Estimating Interoceptive Sensitivity from Physiological Breathing Parameters

Impairments in interoception (the process of sensing, perceiving, and interpreting internal stimuli from the body) are considered characteristic of many mental health conditions. Although there is a growing body of interoceptive research, accounting for the inherent physiological variability associated with interoceptive stimuli is a key challenge, particularly when estimating measures of sensitivity. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a physiological-adjusted measure of breathing-related interoceptive sensitivity. Seventy-seven participants completed questionnaires exploring general affect, anxiety and self-rated measures of interoception alongside a respiratory resistance sensitivity task. The proposed physiology-adjusted sensitivity metric (perceptual threshold) was positively correlated with symptoms of maladaptive anxiety and depression. In comparison, the previously established counterpart (absolute intensity) was positively correlated with state anxiety and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire (MAIA) emotional awareness subscale. Comparisons using Steiger's Z Test indicated the MAIA not-distracting subscale was more strongly correlated with the physiology-adjusted metric than its standard counterpart. Thus, the proposed metric of interoceptive sensitivity provides a measure that can adequately account for physiological variability and relates to maladaptive anxiety and depression.