Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback
Alexithymia is a psychological trait characterized by difficulty expressing emotions. Previous studies reported that individuals with higher alexithymia have a decreased sense of interoception, which is the sense of monitoring and controlling internal organs. Thus, we hypothesized that internal orga...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1442138/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841555122653495296 |
|---|---|
| author | Hitomi Ikarashi Hitomi Ikarashi Naofumi Otsuru Naofumi Otsuru Sena Takahashi Kazuaki Nagasaka Kazuaki Nagasaka Masayuki Hara Hideaki Onishi Hideaki Onishi |
| author_facet | Hitomi Ikarashi Hitomi Ikarashi Naofumi Otsuru Naofumi Otsuru Sena Takahashi Kazuaki Nagasaka Kazuaki Nagasaka Masayuki Hara Hideaki Onishi Hideaki Onishi |
| author_sort | Hitomi Ikarashi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alexithymia is a psychological trait characterized by difficulty expressing emotions. Previous studies reported that individuals with higher alexithymia have a decreased sense of interoception, which is the sense of monitoring and controlling internal organs. Thus, we hypothesized that internal organ activity (cardiac activities in the present study) was easily affected by false feedback in individuals with severe alexithymia. Therefore, we investigated whether the effects of fake heart rate feedback on real cardiac activities differ depending on the severity of alexithymia as assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Fake heart rate feedback was presented as if it were occurring in the individual’s hand through a virtual reality system at various speeds. Changes in cardiac activities were evaluated by the root-mean-square-successive difference (RMSSD, high value indicates greater parasympathetic tone) of the heartbeat interval. Our findings revealed a negative correlation between externally oriented thinking, a subscale of the TAS-20 score, and the RMSSD change ratio elicited by fake heart rate feedback. These findings indicate that individuals with higher alexithymia might be particularly susceptible to external fake feedback. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d9ef3580c91f4c12a0d1a057bf65aa0d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-d9ef3580c91f4c12a0d1a057bf65aa0d2025-01-08T06:12:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-01-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.14421381442138Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedbackHitomi Ikarashi0Hitomi Ikarashi1Naofumi Otsuru2Naofumi Otsuru3Sena Takahashi4Kazuaki Nagasaka5Kazuaki Nagasaka6Masayuki Hara7Hideaki Onishi8Hideaki Onishi9Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanGraduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanAlexithymia is a psychological trait characterized by difficulty expressing emotions. Previous studies reported that individuals with higher alexithymia have a decreased sense of interoception, which is the sense of monitoring and controlling internal organs. Thus, we hypothesized that internal organ activity (cardiac activities in the present study) was easily affected by false feedback in individuals with severe alexithymia. Therefore, we investigated whether the effects of fake heart rate feedback on real cardiac activities differ depending on the severity of alexithymia as assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Fake heart rate feedback was presented as if it were occurring in the individual’s hand through a virtual reality system at various speeds. Changes in cardiac activities were evaluated by the root-mean-square-successive difference (RMSSD, high value indicates greater parasympathetic tone) of the heartbeat interval. Our findings revealed a negative correlation between externally oriented thinking, a subscale of the TAS-20 score, and the RMSSD change ratio elicited by fake heart rate feedback. These findings indicate that individuals with higher alexithymia might be particularly susceptible to external fake feedback.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1442138/fullalexithymiavirtual realityembodimentneuroscienceinteroceptioninteroceptive feedback |
| spellingShingle | Hitomi Ikarashi Hitomi Ikarashi Naofumi Otsuru Naofumi Otsuru Sena Takahashi Kazuaki Nagasaka Kazuaki Nagasaka Masayuki Hara Hideaki Onishi Hideaki Onishi Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback Frontiers in Psychology alexithymia virtual reality embodiment neuroscience interoception interoceptive feedback |
| title | Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| title_full | Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| title_fullStr | Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| title_short | Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| title_sort | influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback |
| topic | alexithymia virtual reality embodiment neuroscience interoception interoceptive feedback |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1442138/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hitomiikarashi influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT hitomiikarashi influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT naofumiotsuru influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT naofumiotsuru influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT senatakahashi influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT kazuakinagasaka influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT kazuakinagasaka influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT masayukihara influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT hideakionishi influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback AT hideakionishi influenceofalexithymiaseverityinthehealthypopulationonthesusceptibilitytofalseinteroceptivefeedback |