Khalsa S S, Rudrauf D, Sandesara C, Olshansky B, Tranel D
Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2009 Apr;72(1):34-45. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.08.010. Epub 2008 Sep 27.
Interoception, defined as the perception of internal body states, plays a central role in classic and contemporary theories of emotion. In particular, deviations from baseline body states have been hypothesized to be integral to the experience of emotion and feeling. Consequently, reliable measurement of interoception is critical to the testing of emotion theories. Heartbeat perception tasks have been considered the standard method for assessing interoceptive awareness, primarily due to their non-invasive nature and technical feasibility. However, these tasks are limited by the fact that above chance group performance rates on heartbeat detection (or the frequency of 'good detectors') are rarely higher than 40%, meaning that such tasks (as they are typically utilized) do not obtain a measure of interoceptive awareness in the majority of individuals. Here we describe a novel protocol for inducing and assessing a range of deviations in body states via bolus infusions of isoproterenol, a non-selective beta adrenergic agonist. Using a randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled experimental design, we found that bolus isoproterenol infusions elicited rapid and transient increases in heart rate and concomitant ratings of heartbeat and breathing sensations, in a dose-dependent manner. Our protocol revealed changes in interoceptive awareness in all 15 participants tested, thus overcoming a major limitation of heartbeat detection tasks. These findings indicate that bolus isoproterenol infusions provide a reliable method for assessing interoceptive awareness, which sets a foundation for further investigation of the role of interoceptive sensations in the experience of emotion.
内感受被定义为对身体内部状态的感知，在经典和当代情绪理论中都起着核心作用。特别是，与基线身体状态的偏差被假定为情绪和感觉体验不可或缺的一部分。因此，对内感受进行可靠的测量对于情绪理论的检验至关重要。心跳感知任务一直被视为评估内感受觉知的标准方法，主要是因为其非侵入性和技术可行性。然而，这些任务存在局限性，即心跳检测的高于机遇水平的群体表现率（或“优秀检测者”的频率）很少高于40%，这意味着此类任务（按照其通常的使用方式）在大多数个体中无法获得对内感受觉知的测量。在此，我们描述了一种通过推注异丙肾上腺素（一种非选择性β肾上腺素能激动剂）来诱导和评估一系列身体状态偏差的新方案。采用随机、双盲和安慰剂对照的实验设计，我们发现推注异丙肾上腺素会以剂量依赖的方式引起心率迅速且短暂的增加以及伴随的心跳和呼吸感觉评分。我们的方案在所有15名受试参与者中都揭示了内感受觉知的变化，从而克服了心跳检测任务的一个主要局限性。这些发现表明，推注异丙肾上腺素为评估内感受觉知提供了一种可靠的方法，为进一步研究内感受觉在情绪体验中的作用奠定了基础。
