When the Body Meets Space: The Contribution of Interoception and Emotional Object-Location Memory as Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Aging

Background/Objectives: Adaptive functioning involves the integration of bodily states with emotional information from the external environment. Interoceptive functioning and spatial cognition may contribute to this integration, but their joint associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across adulthood remain insufficiently understood. Methods: We examined associations between multidimensional interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL in younger adults (n = 43) and older adults (n = 38). Participants completed an immersive virtual-reality Object Location Memory task assessing object recognition (What), spatial location memory (Where), and object-location binding (What + Where) for positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. Interoceptive functioning was assessed using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) and the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ), and HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36. For each SF-36 domain and age group, interoceptive predictors were screened using bootstrap-based LASSO selection and subsequently entered into multiple regression linear models together with the prespecified spatial-memory predictors. Model robustness was further examined using bootstrap, leave-one-out cross-validation, and permutation testing. Results: The regression analyses identified associations between interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL. In older adults, selected dimensions of interoceptive functioning, particularly those related to attention regulation, adaptive engagement with bodily sensations, and confidence in bodily signals, were associated with several HRQoL domains. Emotional object-location memory also showed domain-specific associations, with positive- and negative-valence measures contributing differently across HRQoL outcomes. In younger adults, selected associations were also observed between interoceptive functioning, emotional object-location memory, and HRQoL, including associations involving neutral and positive object-location information. Conclusions: The findings provide exploratory evidence that specific dimensions of interoceptive functioning and emotionally modulated object-location memory are associated with selected aspects of self-reported HRQoL, with distinct patterns of associations emerging in younger and older adults.