Japan), 2. Center for Human Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience, Hokkaido University (Japan), 3. Department of Psychology, Keio University (Japan), 4. Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University (Japan), 5. Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (Switzerland))
Keywords:
heartbeat perception,interoception,temporal dynamics,signal detection theory
Interoception refers to the process by which our nervous system detects, conveys, integrates, interprets, and utilises the vast array of sensations arising from within the body. Such processes are now recognised as playing critical roles in cognitive functions, including perception, emotion, decision-making, and so on. Cardiac signals and conscious access to them have been widely used to assess individual differences in perceptual ability related to interoception, reflecting how well individuals can detect internal bodily processes (i.e., their own heartbeats). However, previous methodologies have serious shortcomings in evaluating interoceptive ability, as some of them cannot exclude estimation strategies to count the heartbeats, are too difficult to perform, and crucially, all of them neglect the temporal aspect of heartbeat perception.Here, we developed a novel method called the “oneshot” heartbeat detection task, which allows us to examine the temporal dynamics of heartbeat perception. This approach enables us to identify the precise moments when individuals become aware of their heartbeat sensations or not in a trial-by-trial manner. Specifically, participants are instructed to press a button when they perceive their first heartbeat following a cue, while maintaining focus on internal sensations. After a number of heartbeats later (ranging from 1 to around 20), a word color is changed, timed either with their cardiac systole or diastole. Participants then answer a forced-choice question regarding the synchronicity of the heartbeat and color change. Using this task, we reveal characteristic patterns that distinguish individuals who are good at detecting heartbeat sensations from those who are not. Our findings provide new insights into the perceptual mechanisms underlying interoception, and further elucidate how multisensory interactions occur between interoceptive and exteroceptive modalities.