PhD UCL Flashcards
What is interoception?
Interoception is broadly defined as the perception and processing of signals that concern the internal state of the body such as heartbeat, thirst, breathing
Is interoception different from exteroception and prioprioception?
It can be distinguished from the domains of exteroception (processing of the environment e.g. processing sounds, visual, smells) ) and proprioception (the individual’s perception of their position , movement and orientation of their body in space) as a distinct sensory domain.
What is example of proprioception?
For example, when you close your eyes and reach for an object, your proprioceptive system helps you control the movement of your limbs and fingers without needing to see them.
- What is interoceptive awareness (IA)? - (2)
IA is the ability to identify and access signals from within the body
IA is a sub-concept of interoception
What are the 3 (+1) dimensions of interoceptive? - (4)
- Interoceptive accuracy
- Interoceptive sensibility
- Interoceptive awareness
4( interoceptive emotional evluation)
What is interoceptive accuracy? (measuring in this PhD)
Refers to how well individuals perceive and recognise their internal bodily signals and is usually measured with a heartbeat detection task
What is interoceptive sensibility?
Self-perceived tendency to focus on interoceptive stimuli which is usually measured via self-report like body-perception questionnaire e.g., to what extent do you believe you focus on and detect internal bodily sensations?
What is interoceptive emotional evaluation?
This fourth dimension refers to emotional evaluation of interoceptive signals in which participants asked how they interpret any bodily sensations occurring “How anxious have you been when sensing your own heartbeats”
- What did you do in your PSY2018 interoception module? - (5)
I participated in the ‘The Mind, the Body, the Self Interoception’ module led by Dr. Jessica Komes.
The module focused on the concept of interoception, exploring its dimensions and its connection to self and mental health.
As part of the assessment, I engaged in a unique six-week intervention, aiming to enhance my interoceptive awareness via practicising interoceptive interventions at home and via module workshops .
I measured this awareness using a self-report scale via MAIA before and after the intervention, observing a significant increase.
This module not only laid the groundwork for my current PhD but also fueled my enthusiasm for delving deeper into the study of interoception.
- How did you measure IA in a module?
Assessed it using s (MAIA)
What does MAIA stand for?
Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA)
More details on the MAIA scale - (2)
The MAIA-2 scale and instructed to indicate how each statement applies to myself in daily life on 6-point Likert scale (0 = never, 5 = always)
It has 8 different subscales labelled as : notcing, not distracting, not worrying, attention regulation, emotional awareness, self regulation, body listening, trusting
More details of the PSY2018 module: hypothesizing of emotion regulation - (6)
In the MAIA there are a lot of subscales and it generally measures IA
The module encouraged us to produce hypotheses before we started the intervention not only in our IA but specific dimension of IA the subscale measures that we are personally struggle with and hope to improve with the interoceptive interventions
Emotion regulation is ability to successfully exert control over one’s meotional experiences, emotion evoking situations and this ability requires an awareness of emotional states which in turn is linked with IA.
Individuals with depression have shown to lack emotion regulation and use maladaptive emotion regulation stratgerieis such as depressive rumination because of lack of IA and it can be improved with interoceptive-based interventions
By reading this research, the fact that I had to be aware of my body’s signals to effectively control my emotions intrigued me. At the time I had the tendency of overthinking negative thoughts than listening to my body and unable to control thoughts and meotions.
Therefore, I hypothesised on a subscale of MAIA called self-regulation (ability to regulate distress based on bodily sensations) would increase after attending module embedded intervention which it did.
What is depressive rumination?
Depressive rumination is where one dwells on their previous mistakes, regrets and/or shortcomings in life in an attempt to reduce these negative feelings but paradoxically, increases the intensity and persistence of these feelings.
What is specific hypotheses of PSY2018 report - (2)
Based on the research presented above that interoceptive-based interventions can increase IA, I will examine whether my personal IA has increased as a result of a six-week embedded intervention within the module as indicated by a baseline and follow up measurement via the MAIA scale.
More specifically, I hypothesise that I will increase my ability to be in control of my distress by paying attention towards my internal bodily signals (i.e., expect my self-regulation score to increase).
- More details of the PSY2018 module: Journal - (2)
Aside from using a self-report scale to measure my interoceptive awareness before the module-embedded intervention and afterward,
I also kept a reflective journal in which I documented if and how I had changes in my interoceptive awareness and wellness every time I practiced an interoceptive intervention.
- What mind-body interventions did you do in PSY2018 module?
I practiced a series of interoceptive interventions such as the mindfulness-based stress reduction body scanning and self-compassion exercise at home and in the workshops.
- What is body scanning exercise?
body scan is relaxation technique which focuses on systematically paying attention to different parts of the body typically from head to toe.
- What is self-compassion exercise?
In this self-compassion exercise, I offer kind words and say something comforting to myself and be understanding to myself
- How did the workshops work in the PSY2018 module?
During the module, we also had weekly in-person workshops that students can attend in which the module leader, Dr Jessica Komes, performed a variety of interoceptive interventions with the class
- Interoceptive research and mental health - (2)
Interoception is critical for psychological mental health as many psychiatric disorders like depression are often accompanied by a lack of IA
Individuals with anorexia nervosa may experience a diminished sensitivity to hunger cues which lead to persistent undereating behaviour and having severe food restrictions and may not respond appropriatelyto their bodily’s signals for need of food.
- Sarah Garfinkel’s work on the PSY2018 module - (2)
Professor Sarah Garfinkel Is one of the leading researchers in field of interoception and the module I attended feature a lot of her research such as research identifying that tjere are three dimensions of interoception: interoceptive sensibility, interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive awareness
Her research also highlights that interoceptive plays a role in how we potentially respond to threatening stimuli In environment as fearful faces presented during systole were perceived more fearful than it being presented in diastole and corresponded with higher activity in systole and diastole.